Sarracenia have such a wide range of form and hues. One particular set of Sarracenia I am very drawn to are the AF (anthocyanin free) types. Anthocyanin (that red pigment) is absent in these plants. They may not be as flashy as some of their more colorful counterparts, but they do have a certain aura about them. Without the competing hues, I start to pay attention to other nuances of the plant. Things like the form and structure start to stand out to me more. Plus, AF plants just glow!

A couple of years ago, I had potted up a bowl (barrel liner) with mostly AF Sarracenia. I threw in the upright types in the center. Those are plants such as the AF versions of S. moorei, S. leucophylla, S. flava. Then outside of that, I moved on with the more stocky types like S. mitchelliana and S. catesbaei to name a few. On the outskirts are the decumbent types: S. purpurea, S. psittacina, and S. courtii. For a splash of contrast, I added a couple plants that are rich in anthocyanin like S. ‘Royal Ruby’, S. “Chaos”, S. ‘Saurus’ as well as a couple of S. purpurea. The dichotomy of hues is quite intriguing. I like it! The photo above was taken in June and by the time autumn rolled around, those others turned a deep crimson. To finish it off, I threw in some live sphagnum as a top dressing. So far, it has filled in pretty nicely and I’m loving how this bowl has come together.