Question
My American pitcher plant (Sarracenia flava ) is going dormant but only parts of it are dead.  What should I do to help it go dormant?  Currently, I have it inside my home in an area where it is receiving light.  My house is roughly 68 degrees Fareinheit.  Some of the pitchers are turning black/brown.

Answer
Hi Caleb,

Just cut off anything that is turning brown.  The plant should be making phyllodia right now.  These are the flat non-carnivorous leaves.  The bigger pitchers turning brown are the indicator that the plant is going dormant.  For now, just keep it in your window where it gets natural daylight hours.  Keep the soil moist, but not waterlogged during the winter.  Be sure to keep it right up in the window so it will be cool.  Ideally the plant should be in the 30's and 40's for the winter.

Next spring you'll want to move your plant outside.  You won't be able to give it enough sun indoors.  Here's a link to our caresheet pages:  http://www.cobraplant.com/caresheets/sarracenia

Since it sounds like you're new to growing carnivorous plants you might consider our DVD series.  They will help you to avoid the pitfalls so common to new growers including the vast quantity of misinformation floating around the Internet.  They can save you lots of money in lost plants.  http://www.cobraplant.com/DVD

Good Growing!

Jeff Dallas
Sarracenia Northwest
http://www.cobraplant.com