Purple Pitcher Plant vs Yellow Mountain Avens - TreeTime.ca

Purple Pitcher Plant vs Yellow Mountain Avens

Sarracenia purpurea

Dryas drummondii

CUSTOM GROW

CUSTOM GROW

Purple Pitcher Plant
Yellow Mountain Avens

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.

Yellow Mountain Avens is a native perennial wildflower with bright yellow buttercup-like blooms. The nectar-rich flowers attract a variety of pollinators, including bees and butterflies. By thriving at higher elevations, it helps sustain pollinator populations and provides one of the earliest sources of nectar and pollen in alpine habitats.

As a nitrogen-fixing plant, Yellow Mountain Avens enriches soil fertility and supports the growth of surrounding vegetation. It forms dense, spreading mats of evergreen foliage that act as a groundcover and help stabilize soil. Often among the first species to establish in disturbed alpine sites such as glacial outwash or landslides, it is well-suited for alpine revegetation, erosion control, naturalization, and ecological restoration projects in harsh, rocky environments.

Purple Pitcher Plant Quick Facts

Yellow Mountain Avens Quick Facts

Zone: 2b
Zone: 1b
Height: 0.3 m (1.0 ft)
Height: 0.2 m (0.5 ft)
Spread: 0.5 m (1.5 ft)
Spread: 0.3 m (1.0 ft)
Light: partial shade, full sun
Light: full sun
Moisture: wet
Moisture: dry, normal
Growth rate: medium
Growth rate: medium
Life span: medium
Life span: short
Growth form: decumbent to upright, colony-forming
Growth form: mat-forming, creeping
Spreading: rhizomes - medium
Spreading: stolons - medium, seeds - low


Foliage: red to purple, tubular pitchers with hooded tops
Foliage: evergreen, leathery
Flowers: large nodding red flowers
Flowers: yellow, buttercup-like, nodding
Bloom time: summer
Bloom time: spring to summer
Hybrid: no
Hybrid: no
Catkins: no
Catkins: no


Native to: AB, BC, SK, MB, ON, QC, NS, NB, NL, NT, NU, PE
Native to: AB, BC, SK, ON, QC, NB, NL, YT, NT
Other Names: huntsmans cup, northern pitcher plant
Other Names: drummonds dryad, drummonds mountain avens, yellow dryad