Sun pitcher plants (Heliamphora)

Rare mountain pitchers for a bright, humid grow space — they like cool nights and need no winter dormancy.

Difficulty AdvancedLight Intense lightDormancy NoneCatches Ants and small insects
From the mountaintops

How they survive up to 4 metres of rain a year

Heliamphora grow on the tepuis of Venezuela, Guyana and Brazil, sheer tabletop mountains rising out of the rainforest. Mount Roraima, one of them, inspired Arthur Conan Doyle's The Lost World. Up there it rains 2 to 4 metres a year, enough to flood an ordinary pitcher and wash its catch straight back out. Heliamphora evolved a clever fix for these extreme conditions. A small slit in each pitcher drains off the excess, holding the water at just the right level so trapped insects stay put. Even the common name is a mistake. Heliamphora comes from the Greek helos, meaning marsh, and amphora, meaning jar. Early on it was misread as helios, the sun, and "sun pitcher" has stuck ever since.

Read the Heliamphora care guide →
Island in the sky: Mount Roraima, one of the tabletop mountains Heliamphora call home.
Island in the skyMount Roraima, one of the tabletop mountains Heliamphora call home.
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Growing Sun pitcher plants (Heliamphora)

Read the full care guide →

Light

Strong, intense light: a powerful grow light run 14 to 15 hours a day, with natural sun as a bonus. They're less forgiving of low light than most carnivorous plants.

Water

Rainwater, distilled or RO water only. Water from the top and let it drain freely rather than standing in deep water. Heliamphora are the most sensitive plant we sell to mineral buildup.

Dormancy

None needed. Heliamphora want steady, cool, humid conditions all year rather than a winter rest.