I recently had the pleasure of recently visiting a private Nepenthes grower – here’s a few shots of this brilliant collection.
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Minor var. okefenokeensis?
I grew the above plant from a seed batch that Brooks Garcia did in either 2008 or 2009. He crossed S. minor var. okefenokeensis with S. ‘Golden Red Jubilee’ and most of the plants look similar to the above photo. Only a couple from the batch look like the photo to the left (photo from 2011, a sibling plant) in where you can see just a tad bit more of the influence of S. ‘Golden Red Jubilee’, yet it’s S. minor that dominates the look. The plant above looks to be mostly minor, which leads me to assume that most of the plants could be selfed. I also have to mention that the pitchers in the photo above formed late-late-late fall. (Yes… some plants are confused from all this moving and I fear it could be another year before things settle back down to a more normal routine.) Form and color have held well since then. I’m really looking forward to seeing it flower and at that time will know better if any of the S. ‘Golden Red Jubilee’ genes made their way into this mix. S. minor flowers are yellow, while S. ‘Golden Red Jubilee’ flowers are a dark red/maroon. I am not sure if the above plant will flower this year, but if not – I hope it will next year. Just another example of the pretty awesome surprises you find when growing plants out from seed. I also like the windows that appear on the side and all the way to the front of the pitcher. It could be a useful characteristic in more breeding projects in the future. Anyway, I’ll photograph and update more of the siblings when a new flush of pitchers come up this year.
Posted in Blog
Tagged awesome, breeding, fun, Golden Red Jubilee, minor, okefenokeensis, radness, Sarracenia, surprises
Hey everybody! I’m BAAA-AAACK! Thawed out and alive. I know, it’s been a while since I’ve posted as I’ve been up in the frozen awesomeness of Alaska. You can view a slideshow of a few shots here, or check out the gallery here. It was my first time travelling without my fam, but their constant calls/photos/facetimin’ kept me warm through it all. Just wanted to say thank you to my wife, Dahlia, for watering and taking care of the plants while I was away. She would send me photos from the garden and keep me updated on all the plants. Thanks baby!
I have a new revelation of what “cold” is… I’ve been accustomed to wearing SPF 50 sunblock and working in 80F temperatures on the regular. I went from that and into consistent -20’s and with lows dipping to -36F. And yes. For me, it was AWESOME. I was doing some night photography in -30F temperatures and the Gatorade in my bag froze solid within minutes.
In the middle of this frozen phenomenal-ness, there’s an oasis of botanical beauty. And guess what?! It was filled with carnivorous plants!! Well, kinda… TOMATOES! According to studies done a few years ago, scientists have found that tomatoes, as well as a few other plants, have the ability to “eat insects.” Before I start posting about our regularly featured carnivores, I wanted to share a few photos from the geothermal powered (yes, geothermal powered!) greenhouses at Chena Hot Springs located in the North Star Borough of Pleasant Valley, Fairbanks, Alaska.
This green oasis was a refreshing change of climate. Dude, this makes me wish I was on some geothermal power back at my place! Special thanks to Vanessa for showing us around the place!
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Killer tomatoes grown on a pulley system! Once the tomatoes reach a certain height, the pulleys lower the vines down so that they can continue to climb, vine, and grow. So fresh.
Tomato cutting/grafting action.
Beware of the killer tomatoes.
Pointsettias grown under LEDs.
Being so remote, they’re using geothermal power here to grow their own food and be self sustaining. Fresh veggies in the winter while everything else outside is frozen. Love it!
Lt. Benton II, Vanessa, and me.
Thanks Vanessa for showing us around the place! And Jameson, nice meeting you too – it’s always great to run into other horticultural minded folks!
Meanwhile, outside – a frigid yet beautiful scene…
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Another thing I might as well share on this post are a few photos from the road trip back to Mark’s place. After leaving Chena and driving for a little bit, I noticed something lighting up the sky along the horizon. Lo and behold it was the Aurora! It was my final evening in Alaska and I am so glad to have been able to witness the amazing phenomenon. Mark quickly veered off the highway; we ended going down a random street and finally ending up in a driveway. Sandy, the owner of the property asked us if we were lost, in which Mark replied “Oh no, just wanting to see the Aurora.” Dude, I was sitting there all freakin’ like a little kid itching to see the lights. Sandy was so awesome and kind enough to let us shoot a few frames from her driveway. They told me this was a rather mild occurrence. (WHAT?!) Sandy also mentioned that if I thought this was cool, then I should see it when it’s intense and blazin’ overhead. Man, I gotta come back for that! Thanks again Sandy for letting us shoot from your driveway!
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Last but not least, I wanted to express my gratitude to 1Lt. Andrew Chung and my bro 1Lt. Mark Benton II for their hospitality and boundless generosity. It was truly a blessing to catch up and experience all I did up there. Mark, dude — thank you for everything bro! Mos’ def’ I will be back!
Me, Mark, and Andrew – on the road in Denali National Park, Alaska.
Posted in Blog
Tagged Alaska, Aurora, awesome, Benton, carnivorous, Chena Hot Springs, Fairbanks, Geothermal, North Star Borough, Sandy, Tomatoes, Travel
Sarracenia ‘Alucard’ – “Prince of Darkness”
Signs of spring are being found throughout the Asylum in an increasing frequency. I’m seeing more and more flower buds starting to emerge and new pitchers forming. It’s a great sign, and yeah, I nerd out when seeing things like this. One of the recent finds was of S. ‘Alucard’ “Prince of Darkness.” This is a select S. ‘Alucard’ clone that was created by Phil Faulisi. In the fray of phyllodia, a new pitcher of darkness rises. The “Prince of Darkness” is awake!
Posted in Blog
Tagged Alucard, awesome, Phil Faulisi, Prince of Darkness, Red Plant, Sarracenia
While most plants are dormant, there are a few that are early risers here. Perhaps it is because a few are still adjusting and out of whack from all of the shuffle last year. Also, the greenhouse I am in now has a couple hot spots. The winner of this year’s first flower goes to a complex hybrid I did a few years ago of Sarracenia moorei – Yellow River, FL x [((purpurea x flava) x flava) x minor]
Sarracenia moorei, Yellow River, FL x [(purpurea x flava) x flava)] x minor
Running not far behind are a few plants, one of which is this anthocyanin free hybrid. Not sure exactly what this one is – perhaps some combo of AF (anthocyanin free) psittacina/rubra cross. I caught this one as the sun was behind the new pitcher. It was really highlighting that glow that I love so much with AF plants. And yeah, there’s still a whole slew of dead pitchers in the background, but I’m making my rounds cleaning up each section as I get to it.
Anthocyanin free hybrid about to bloom. I suspect a psittacina/rubra hybrid.
Seeing the signs of plants breaking dormancy is exciting indeed. Like, I’m freakin’ out inside when I think about all the possibilities this year! SO much to look forward to! Again, most of the plants are dormant and just a pile of elongated crispy leaves. These plants are just a handful that are awake early. This won’t be for long though. In a matter of a few short weeks, there again will be a deluge of growth and color. And yes, it will be awesome.
Posted in Blog
Tagged 2013 will be rad, anthocyanin free, awesome, bloom, first flower, flava, minor, moorei, psittacina, purpurea, rubra, Sarracenia, Yellow River
Greetings!
Wishing you all a wonderful Happy New Year! 2013 is now here and I am so excited and look forward to so many amazing things this year. One of the things I’ve been working on and recently launched today is THE SHOP! Yeah! You’ll find my extra plants from the collection here. (Plant sales in the USA only.) You will find crosses that I’ve done, seed grown plants that I’ve grown from other brilliant growers, or perhaps even plants that are harder to find in cultivation.
At this moment, I am still going through the plants and doing a few divisions. Inventory will be updated as I find the plants for you beautiful growers. I’ll also be working on a few other non-plant items such as fine art photo prints and clothing/accessories. Check back often and keep a watch on Twitter, or Facebook for updates.
This is an ongoing project for me. If you have any questions, concerns, or if you run into any technical hiccups (yeah, this is all new for me too), please feel free to contact me.
Thank you all for your continued support! Here’s to a beautiful and wonderful 2013 for us all. Let’s grow. Cheers!
Posted in Blog
Tagged 2013, awesome, Buy Carnivorous Plants, Carnivorous plants, January 1, Launch, Main Menu, new year, Sarracenia, Where to Buy
This past Labor Day, 3 Sept 2012, I had the honor of having my Lolo and Lola (Tagalog for Grandfather and Grandmother) over to the greenhouse. I also had my younger sister and brother over for the first time here. They were lovin’ it! My Lolo and Lola are the reason why I started gardening, and have a deep love for all things botany related in the first place.
They are my inspiration and my strength. Growing up, I always hung out with them in the garden. I was always learning and absorbing as much wisdom as I could while playing in the dirt (and creating weird carnivorous plants out of non carnivores). Heck, my Lolo used to give me ricebowl haircuts in the garden; later on I became his personal barber and would fade him up in the garden. When the moved happened, it was a deep unsettling uprooting both for our family and for the garden. Literally. That garden was a place where we’d all spend a lot of time together. The garden was and still is a living repository of our stories and our memories. And it’s already been moved. Twice. My Grandparents have not seen the plants since. The other location was too crusty and dangerous (being that it was in a quasi-construction zone) and besides, the conditions there were not very good there anyway. But things for the plants are much better now and I can only look forward with resplendent wonder and solemn reverence.
What’s cool is that my Lolo brang over a rooted cutting of Cestrum nocturnum. It’s also known as night blooming jasmine, (or what I learned as “Dama de Noche” growing up) that he took cuttings of from the large plant we had going off at the old garden. I’m glad to have a piece back with me. The scent of that plant brings back memories of the warm summer nights from the old house.
I am truly thankful and so blessed to have my Lolo and Lola in my life. They’re still strong, and quick witted. (Dude, my Lolo still goes jogging at the young age of 90. FRRRRAAHKING 90!!!) I look forward to having them over more often now that things are getting cleaned up and settling down over here. I want them to witness the growth with me. My Lolo is very excited for me, and my Lola said “I remember these plants, I used to spend time with them and talk to them…” Dude, seeing their faces light up with those smiles after seeing the plants — that’s priceless.
Thankful for family.
