Tag Archives: Carnivorous Plant

One. [Lost and … found?]

one

Photo: [Sarracenia courtii AF x leucophylla AF]

Hey everyone, hope you’re having a good week so far!

Yesterday I harvested a seed pod in where I thought there would be no seed at all. Turns out there was only ONE seed. The pod parent was a recent acquisition this year – another clone of an anthocyanin free courtii. Being that it was a recent division and I let it flower this year, it was too stressed to actually properly set seed. The pollen I used was already a few months old as well. It was worth the shot anyway to cross the two plants. I decided it would be a worthwhile photograph to capture the ONE seed in the entire pod.

How much more value I place on that one seed, and the high hopes I have for it. Undoubtedly I will cross the two plants again next year if the opportunity arises. For now, this is what I have to work with for this cross. Just one.  There is a high percentage that it could also of been selfed, which would still yield an anthocyanin free plant, but anyway — I am hopeful. I want that leuco represented in this cross.

So – whats up with the “lost and found” that I referenced in the title??

After I photographed this pod on one desk I moved it back to another desk to prepare to take the seed. When I arrived at the other desk, >DOH!!!< the seed was GONE! I frantically began to scour the floor in between the two desks with a flashlight knowing full well it would be close to impossible to locate the one seed.  I then managed to find a seed under my keyboard.  Is the seed I found the seed? I won’t know until a few months from now. That’s another project to pursue that I am sure you will be reading about in the future.

I wouldn’t have a problem say if 2 or 3 seeds formed of this cross this year, but ONE?  Egads!  Oh well, there’s always next year…

Go Green!

In today’s world, we hear a lot about being green. Think green. Be green. Green. Anthocyanin Free that is. (Anthocyanin is that pigment that makes things… well, er… not green… ) I’m partial to Sarracenia that are free and lacking in anthocyanin.   So in light of this, I wanted to share with you a few photos of only some my green plants.   These few photos all from this year. Enjoy 🙂

Sarracenia leucophylla flower, opening
Sarracenia

Sarracenia psittacina

Sarracenia

Sarracenia courtii

Sarracenia

Sarracenia leucophylla x rubra ssp. jonesii

Sarracenia

Sarracenia purpurea ssp. venosa v. burkii f. luteola

Sarracenia

Sarracenia purpurea ssp. venosa

Sarracenia

Sarracenia rubra ssp. jonesii

Sarracenia

Sarracenia “Green Monster”

Sarracenia

Sarracenia (purpurea ssp. purpurea x rubra ssp. jonesii) x (leucophylla x rubra ssp. gulfensis)
One of my own select seedlings from a cross I did in 2008
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Sarracenia

In the foreground – Sarracenia… something! Another one of my own anthocyanin free crosses, a few months old. The cross is secret, for now. Keep checking in and I will update you on the progress and reveal the identity in due time.
🙂
Sarracenia

…And another Sarracenia courtii, going green, going vegan. GOING VEGAN!!!

Sarracenia

myPod.


Sarracenia Seed Pod

Originally uploaded by RCO911

The pod.

I took this photo of a Sarracenia seed pod last year (2009) and thought it would be fitting to share during this “beginning” of this blog. Contained in the pod are the little seeds of the beautiful tubular death leaves. Encapsulated in each seed is beauty. The Sarracenia’s beauty for me lies in both it’s aesthetic form and deadly function.

The pod is a milestone in hybridizing that I strive for. For me, this is where the perception and interpretations are made manifest. This is where the hypothesis begins to solidify.  In the pod are the seeds of vision that will be tried in period of cold stratification and then brought to life later in warmth and light.

The Pitcher Plant Project

Hello everyone! Simply summed up: I’m Sarracenia addicted so I decided to put up this blog about the plants I grow to give everyone a little window into this corner of my world. I love to garden, I love to grow things – but the plants that I obsess over are the Sarracenia. I am captivated and intrigued by these cylindrical savages – and most of all, I love to create hybrids from the plants that I have.  I’m pretty new to this art, but OH what a wonderful addiction this is.

I guess that’s why I call it “the project” since in my mind there are so many ideas and images of Sarracenia that have yet to be made manifest. I am always striving, imagining, and working on some sort of project with these plants. It will be a few years before I see some of the ideas I have become tangible, but I hope this blog would help document this journey.

I’ve met and connected with so many wonderful individuals in the few years that I’ve been growing that have been teaching and inspiring me in this Sarracenia/carnivorous journey, and I am forever thankful to them. (You know who you are). This blog would not be here if it wasn’t for your guidance, your care, your friendship and your love.  So, thank you!

And to the other other readers out there that may just be happening to stumble upon this humble blog, Welcome! I hope this blog will inspire you to get out there and plant something 😉