Gray Spots on Sarracenia alata: Likely Leaf Miner Damage

S. Alata

My Alata has these weird spots on them, grayish in appearance. It's on some of its pitchers and all the pitchers are freshly opened, not even a month old. I have had this S. Alata for 3 years and it's never had this problem. And for now it's only on my S. Alata. Also the day before I noticed it but it wasn't as bad. Now I check up on it this morning and it spread even more on the effected leaves!

Answer

Hi Jesus,

It looks like a leaf miner or other insect pest is causing this. If the gray patches look translucent, that's what it is. It's caused by a little insect larvae eating inside the leaf tissue. It may not be anything to worry about, but if it gets worse you may want to spray the plant with a systemic insecticide. Also, make sure there's no leaf litter around the plant. That's where the insects that do this lay their eggs. Here's a link to our podcast on safe insecticides for CP: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lbRCdJ8ZNF0

Good Growing!

Jeff Dallas
Sarracenia Northwest
https://www.growcarnivorousplants.com