Tag Archives: Cephalotus

White Cephalotus Pitcher?!

One of my cephalotus has been behaving a little… well, different. I guess it just felt like putting out this really bright white pitcher! I did some Google-ing and apparently it does happen every now and then. I don’t really know what causes it. The pitcher doesn’t appear to be dying as it’s not looking withered or anything. It’s been inflating and is now starting to open up. My guess is that it may get some more color on it later on – as in maybe a redish peristome? I’ll just keep a watch over it and hope it doesn’t die on me!

White CephalotusThe pitcher on the left was recently produced – and it is a division from the plant on the right. The plant on the left has a ghostly pale pitcher that just came outta nowhere! Both have been growing in my grow tank for the past few months, and both get the same amount of light. The one on the left has non-carnivorous leaves that are green, as well as some green little pitchers too. Then that thing just happened. Hmmpff… Go home Cephalotus, you are drunk!

White Cephalotus
Cephalotus follicularis – white pitcher

White CephalotusCephalotus follicularis – white pitcher

Snapshots from The Tank and The Greenhouse-in-Greenhouse

While most of the plants currently in their winter slumber, I’m keeping myself occupied by growing a few other plants. At my place, I keep a 50 gallon tank filled with a few Nepenthes, Cephalotus, Heliamphora, and a few other things. In The Asylum, I have a smaller greenhouse that I partially bubble wrapped for insulation.  That’s where I have a few tropicals just hangin’ out. Here’s a few shots from both of those worlds.

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First off a few shots from The Tank.

The TankThe Tank. It is lined with something shiny. Because I like shiny things. And the light makes the plants happy. Yes. Also, notice the 10″ x 20″ trays with the fluorescent egg crate cover that I trimmed over those trays. Excess water drains into the trays after I water the plants, and the crate keeps the plants from sitting in the water while that drainage water contributes to the the lovely humidity in the tank.

Cephalotus follicularisCephalotus follicularis

Cephalotus follicularisFrom the Powazek collection: Cephaltous follicularis growing in a hanging teardrop planter. Brillant.

Platycerium coronariumSpeaking of hanging things, I have a recovering Platycerium coronarium that didn’t like how cold it was getting in the greenhouse, so I moved it here. Seems to like it as it’s putting out new growth.

Pinguicula mesophyticaPinguicula mesophytica bloom.

Nepenthes hamataA young Nepenthes hamata pitcher.

Nepenthes hamata and Nepenthes burkeii x hamataLeft: young Nepenthes hamata pitcher. | Right: young Nepenthes burkeii x hamata pitcher.

Drosera regiaDrosrea regia vs. moth.

Nepenthes singalana Tujuh x hamata - Red Hairy FormNepenthes singlana Tujuh x hamata – Red Hairy Form… Beast!

Nepenthes singalana Tujuh x hamata - Red Hairy FormNepenthes singlana Tujuh x hamata – Red Hairy Form – check out the red/orange fuzz! Sweet!

Nepenthes singalana Tujuh x hamata - Red Hairy FormNew pitcher recently opened of Nepenthes singalana Tujuh x hamata – Red Hairy Form.

Nepenthes singalana Tujuh x hamata - Red Hairy FormNew pitcher recently opened of Nepenthes singalana Tujuh x hamata – Red Hairy Form – a closer shot of the same pitcher above.

Heliamphora heterodoxa x minorI did a few Heliamphora divisions and some reside in the tank and are adjusting quite well! This is Heliamphora heterodoxa x minor. The older pitchers look crappy but the new pitchers are coming up quite nicely.

Nepenthes robcantleyiA recently opened pitcher of Nepenthes robcantleyi! YEAH! I’ve had this for years and it has never really grown well for me. After moving it into the tank, it immediately let me know it was happy with these new conditions.

Nepenthes robcantleyiNepenthes robcantleyi. Ugh, that peristome tho. So magnificent. I can’t wait for this baby to put out larger pitchers! The whole pitcher will color up as it gets more mature. Seriously love this plant.

Tank - FanHere’s what I use for some air movement inside the tank – an Evercool computer fan. I currently have one on the left side of the tank but I’m planning to add another on the right side for better air movement.

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And now – a few shots from inside the partially bubble-wrap clad greenhouse inside the greenhouse. (So bontanically inception-y, eh?)

Nepenthes houseThe Nepenthes/Tropical house.

Nepenthes lowii x campanulataNepenthes lowii x campanulata

Nepenthes thorelii x aristolochioidesNepenthes thorelii x aristolochioides

Nepenthes "Eglantine"Nepenthes “Eglantine”

Nepenthes burbidgeae x platychilaNepenthes burbidgeae x platychila

Nepenthes Poi DogNepenthes – Poi Dog Hybrid

Nepenthes Poi Dog - maxima hybridNepenthes Poi Dog – Maxima Hybrid

Nepenthes platychilaNepenthes platychila – new pitcher steadily growing.

Nepenthes maxima x aristolochioidesFrom the Powazek Collection: Nepenthes maxima x aristolochioides

Nepenthes spectabilis x platychilaAlso from the Powazek Collection: Nepenthes spectabilis x platychila

Nepenthes densiflora x glanduliferaYoung pitcher of Nepenthes densiflora x glandulifera

Nepenthes x ((eymae x (stenophylla x lowii)) x x trusmadiensis)Nepenthes ((eymae x (stenophylla x lowii)) x x trusmadiensis)

Nepenthes spectabilis x singlanaNepenthes spectabilis x singlana

Nepenthes jambanNepenthes jamban – check out the pitcher in the back.
There’s a slug going for a swim in that pitcher.
I found it that way.

Nepenthes jambanAnother angle of Nepenthes jamban – you can see the slug a little better in there.

Nepenthes "Enigma"Nepenthes “Enigma”

AechmeaHad to throw a bromeliad up in here… (A type of Aechmea, not sure what the species is. You bro experts let me know what it is!)

Winter Greetings

Winter greetings all! I hope this finds you all well and that this winter season has been good to you and the plants. Now that it is winter and the plants are asleep, activity in The Asylum is ramping up. This winter season is a busy one indeed. I’ve been doing some cleaning, trimming, moving plants about, and even some sorting of seeds (Yeeessss, I know – many of you asked about seeds. And divisions. So stay tuned for that update…)

Here’s a small selection of photos from around the garden. First shot below is a doozy. What a complete mess this is. Yeah, I gots my trimming work cut out for me. Most plants have long since put away the glory of the season past. They are once again clothed in the sleep of crispy crunchy pitchers. Soon enough, this place will be bursting full of life again…

Time for clean upDormancy

And of course, my trusted garden helper – my katana, puts some work in…


Quick clip: Slicing through Sarracenia.
Sorry for the quality. Filmed in slow motion (120 FPS) on the mobile device
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Sarracenia oreophilaSarracenia oreophila section – all squared away.

Dionea clean upDionaea, Pinguicula, and Drosera (Drosera out of shot in background) cleaned and organized.

Sarracenia oreophilaDormancy: Sarracenia oreophila

Sarracenia alata - Maroon ThroatSarracenia alata – maroon throat
A few pitchers still hanging on.

Sarracenia leucophylla x "Eva"Seedling: Sarracenia leucophylla x “Eva”  pitcher still vibrant.

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And while the Sarracenias sleep, the Nepenthes crew bask in these cooler temperatures. Watching the Nepenthes and tropicals grow during the winter helps break up the monotony of all the lifeless pitchers. I like them ‘cuz you know, I always have to be growing… *something.*

Nepenthes ventricosa x tiveyiNepenthes ventricosa x tiveyi

Nepenthes thorelii x aristolochioidesNepenthes thorelii x aristolochioides

Nepenthes (eymae x (stenophylla x lowii)) x trusmadiensisNepenthes (eymae x (stenophylla x lowii)) x trusmadiensis

Grow TankAnd finally – back home is the grow tank. I turned an unused 50 gallon tank into a refuge for some Heliamphora, Cephalotus, Nepenthes, a Pinguicula and Drosera. There’s a variegated vanilla orchid growing in the corner and a mounted staghorn fern (Platycerium coronatum) that was not taking too well to the cooler temps in the greenhouse. Be looking for updates from the grow tank in the future.

The Garden of Drew

This last weekend I had an opportunity to nerd-out over carnivores at Drew Martinez’s place with fellow carnie-heads Mike Wang and Josh Brown. It was brilliant getting together with these fellow growers and talk plants. Hella (plant) nerd. With this time of the year, most of Drew’s Sarracenia were on their way out, but many plants still looked great. By the way – you can see Mike’s photos on his thread on The Sarracenia Forums here.

The amazing thing is — THIS. Yeah, click that link. Back in 2012 Mike, Josh and I helped put the greenhouses together and it was quite delightful to see the houses and yard packed. Drew and Selina – thanks again for your hospitality in hosting us carnivorous plant-dorks.

My camera and one of my lenses are still in the shop as noted in the last post, but special thanks to Drew for letting me use his camera body to let me snap a few shots!


View all photos in full screen here. A few highlight photos below!

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15 Nov 2014  - Drew Martinez
DREW IS THE MAN.

15 Nov 2014  - Drew Martinez

15 Nov 2014  - Drew Martinez

15 Nov 2014  - Drew Martinez

15 Nov 2014  - Drew Martinez

15 Nov 2014  - Drew Martinez

15 Nov 2014  - Drew Martinez

15 Nov 2014  - Drew Martinez

15 Nov 2014  - Drew Martinez

15 Nov 2014  - Drew Martinez

15 Nov 2014  - Drew Martinez

CHOMP!

Recently my family and I visited the SF Conservatory of Flowers and got a chance to see the Chomp! exhibit. If you ever find yourself in the area, I highly recommend stopping by and immersing yourself in the beauty that is the SF Conservatory of Flowers. Below is a slide show featuring a few shots from around the conservatory, as well as a few highlight shots from the exhibit. Chomp! runs from 11 Apr 2014 – 19 Oct 2014 so be sure and visit soon! (And in case you didn’t already know – plants in the exhibit are from none other than California Carnivores… sweet!)

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SF Conservatory of Flowers

SF Conservatory of Flowers

SF Conservatory of Flowers

SF Conservatory of Flowers

SF Conservatory of Flowers

SF Conservatory of Flowers

SF Conservatory of Flowers

SF Conservatory of Flowers

SF Conservatory of Flowers

SF Conservatory of Flowers

SF Conservatory of Flowers

SF Conservatory of Flowers

SF Conservatory of Flowers

Toothy Smiles

Cephalotus follicularisCephalotus follicularis
Gotta love their toothy smiles! 

Quick Update

Hey everyone! I know it’s been a while since I’ve posted! Hope y’all been well! Honestly I haven’t been down to the greenhouse much recently just because things have been kinda busy. It’s all good. The plants are dormant or about to hit dormancy anyway. There’s still a few plants that look okay here and there, such as a few of the leucos and their hybrids – but for the most part the sleep has begun. I am still doing a lot of cleaning and organizing, and will be continually doing so throughout the course of the winter. I’ll probably bust the katana blade out later to do some slicing of old foliage… that should be fun.

During this time period, I keep the Sarracenia on the dryish side – not watering as much or as frequently. I just make sure that their soil is still moist/damp, but I don’t leave them constantly sitting in water as I would during active growth.

The cool thing is that the Nepenthes are sending out pitchers, so I’ll share a few photos of those in upcoming posts. I am also seeing pitchers grow and open up on the Cephalotus, as well as the Heliamphora. I will share those in a bit. For now here are a few photos of how things are goin’ in the Asylum.

Dormancy approcachesPlants starting to go dormant. Again, I’m leaving most of the old long foliage on there and still letting plants get that light they have missed out on.

Young Sarracenia TableYes, I know it looks messy. These are young plants I am still growing out. Again, you can see the long and stretched foliage.

Nepenthes HouseThe Nepenthes are doing well and loving their dome!

Sphagnum mossIt doesn’t look like much, but I’m growing out some sphagnum moss. I basically took a pot of sphagnum and just tore it up and am growing them in trays.

AF TableHere’s the anthocyanin free section. You can see the older leaves browning up. I’m looking forward to watching this table grow out next year!