Tag Archives: Drosophyllum

Summer Update Photo Dump

Hello all you beautiful people! Yeahhh, I know — It seems like it has forever since I’ve posted anything here. Yeah, things have been pretty busy outside of the garden the past couple of months but rest assured I still make time to go down and recharge my soul in The Asylum. The plants are all still doing good, but it’s that weird in-between time for me now. Spring pitchers already are burning out (thanks to my early season start) and pitchers of the autumn-indulging plants are just starting to form. Anyway – here’s a quick and dirty photo-update-reel from the past few weeks.

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Sarracenia oreophilaSarracenia oreophila – for the most part the spring pitchers are gone. Still a pitcher here and there looking ok.

Sarracenia leucophylla 'Hurricane Creek White' - clone F x 'Adrian Slack'Sarracenia leucophylla ‘Hurricane Creek White’ – clone F x ‘Adrian Slack’ I had this one seriously cramped pot of of these seedlings and repotted those seedlings into these four trays. You can see the old foliage all floppy n’ crud but they’re all throwing up new pitchers. Should be a pretty interesting cross.

Sarracenia leucophylla "Purple Lips" x leucophylla "Mesa Exotics"Sarracenia leucophylla “Purple Lips” x leucophylla “Mesa Exotics”
Cross by Phil Faulisi

Sarracenia leucophylla 'Hurricane Creek White' - Clone FSarracenia leucophylla ‘Hurricane Creek White’ – Clone F

Sarracenia leucophylla "Helmut's Delight"Sarracenia leucophylla “Helmut’s Delight”

Sarracenia leucophylla 'Bris'Sarracenia lecuophylla ‘Bris’

Sarracenia minor var. okefenokeensisSarracenia minor var. okefenokeensis – Ware Co., GA

Sarracenia flava var. autropurpureaSarracenia flava var. autropurprea

Sarracenia flava var. rubricorpora - lidlessSarracenia flava var. rubricorpora – lidless

Sarracenia flava var. ornata - lidlessSarracenia flava var. ornata – lidless

Sarracenia flava - Brunswick Co., NCSarracenia flava

Sarracenia flava "Extreme Red Throat"Sarracenia flava “Extreme Red Throat”

Thanks Eric!FREAKIN’… THANK YOU ERIC!! So not that long ago a really awesome surprise came in the mail from Eric Morrow. After a somewhat really bad week for me, this surprise was a huge pick-me-up. By the way – check out Eric’s Instagram feed for some Sarracenia-heavy updates: @sarraceniacrazy!

Sarracenia (Leah Wilkerson x oreophila) x (flava var. rubricorpora x leucophylla)Sarracenia (‘Leah Wilkerson’ x oreophila) x (flava var. rubricorpora x leucophylla)
Cross by Dr. Travis H. Wyman
In my clean up of plants this year, I was glad to have found this baby barely surviving. I salvaged what I could and glad it’s recovering nicely!

Sarracenia 'Royal Ruby'Sarracenia ‘Royal Ruby’

Sarracenia "Blood Moon"Sarracenia “Blood Moon” – new pitcher unfolding.
Cross by Brooks Garcia

Sarracenia 'Black Widow'Sarracenia ‘Black Widow’ coloring up.

Sarracenia lecuophylla "burgundy" x flava var. maximaSarracenia lecuophylla “burgundy” x flava var. maxima
Cross by James Soe Nyun

Sarracenia 'Reptilian Rose' x (flava var.rubricorpora x leucophylla) - Double Header!DOUBLE HEADER! Sarracenia ‘Reptilian Rose’ x (flava var.rubricorpora x leucophylla)
(Ehh… forgot to note which clone this was…)
Cross by Dr. Travis H. Wyman

Sarracenia 'Reptilian Rose' x (flava var.rubricorpora x leucophylla) - Clone 4Sarracenia ‘Reptilian Rose’ x (flava var.rubricorpora x leucophylla) – Clone 4
Cross by Dr. Travis H. Wyman

Sarracenia alata - AFSarracenia alata – AF

Sarracenia minor - AFSarracenia minor – AF

Sarracenia flava AF - Shalotte - Brunswick Co., NCSarracenia flava AF – Shalotte – Brunswick Co., NC

Sarracenia flava AF - Telogia - Liberty Co., FLSarracenia flava AF – Telogia – Liberty Co., FL
Kinky lip on that pitcher for some reason, heh!

Sarracenia flava 'Suspicion'Sarracenia flava ‘Suspicion’

Sarracenia "Green Monster"Sarracenia “Green Monster”

Sarracenia "Green Monster" F2Sarracenia “Green Monster” – F2
This one is reflecting a lot of S. leucophylla color influence

Sarracenia leucophylla AF x flava 'Suspicion'Sarracenia moorei AF – parentage: Sarracenia leucophylla AF x flava ‘Suspcion’
Cross by Aidan Selwyn.

Sarracenia "Monster Cat"Sarracenia “Monster Cat” (“Cat” short for “catesbaei”)
Cross by Jerry Addington.

Sarracenia "Smurf"Sarracenia purpurea “Smurf”

Sarracenia willisii x alata "red/black"Sarracenia willisii x alata “red/black”
from Eric Morrow, Cross by Michael Sprouse.

Sarracenia willisii x alata "red/black"Sarracenia willisii x alata “red/black” *(correction caught by Eric, tag mislabel!)
Sarracenia alata red/black x ‘Kilimanjaro’
from Eric Morrow, Cross by Michael Sprouse.
Sibling to the plant above.

Sarracenia willisii x alata "red/black"Another angle of the above Sarracenia willisii x alata “red/black”
*(correction caught by Eric, tag mislabel!)
Sarracenia alata red/black x ‘Kilimanjaro’ from Eric Morrow, Cross by Michael Sprouse.

Sarracenia leucophylla "Purple Lips" x (rosea "Big Mama" x leucophylla "Purple Lips")Sarracenia leucophylla “Purple Lips” x (rosea “Big Mama” x leucophylla “Purple Lips”)
Cross by Phil Faulisi

Sarracenia 'Alucard' "Prince of Darkness" x alata 'Night'Sarracenia ‘Alucard’ “Prince of Darkness” x alata ‘Night’
A cross I did a few years ago. Had a few of these growing in one pot, and the pot self culled itself. I recently repotted the survivors (strongest of that bunch…) and they’re putting up some promising young pitchers.

Sarracenia (minor x willisii) x purpurea ssp. purpurea) x leucophyllaSarracenia (minor x willisii) x purpurea ssp. purpurea) x leucophylla
Another neat little seedling of a cross I did that is reacting well to the repotting from earlier this year.

Sarracenia flava "widemouth" x (leucophylla "red" x minor var. okefenokeensis)Sarracenia flava “widemouth” x (leucophylla “red” x minor var. okefenokeensis)

Sarracenia oreophila x 'Adrian Slack'Sarracenia oreophila x ‘Adrian Slack’
I repotted most of these plants into individual pots only this year. They seem to have liked that.

Sarracenia oreophila x 'Adrian Slack'Sarracenia oreophila x ‘Adrian Slack’
Sibling to the one above it. The whole litter has everything in between both of these forms and color schemes. Gotta love the diversity.

Sarracenia oreophila "veined" x 'Adrian Slack'Sarracenia oreophila “veined” x ‘Adrian Slack.
S. ‘Legacy’ like!

Sarracenia (leucophylla "Purple Lips" x flava var. ornata) x 'Adrian Slack'Sarracenia (leucophylla “Purple Lips” x flava var. ornata) x ‘Adrian Slack’

Sarracenia 'Alucard' x 'Adrian Slack'Sarracenia ‘Alucard’ x ‘Adrian Slack’

Sarracenia (oreophila x 'Royal Ruby') x 'Adrian Slack'Sarracenia (oreophila x ‘Royal Ruby’) x ‘Adrian Slack’

Sarracenia 'Adrian Slack'Sarracenia ‘Adrian Slack’

Sarracenia 'Leah Wilkerson'Sarracenia ‘Leah Wilkerson’

Sarracenia 'Legacy'Sarracenia ‘Legacy’

Sarracenia leucophylla "Hanrahan" x alata AFHere’s one of the more recent crosses I did – Sarracenia leucophylla “Hanrahan” x alata AF. I’m excited about this one because… well… it’s an AF recessive S. areolata and can’t wait to use it in future AF projects. And… it’s fuzzy!

Drosophyllum lusitanicumNot a pitcher plant but… sheeyat, I’m loving how this Drosophyllum is doing.

November Photo Reel – Phone Edition

Eh… so my camera is currently in the shop getting some repairs. I should have it back sometime soon, just in time to capture more photos of… dead foliage. Heh Heh! Still, that won’t stop me from taking beloved plant photos. (You can always find me and more plant madness on Instagram too – @rco911!) Anyway, enjoy a few photos snapped by the mobile device. Cheers!

UntitledUnder the Nepenthes dome. View in fullscreen here!

UntitledSarracenia leucophylla – Franklin Co., FL
Clone A x B, Select Clone. Cross by Wes Buckner.

 Seed pod. Sarracenia alata “Red Mustache” x alata ‘Night’
One of the last seed pods of the season.

 Sarracenia rosea – veinless. One of the last remaining pitchers that look somewhat decent.

UntitledNepenthes tiveyi – “Red Queen”
(Thanks, Kinjie!)

 Nepenthes ventricosa x talangensis
Just popped open.

 Nepenthes “Song of Melancholy”

 Nepenthes ventricosa x tiveyi
(Thanks, Paul!)

 Nepenthes jamban

 Drosophyllum lusitanicum

 Amorphophallus titanum
Not carnivorous – but still worth the mention. (Thanks Derek!)

Feeding the Seedling

Drosophyllum lusitanicumDrosophyllum lusitanicum

Awwww! Isn’t it cute?! Here’s a young plant only a month old or so. I’m feeding it some dried bloodworms for additional sustenance. Yummy! This little seedling sprung up from one of the seeds that came from this colossal beast.  Three have sprouted, but only two have survived. One of the seedlings died after throwing up two leaves for whatever reason, and the remaining two look good. This is the larger of the two seedlings. One thing I’m going to do when I transplant this is put it in a larger pot than it’s parent was in. (Yes, you can transplant Drosophyllum but you have to be very careful not to disturb the roots!) As you can see in this post the roots were pretty cramped. I think it died because the roots got stressed/shocked during one of the hot days and I didn’t keep it as wet as it should of been that day.  Anyway, the circle of life starts again and I’m glad that these genetics are still alive and well.

Gone, But Not Forgotten…

Gone. But not forgotten. The era of this grand Drosophyllum has come to an end. I received a small plant in 2009 from Mike Wang, and the thing eventually grew into a colossal beast. As you can see in the skeleton below, the main trunk got as thick as my thumb. I started noticing a decline last month – and now it’s gone. No biggie though, it happens. I miss this plant though, that’s for sure.

End of an era.

Drosophyllum lusitanicum

Yeah, the thing was a beast. the photo to the left was taken in July, 2011. This was taken just before it started branching out like crazy and eventually, the weight of it all made it spill over the edge of the pot. I really never expected that I would of been able to grow this plant to this size.

Knowing what I know now, I think that I’ll get a bigger pot for these monsters to grow in next time. When I first received the plant from Mike, it was still growing in a 3 inch plastic pot. It was a young plant at the time. I was able to transplant that plant into a larger terra cotta pot. Yes, it’s possible — but you have to be very careful not to disturb the root system. I basically just slid that dirt brick out of the small 3 inch pot and carefully potted it up all nice and happy in it’s new home.

Drosophyllum lusitanicum

It eventually turned into this crazy muti-headed honey smelling hydra. See photo to the right taken last year in the fall. Not sure exactly what caused the crash. It could of just been age? It has been said that the plants can flower themselves to death. I have been quite cautious with the flowering part and limited the flowering by trimming off most (not all) of the flower buds/stalks. I suspect that it may of had to do with the roots? In previous years, I’ve kept the plant a little bit on the dryer side during winters, only watering occasionally. Perhaps missing a watering with an overly root bound base may of stressed the plant. Who knows. After yanking the trunk out of the pot, I decided to do an autopsy and look at the root system. In the photo below, you’ll see the black roots running all throughout the pot, and looking somewhat cramped at the bottom.

Dead DrosophyllumCramped.

Above you can see the roots all packed in pretty tight. The mix I used was a pretty rocky/quick draining one. At the very bottom of the pot, I used a thin layer of long fiber sphagnum moss. This was to prevent the media from spilling out of the hole at the bottom of the pot. The rest of the potting mix consisted of a coarse grade horticultural sand, perlite, pumice, a handful of peat moss, and some APS (Aquatic Plant Soil). I can’t remember the exact ratios, but I just mixed it until I felt the media was “happy” enough. I guess.

This Drosophyllum is now gone, but like I mentioned – not forgotten. I’ve had success with cuttings with this plant – it takes a long time but I managed to get roots on a couple of those rejected flower stalks, or random branches I felt like lopping off. Those did not survive all of the moves last year, but genetic representations of this badass plant are still alive and well. Kinda. In my fridge. In the form of seeds. (Ok, now cue the Circle of Life…)

Drosophyllum lusitanium - Flower Pods and SeedsThere are tiny beasts locked up in the shells.

A Visit to California Carnivores

Last weekend, Dahlia and I had a little weekend excursion in Sonoma County. It was a much needed time to relax after all the moving that we recently had to do. We’re settling into our new place nicely – but man… moving always sucks! (Thanks again to everyone who helped out!)

So anyway – what would a mini-vacay be without carnivores?! For me, vacations are never complete without carnivorous plant goodness. Since we were in the ‘hood of California Carnivores we decided to stop by to immerse ourselves in the carnivory. If you haven’t been there, I highly recommend stopping by. It’s always a pleasure to visit this magnificent and magical place. Thank you, Cal Carn for what you do. Continue to embolden and equip us to be better growers!

Click here for the full screen slideshow!

A few highlight photos are below the slideshow.

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A Visit to California Carnivores

July

 

Why, Hello July. Nice to see you again.

Geez. It’s already JULY?  What happened?  The year is halfway over and didn’t we just start 2011 not too long ago?  Dude, that’s a trip.  To commemorate our cross over into July, a few random snapshots from  July 1 posted below.   Not all are photos of Sarracenia, however all are carnivorous.  Enjoy!

Sarracenia leucophylla "Purple Lips" x flava var. ornata
Sarracenia leucophylla “Purple Lips” x flava var. ornata

Sarracenia minor var. okefenokeensis x 'Golden Red Jubilee'
Sarracenia minor var. okefenokeensis x ‘Golden Red Jubilee’

Utricularia reiniformis - small form
Utricularia reiniformis – small form

Drosophyllum lusitanicum
Drosophyllum lusitanicum

Baby Venus Fly Traps
Baby Venus Fly Traps

Pinguicula moranensis x ehleresiae
Pinguicula moranensis x ehleresiae

Sarracenia mitchelliana, anthocyanin free
Sarracenia mitchelliana, anthocyanin free

Cephalotus follicularis
Cephalotus follicularis

Sarracenia 'Danas Delight' x areolata
Sarracenia ‘Danas Delight’ x areolata

Dionaea muscipula
Field of traps – Dionaea muscipula

Darlingtonia californica
Darlingtonia californica

Sarracenia oreophila
Sarracenia oreophila

Group randomly throw in a mini-bog
Group randomly thrown in a mini-bog