Flowering sarracenia

[Roachant]

Hi everyone!
My sarracenia purp. Is flowering en mass, 6 flowers. I have had this particular plant for over 5 years and it was an adult when I got it so, it's an older plant. It has been doing very well over the years and has grown so big I had to put it into a 24 inch pot last year. I was wondering if I should try to get some seeds from it or just cut the flowers off.
I keep it outside in summer and I gets an enormous amount of insects during its growing period, hundreds of insects each summer are caught so i think it's gets a lot of nutrients. I just don't want it to get weak or God forbid, die on me as I have grown very attached to this plant.
Any suggestions?
Oh, and the pitchers it puts out are massive! It made some 8 inch long pitchers last year, the biggest I've seen for a S.purp.
Thanks!
Don

 

[yuusui]

Go for the seeds!

 

[nimbulan]

Why would it get weak and die? It's a common misconception that flowering weakens carnivorous plants, though it can slow their growth down a little. Flowering is only dangerous for plants that are already weak from pests, disease, or poor care.

 

[dr_donut]

Since your plant seems like it's pretty healthy, I wouldn't worry about it weakening and then dying if you pollinate it.

 

[Roachant]

Should I pollinate it or should I let the insects try to do? I can see some pollen has fallen already.

 

[nimbulan]

I'd do it yourself to be sure. The insects where I live don't seem to care about Sarracenia flowers so I won't get any seeds unless I intervene.

 

[DJ57]

Unlike most sarracenia varieties my S. purpurea either self-pollinate or get pollinated by bumble bees every year, I don't have to intervene at all. S. rubra jonesii also readily self-pollinate for me. If you want to hand-pollinate between your purpurea flowers (will get better seed set if you do), here is a video on how to do it How to Pollinate Sarracenia Flowers - YouTube

Because of the way sarracenia flowers are constructed I have only seen bumble bees be able to get into them, other flying insects such as honey bees and flies are not strong enough.