>I seem to be having the same problem. Most of my new pitchers that have
>come up on my rubra also look warped. They don't grow straight and the
>pitchers don't open all the way. Very ugly. Any one out there with a hint
>of what I am doing wrong? Mine sits in a deep dish of water (2") so I know
>it's not for a lack of water.
I have seen Sarracenia purpurea pitchers with the same symptoms in bogs
especially in the late summer and early fall. It seems like the pitchers
abort shortly after they begin to open. They don't appear to have any
insect infestations. At one time I did have a few of these plants growing
in the laboratory and occasionally had similar problems. I wonder if it
could be a fungal infection that penetrates the conductive tissues of the
pitchers or the rhizomes and prevents water flow? A spray-on fungicide
probably won't work for this. Some sort of systemic antifungal treatment
might be worth a try, although they can be pretty toxic to work with.
Liane
Liane Cochran-Stafira
Dept. of Ecology and Evolution
The University of Chicago
1101 East 57th Street
Chicago, Illinois 60637-5415
phone: 312-702-1930
e-mail: lcochran@midway.uchicago.edu