Category Archives: Blog

Sarracenia alata “Veinless”

Posted on October 2, 2012 | 6 comments

If you’ve been following my blog, following me on twitter, or even had a 2 minute conversation with me about Sarracenia, you already know that my obsession is anthocyanin free plants. (Those are plants that lack anthocyanin, or the pigments that give the plants the colors that range from red to blue.) I know, I know… I am strange.

I must confess that I think I’m starting to have a little crush on veinless plants too. They’re hawt. (GASP!) Now, those are not anthocyanin free as there’s still some red/pink tones in the leaves. “Erm…OH GAWD ROB, THAT’S SO BLAND AND BORING!“, you may say. Well, yeah. Duh. It’s different. And I like it! I find that vienless plants have this delicate and elegant element about them. Perhaps it’s the hues of the pink and yellows that leads me to think this. It gives the plant this quiet glow. Such a nice contrast to all the face-melting loud coloration and patterns of many a fine specimen out there. (Hey, there’s nothing wrong with those either, love those too!)

Here’s a few photos of S. alata “veinless.” I know that there’s some faint veins in the photos below, but as it ages, I think that those fade out anyway. I received the plant this year. Along with the rest of the plants, it has had a rough spring/summer and now recovering quite nicely. It’s making a good comeback and looking forward to more veinless goodness next season.

Sarracenia alata - veinless Sarracenia alata “veinless”

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Tagged alata, carnivorous, North American Pitcher Plant, Pitcher Plant, Plant, rad, Sarracenia, veinless

Darlingtonia Baby Separation

Posted on October 1, 2012 | 9 comments

Little seedlings don’t stay little for so long. The ravenous things grow and eventually outgrow their grow area. I received a few baby seedlings from Mike Wang in 2011 and I potted quite a few up in a tub. They’ve done really well over here and I’ve been busy separating them into their own pots! Aw yeeeaah! A few of the seedlings really took off as you can see below. There were a also few stragglers caught under the big dudes, and I’ve set them aside to give them more room to grow.

A few folks asked me about my potting mix with these guys. I just peat and a course grade of horticultural sand. The new mix though is peat/perlite and little bit of sand. The plants don’t seem too picky and do well with various combinations of peat/perlite/sand.

Awww… they look so… innocent right now. Aren’t they freakin’ cute?

Darlingtonia california babies
The baby Cobra nursery, plants ready for separation.

Darlingtonia california babies
Handful of baby Darlingtonia.

Darlingtonia california babies
Young Darlingtonia can look so interesting!

Darlingtonia california babies
Ready for expansion – potted up in their own individual pots!

Darlingtonia california babies Some of the smaller seedlings were planted in the bin once again, spread apart to ensure they receive plenty of light and air!

9 Comments

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Tagged Baby, Carnivorous Plant, Cobra plant, darlingtonia, Mike Wang, Mountain Clones, seedlings

Harvest

Posted on September 30, 2012 | 4 comments

Autumn is a beautiful time of reflection and of hope. As the suns path begins to dip on the horizon, shadows lengthen, and a familiar chill begins to fill the air. Plants that pitcher in the fall, such as Sarracenia leucophylla and their hybrids, will put up one last hurrah flooding the garden in a grand chorus. Many others begin to go dormant to get their well deserved rest. It has been a long year indeed. It has been a long year filled with many memories and lessons. I for one look forward to the loud silence that winter’s rest will bring to the plants. That is when I will be doing much of the cleaning and dividing. As things begin to wind down, seed pods begin to ripen offering a steadfast reminder of hope for the subsequent seasons. The great culmination of ideas, dreams, riddles, and answers become encapsulated within these little gray-brown chambers. In the coming weeks, I’ll be harvesting more pods. I am already dreaming of unlocking the living resplendent ardor that lies within the shells of these tiny and silent enigmas.

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Tagged 2012, harvest, Sarracenia, seed

Floppy

Posted on September 28, 2012 | 7 comments

More fun stuff I’m finding as I’m wading through the seemingly endless mass of garbled pitchers. Here’s a pot of different clones of a cross I did of S. “Starry Night” x ‘Hummer’s Hammer Head‘. As you can tell in the pot, lots of variation going on there. In fact, check out the previous posts on this cross here and here. Fun stuff! (I just gotta find the other siblings… I am not joking when I say pots are all over the place still!) The thing that kind of caught my attention was this large freakin’ floppy hooded beast thing on skinny popsicle stick pitcher tubes. WTF. It’s kind of a freak. But that’s ok. Freaks are good. Happy Friday!

Sarracenia "Starry Night" x 'Hummers Hammerhead'
Sarracenia “Starry Night” x ‘Hummer’s Hammer Head’

Sarracenia "Starry Night" x 'Hummers Hammerhead' Sarracenia “Starry Night” x ‘Hummer’s Hammer Head’

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Tagged breeding, Freak, Hummers Hammer Head, hybrid, North American Pitcher Plant, Pitcher Plant, Sarracenia, Starry Night

Sarracenia flava “Powhatan”

Posted on September 27, 2012 | 5 comments

Sarracenia flava "Powhatan"
Sarracenia flava “Powhatan”

Sarracenia flava "Powhatan" Sarracenia flava “Powhatan”

Recently acquired early this year, S. flava “Powhatan” is finally showing some promising form and color. It’s not as solid deep red as I would like – at least not just yet; given it’s current state and all it has been through, that is understandable. Along with the other plants, it has suffered quite a bit for most of this year due to the low light levels it had to endure. It’s very promising seeing this plant finally showing some color at this point and put out a healthy pitcher. I also attempted to seed it with pollen from S. ‘Adrian Slack’ but that proved to be unwise the first year. No seeds, and flowering probably ended up draining the plant of energy that it needed. Oh well, you know the mantra: “There’s always next year.” Still, it’s rather nice Sarracenia to have around. My fingers are crossed for a brilliant seasons ahead with this clone.

About S. flava “Powhatan” from Meadowview Biological Research Station:
This bold, solid clone reflects the power and pride of chief Powhatan. The flower is yellow, typical of normal yellow pitcher plant. The red color of the foliage is best developed under intense, sunny conditions. Powhatan was the ruler of the Algonquin tribe that occupied central Virginia when the colonists arrived in 1607.

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Tagged Biological, Carnivorous Plant, flava, Meadowview, North American, Pitcher Plant, Powhatan, Research, Sarracenia, Station

Update: Beauty from Complexity

Posted on September 26, 2012 | 2 comments

Sarracenia (leucophylla x oreophila) x [(leucophylla “red” x minor var. okefenokeensis) x ‘Royal Ruby’]
Cross by Dr. Travis H. Wyman

Earlier this month, I wrote about this intriguing and complex creature that was a result of Dr. Travis H. Wymans breeding handiwork. Dr. Wyman did this cross back on 2008. Phil Faulisi did the pollen parent cross of S. (leucophylla “red” x minor var. okefenokeensis) x ‘Royal Ruby’. As a note for clarity, the leucophylla “red” that was used here is *not* S. ‘Dana’s Delight’ or S. ‘Diana’s Delight’ as some may have noted. It is a red form leucophylla that Phil created and has used in his own lines of Sarracenia breeding. I can’t help but to share another photo… I’m utterly mesmerized by this beauty. Man, that nectar roll is hawt.

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Tagged Carnivorous Plant, Faulisi, leucophylla, leucophylla "red", minor, minor giant, okefenokeensis, oreophila, Phil, Royal Ruby, Sarracenia, Travis, Wyman

Fire and Brimstone

Posted on September 25, 2012 | 4 comments

Sarracenia 'Golden Red Jubilee' x purpurea ssp. purpurea While cleaning out the and organizing plants the other day, I stumbled upon a pot of Sarracenia ‘Golden-Red Jubilee‘ x purpurea ssp. purpurea. Always nice to find surprises like this! I did this cross back (I think) in 2009. Possibly 2008. Eh, gotta check. From what I recall, many of the seedlings were deeply and richly colored. (Example: see 5th photo in this post from June of last year.) Even some of the green ones exhibited a nice “chunky” veiny trait to them. In the photo to the left, you can see the older foliage just limp and blah all over the pot looking messy, however there are 3 recent pitchers that really stood out that stem from 2 of the seedlings in the batch. One plant decided to don a mischievous yet fiery pink. The other is cloaked in a sulfur and brimstone yellow backdrop for the web of dark veins. Seeing this color combination together made me think of fire and brimstone. Both young siblings, though different in color, display a similar and elegantly sinister facade.