Category Archives: Blog

Leucophylla Baby

I was sick yesterday and today and this afternoon I finally managed to gather enough strength to go out and replenish my soul by spending time with the plants. One of the seedlings that caught my eye today was this S. leucophylla seedling. This was a seed grown plant that I recevied as seed on October 23, 2008.  Nearly two years later, this is what it looks like.  The cross was done by my friend Wes Buckner and is the result of crossing two very nice leucophylla parents from the same location (Franklin County, Florida, the parent plants were denoted by “A” and “B”.) Thanks Wes!

 

S. leucophylla, Franklin A x leucophylla, Franklin B[Sarracenia leucophylla, Franklin County “A”, x leucophylla, Franklin County “B”]

Rain…

Quick post for this lazy rainy Sunday afternoon. In everyone’s life, a little rain must fall.  Plants are enjoyin’ it though… and so am I.  It means I don’t have to water anything out there today. 🙂

rain

Fear The Beard

*San Francisco Giants Win the National League Pennant!!! YEAH!*

Congratulations to the SF Giants! Tonight’s game between the San Francisco Giants and Philadelphia Phillies was just *insane.*  Typical Giant’s torture.  Quite a riveting game to say the least.  That last inning – could it of been any more intense?!

Wilson & beard do it again for the save!  One thing about Brian Wilson’s beard — it’s inspirational.  The “Fear The Beard” movement has now spread and even inspired my*pitchers.* 🙂 For those of you unfamiliar with the SF Giants pitcher, Brian Wilson, here’s link about the man, the myth, and the beard.

Now behold … my bearded pitcher!!!

Fear The Beard

Sarracenia mitchelliana x excellens

S. mitchelliana x excellens[Sarracenia mitchelliana x excellens]

A very rad hybrid here that was from my good friend, CP Mama Lois Ochs of Raccoon Ridge Nursery.  In the spring it puts up somewhat regular colored greenish pitchers, but in the fall, that is when the leucophylla influence really shines imparting some stunning coloration as exhibited in the photo.  The exact parentage is uncertain, other than it was a cross between a mitchelliana (in other words, a purpurea ssp? / leucophylla hybrid) and excellens (or minor/leucophylla hybrid). Thanks Mama Lo!

Species

Back to basics, shall we?

Sarracenia species.  Below you’ll find the cornerstones of what the hybrids are built upon.  I’ve recently been even more appreciative of the species; probably due to the hybrid madness that’s going on with me right now. I love the complexities, the various breeding combinations, and the whole roll-of-the-dice that you get when breeding plants.  You never know what you’ll get! Patience required, but hybridizing is very awesome indeed.

That said, I’ve been only breeding/hybridizing for the past 2-3 years.  I’m just starting and am only just starting to see some of my work come to fruition.  All of this crossing, combining, creative madness has gotten me to really appreciate the species so much, and to realize the importance of preserving them.

Below are a few photos of the species and a listing of their subspecies/variations.  Keep in mind, that even within species, there is much diversity in color, shape, and size.  The photos below are for illustrative purposes to give you a very general feel/sense of what each of these species is all about.  Taxonomy for the plants are debated in some cases (depending on who you talk or argue with) — but for now, I’ll try to keep it simple… 🙂


[Sarracenia alata: Pale Pitcher Plant]

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[Sarracenia flava : Yellow pitcher plant]

– Sarracenia flava var. atropurpurea

– Sarracenia flava var. cuprea

-Sarracenia flava var. maxima

– Sarracenia flava var. ornata

-Sarracenia flava var. rubricorpora

-Sarracenia flava var. rugelii

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[Sarracenia leucophylla: White pitcher plant]

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[Sarracenia minor : Hooded pitcher plant
]

-Sarracenia minor var. okefenokeensis

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[Sarracenia oreophila : Green pitcher plant]

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[Sarracenia psittacina : Parrot pitcher plant]

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[Sarracenia purpurea : Purple pitcher plant]

-Sarracenia purpurea subsp. purpurea

-Sarracenia purpurea subsp. purpurea f. heterophylla

-Sarracenia purpurea subsp. venosa : Southern pitcher plant

-Sarracenia purpurea subsp. venosa var. burkii

-Sarracenia purpurea subsp. venosa var. burkii f. luteola

-Sarracenia purpurea subsp. venosa var. montana

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[Sarracenia rubra : Sweet pitcher plant]

-Sarracenia rubra subsp. alabamensis : Alabama pitcher plant

-Sarracenia rubra subsp. gulfensis : Gulf coast pitcher plant

-Sarracenia rubra subsp. jonesii

-Sarracenia rubra subsp. wherryi : Red pitcher plant

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Livin' on the Edge


[Sarracenia ‘Alucard’ and future meal, livin’ on the edge…]

I don’t really got to say much here, but man… that fly really is livin’ on the edge (not for long though…)

Back to the 80's!

>Cue Axel F<

Maaaarrrtty!! So I jumped into my Delorean and went back to 1986. What an awesome year. Seriously. I mean, Top Gun, Crocodile Dundee, Ferris Bueller’s Day off! And who can forget…  Death Trap!

“Death Trap” you say?

Dude, yeah! Remember!? Nature?! Season 4, Episode 14! March 23, 1986!?!
NINTEEN FREEKIN EIGHTY SIX!!!
What?! You don’t remember?!

Ahh well, let me dust off the *VHS TAPE*… Heh!

So I found this tape while doing some home office cleaning. It was given to me by a friend of mine who found it at a garage sale for like… a dollar or something and gave it to me as a present since they knew I grew carnivores.  I managed to find this totally rad VHS. Can’t wait to watch this again! Movie night, my house?! Just remember to bring the parachute pants, leg warmers, mullets, and the crimped hair waves. … SYKE!!! 🙂

Death Trap