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Brown ring around S. minor pitchers

Hi all,

I've got a Sarr issue that I've not had before. My S. minor keeps putting out nice pitchers and then they develop a brown ring near the base. The brown ring expands upwards until the whole pitcher is brown. What does this indicate? I kind of thought maybe there was some sort of insect eating it from the inside out, but this issue is unique to only the S. minor and if it was some sort of pest, I wasn't really expecting it to happen again. I swear I've heard of this happening before, but I can't remember any solutions or causes. Pics below:

Disregard the little spider stealing a meal..
x3sRSxn.jpg


The pitcher on the left is the result of the brown ring completely enveloping the pitcher.
cC9ex61.jpg


Any sarr doctors out there that can give me some insight on this?
 
I have them growing outside in full-sun. It's been averaging 80 degrees over the past couple days but the humidity varies pretty wildly. It's usually at least 50% though. They get full sun from sunrise until about 3-4 PM I believe. They appear to be eating well.
 
How many pitchers has this happened to, and how fast does it usually happen?
 
Does it only happen to old pitchers that are open? The first thing that came to mind was that the plant caught something too big to digest, making the pitcher rot from the inside out.
 
So far it's happened to two pitchers. It probably starts to rot within a week of the pitcher fully opening and it takes maybe 2-3 weeks for the whole pitcher to croak.

I've only had this plant for a few of months, when I received it in the mail, it had no open pitchers. The one that is completely rotted was the first big new pitcher to open.
 
This is probably 'indigestion' caused by eating too many insects in a short period. It is very common in my Sarrs, and it doesn't hurt the plant at all, other than killing the leaf.
 
This is probably 'indigestion' caused by eating too many insects in a short period. It is very common in my Sarrs, and it doesn't hurt the plant at all, other than killing the leaf.

It's weird that it's only happening to the S. minor and not the leuco or flava, they've all been eating like pigs since it got warm. The pitchers are nearly full! Still, it's nice to know that it won't kill the plant. S. minor is one of my favorites, and I want it to be large and robust.
 
It's weird that it's only happening to the S. minor and not the leuco or flava, they've all been eating like pigs since it got warm. The pitchers are nearly full! Still, it's nice to know that it won't kill the plant. S. minor is one of my favorites, and I want it to be large and robust.

Some species will have that sort of shock worse than others
 
  • #10
I'm getting the same thing on multiple species right now. It's usually a result of heavy feeding by the plants. Perhaps also dry-ish conditions... I have wondered perhaps if watering into the pitchers may dilute the nutrients enough that they no longer burn the pitchers.

I am theorizing that the damage may girdle the leaf at least partially, cut it off from the roots, and thereby cause the rest of the leaf to dry out and burn. Perhaps the wing of Sarracenia acts sort of as a backup to keep at least some of the leaf alive, as it appears to be doing in your plant.
 
  • #11
When I initially saw the brown part on the second pitcher, I put some distilled water into the pitcher to drown whatever insect was eating the pitcher (I thought that's what was going on). It's too early to tell if it has slowed the browning.
 
  • #12
The only things I have seen eat Sarr pitchers are caterpillars (irregular holes, very obvious, little poops everywhere) and wasps (eat one single hole straight through the pitcher, bout the size of a hole punch.) The wasps only do this to escape.

I also seem to get this more when my pitchers are full of ants. Maybe ants become toxic in large quantities? What are your pitchers full of?
 
  • #13
I get this issue too. When a pitcher of mine catches too many ants or paper wasps, both of which are more acidic than other insects, the base of the pitcher will turn red and then eventually brown, I think sort of as an acid burn. Maybe check to see what it's been eating. Different species of sarrs will attract different insects, which may explain why your minor is the only plant of yours experiencing this problem.
 
  • #14
I get this issue too. When a pitcher of mine catches too many ants or paper wasps, both of which are more acidic than other insects, the base of the pitcher will turn red and then eventually brown, I think sort of as an acid burn. Maybe check to see what it's been eating. Different species of sarrs will attract different insects, which may explain why your minor is the only plant of yours experiencing this problem.

Maybe I will cut open the dead one to see what is primarily in there. I imagine there are a lot of fungus gnats and mosquitoes, but maybe there will be a surprise.
 
  • #15
I also seem to get this more when my pitchers are full of ants. Maybe ants become toxic in large quantities? What are your pitchers full of?

Easy explanation for this phenomenon: As Iwest said, ants are more acidic than other bugs. You also are bound to get a lot more ants and wasps than other bugs since they will definitely go for the sweet nectar produced by the pitchers. Definitely check on what your plant is eating. This happened to my Sarracenia leucophylla "Tarnok" quite often (before it died).
 
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