Q/A #63 - What's Happening to the New Growth on My Sarracenia?

QUESTION:
Can you PLEASE help me with my Sarracenia? I live near Jacksonville, Florida, and I grow all of my plants outside in full sun. I attached a few photos. All the pitchers shown are new growth from this year. Can you tell me what you think is happening? I hope to buy the imidacloprid spray you suggested on your video do you think it will help with these problems?
(Submitted in April 2019.)

RESPONSE BY JEFF DALLAS:
The only photo that looks like a bug problem is the second photo with the curled leaves. Looks like thrip damage, so you should definitely treat that plant. Imidacloprid had been pulled from the market due to safety concerns with bees. What I recommend is a Neem product. Many garden centers carry this or other brands. Spray according to label directions. You might need to apply regularly on your plants as a preventative. Also just cut off those deformed pitchers. They are of no use to the plant, at least for capturing insects.

The others plants in the other photos are just from aging pitchers, or them catching bugs that can chew their way out. These things are normal. Your growing season is also much longer than ours, so you will see this sort of aging much sooner than we would. (We're just starting to see new growth on our Sarracenia!) But it also looks like some of the pitchers are from last season. When the top turns brown, you can cut off the pitcher near the base. There's no harm in doing that. 

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