Purple Pitcher Plant vs Water Arum - TreeTime.ca

Purple Pitcher Plant vs Water Arum

Sarracenia purpurea

Calla palustris

CUSTOM GROW

CUSTOM GROW

Purple Pitcher Plant
Water Arum

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.

Water Arum is a native perennial wetland plant known for its showy white oval sheaths (spathe) that surround a yellow-green, cylindrical flower spike (spadix). It has large, oblong, heart-shaped leaves on stems that rise above the water from shallow, spreading rhizomes. The blossoms are followed in late summer by tiny, pear-shaped fruits that ripen to bright red, adding ornamental interest to wet habitats.

Water Arum provides food for birds and small mammals that eat its berries, and its flowers attract pollinators. It can tolerate cold climates and forms colonies in shallow water and saturated soils. It is well-suited for ecological restoration, riparian planting, naturalisation, and habitat projects in wet and shaded environments.

Purple Pitcher Plant Quick Facts

Water Arum Quick Facts

Zone: 2b
Zone: 1b
Height: 0.3 m (1.0 ft)
Height: 0.2 m (0.8 ft)
Spread: 0.5 m (1.5 ft)
Spread: 0.2 m (0.8 ft)
Light: partial shade, full sun
Light: shade, partial shade
Moisture: wet
Moisture: wet
Growth rate: medium
Growth rate: medium
Life span: medium
Life span: short
Growth form: decumbent to upright, colony-forming
Growth form: colony-forming
Spreading: rhizomes - medium
Spreading: rhizomes - medium, seeds - low


Toxicity: toxic if ingested
Foliage: red to purple, tubular pitchers with hooded tops
Flowers: large nodding red flowers
Flowers: white sheath around and yellow spike
Bloom time: summer
Bloom time: spring to summer
Berries: red, in clusters
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, MB, ON, QC, NS, NB, NL, YT, NT, PE
Other Names: huntsmans cup, northern pitcher plant
Other Names: bog arum, swamp lily, wild calla, wild dragon