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…
Dormancy
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.
Sarracenia oreophila section – all squared away.
Dionaea, Pinguicula, and Drosera (Drosera out of shot in background) cleaned and organized.
Dormancy: Sarracenia oreophila
Sarracenia alata – maroon throat
A few pitchers still hanging on.
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 tiveyi
Nepenthes thorelii x aristolochioides
Nepenthes (eymae x (stenophylla x lowii)) x trusmadiensis
And 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.
Yes, I know it looks messy. These are young plants I am still growing out. Again, you can see the long and stretched foliage.
The Nepenthes are doing well and loving their dome!
It 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.
Here’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!
