Pearly Everlasting vs Purple Pitcher Plant - TreeTime.ca

Pearly Everlasting vs Purple Pitcher Plant

Anaphalis margaritacea

Sarracenia purpurea

CUSTOM GROW

CUSTOM GROW

Pearly Everlasting
Purple Pitcher Plant

Pearly Everlasting is a native perennial wildflower known for its clusters of white, papery flowers with yellow centres. These long-lasting blooms appear throughout summer, and the silver-grey foliage adds contrast to the landscape. Its nectar supports a variety of pollinators and serves as a host plant for painted lady caterpillars.

Pearly Everlasting is also used in dried flower arrangements. It is well-suited for pollinator gardens, naturalization, ecological restoration, and low-maintenance landscapes.

Purple Pitcher Plant is a native carnivorous plant, easily recognized by its purple-tinged, tubular pitchers that capture and digest insects. The nectar along the rim attracts insects to the pitcher, where slippery surfaces and downward-pointing hairs cause them to fall into the fluid below. Once inside, they are broken down, providing nutrients that allow the plant to thrive in nutrient-poor soils.
The plant produces nodding, purple-red flowers held high above the leaves. Interestingly, these blooms are pollinated by the Pitcher Plant Fly (Fletcherimyia fletcheri), whose larvae live in the fluid of the pitchers and feed on some of the trapped insects. It can be found in bogs, fens, and other wetlands. It is well-suited for wetland gardens, restoration, and naturalisation projects.
The Purple Pitcher Plant can be challenging to grow because of its specific requirements. It thrives in consistently moist (but not waterlogged), acidic soil, with a peat-and-sand mix typically recommended. The plant is sensitive to fertilizers, dissolved salts, and chlorinated water. When given the right conditions, full sun will bring out its brightest colors.
The Purple Pitcher Plant is the provincial flower of Newfoundland & Labrador.

Pearly Everlasting Quick Facts

Purple Pitcher Plant Quick Facts

Zone: 2a
Zone: 2b
Height: 0.6 m (2.0 ft)
Height: 0.3 m (1.0 ft)
Spread: 0.5 m (1.5 ft)
Spread: 0.5 m (1.5 ft)
Light: partial shade, full sun
Light: partial shade, full sun
Moisture: dry, normal
Moisture: wet
Growth rate: fast
Growth rate: medium
Life span: short
Life span: medium
Growth form: upright, clump-forming
Growth form: decumbent to upright, colony-forming
Spreading: rhizomes - medium
Spreading: rhizomes - medium


Foliage: wooly hairs
Foliage: red to purple, tubular pitchers with hooded tops
Flowers: white, papery, with yellow centers
Flowers: large nodding red flowers
Bloom time: summer
Bloom time: summer
Hybrid: no
Hybrid: no
Catkins: no
Catkins: no


Native to: AB, BC, SK, MB, ON, QC, NS, NB, NL, YT, NT, PE
Native to: AB, BC, SK, MB, ON, QC, NS, NB, NL, NT, NU, PE
Other Names: western pearly everlasting
Other Names: huntsmans cup, northern pitcher plant