Tag Archives: Green monster

Seedling Update

Just a quick update on some of this generation’s seedlings.
Photos from 19 June 2012. Enjoy!

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Sarracenia "Green Monster" x purpurea rosea "Big Mama"
Sarracenia “Green Monster” x “Big Mama”

Note: “Big Mama” is a select big ol’ form of S. purpurea ssp. venosa v. burkii — or S. rosea depending which naming convention you’re comfortable with. Personally, I like S. rosea because it’s less taxing on my  fingers to type out. Seriously. Imagine typing out “S. purpurea ssp. venosa v. burkii” every time. Every. Single. Time. Blah. I’m guess I am getting lazy. Anyway – I’m hoping to use the recessive anthocyanin free gene in future crosses with this cross. I am hoping for big chunky S. swaniana flavored looking plants. Should be a fun plant to work with in the future!

Sarracenia ((purpurea ssp. purpurea x rubra ssp. jonesii) x (leucophylla  x rubra ssp. gulfensis)) x mitchellliana  - AF clone.Sarracenia ((purpurea ssp. purpurea x rubra ssp. jonesii) x
(leucophylla x rubra ssp. gulfensis)) AF x mitchelliana AF

Sarracenia mitchelliana AF x "Green Monster"
Sarracenia mitchelliana AF x “Green Monster”

Sarracenia mitchelliana AF x "Green Monster"
Sarracenia mitchelliana AF x “Green Monster”

Sarracenia mitchelliana AF x "Green Monster"
Sarracenia mitchelliana AF x “Green Monster”

Hybrid Collaboration Update: S. minor giant x “Green Monster”

Back in the Spring of 2009 I was in my old greenhouse in Pacifica on a phone call with Jerry Addington. We were talking about hybrids, tossing ideas around and I was trying to absorb as much wisdom as I could from him. Anyway, at the time I had a blooming S. “Green Monster” (an anthocyanin free form of S. excellens) and Jerry and I were throwing around ideas about the plant and some potential crosses.  One of the ideas that Jerry brought up was that S. “Green Monster” could be used to create an AF minor giant looking plant. I thought that was a bloody awesome idea, and I had only half of the answer to that puzzle at that point time. Sadly I had no minor giant in bloom to breed S. “Green Monster” with. Soooo, I began asking fellow growers if they had any spare S. minor var. okefenokeensis out there. I’m so thankful that Mike Wang had a spare S. minor var. okefenokeensis plant with a bloom just cracking open — so he lent me the plant! SO awesome of him. I drove to his place pick it up, and then went home and did the cross right away.

There were only a few seeds that came from that cross, and a total of only 4 seedlings were strong enough to make it to this point. Only 4. Those 4 seedlings are photographed in the first photo below.

Here’s a quick summary through the years showing how this plant is evolving.

Sarracenia minor var. okefenokeensis x "Green Monster"
Sarracenia minor var. okefenokeensis x “Green Monster”
20 November 2010

Sarracenia minor var. okefenokeensis x "Green Monster"
Sarracenia minor var. okefenokeensis x “Green Monster”
26 August 2011

Now in 2012. Keep in mind that my lighting is sub par so the colors aren’t as great as they normally would be.

Sarracenia minor var. okefenokeensis x "Green Monster"
Sarracenia minor var. okefenokeensis x “Green Monster”
27 May 2012

This next photo is something monumental for me – the culmination of our  efforts and ideas! (Well, assuming that the cross took, of course…) I had no AF minor giant in bloom, so I selfed the flower. I did this in hopes to unlock that recessive anthocyanin free gene, as well as have the size influence from S. minor var. okefenokeensis end up in at least ONE of those seedlings. The other thing that’s pretty cool that you can’t really tell from the photo above is that the S. leucophylla influence gives it a slight undulation in the lid. Hawt.

Sarracenia minor var. okefenokeensis x "Green Monster"
Sarracenia minor var. okefenokeensis x “Green Monster”
Pod after self pollinating – I HOPE that the cross took…
27 May 2012

Now you may be thinking – DAAAYYMMMNNNN Rob, how the f*ck do you get  your plants to flower so fast?  Well to tell you the truth – I was fortunate to have longer than average growing seasons in my microclimate. At my old spot, it was not unusual to pollinate, harvest, stratify, then germinate seed all in the same year! Combined with long photo periods, I was able to get a slight jump on growth.  Long term though, I am not sure how that shortened dormancy affected the adult plants. Dormancy for these plants is important. I would notice that after a few years maybe a few of the plants were not as strong as in years past, but that could be due to several factors that were going on. Don’t get me wrong, they would still go dormant for about a little over a month to a month and a half in the greenhouses at the old spot. The plants outdoors would obviously get a longer dormancy time as it’s quite cooler and they didn’t wake up so fast. I can’t really See any major negative effects on the plants though, so the time I had them sleeping might of been “just enough.” I also wanted to mention that this year the plants received a longer than the past “usual” dormancy period due to lower light, so I guess that’s a good thing.

Keep in mind the other youngsters plants don’t have flowers yet. The plant photographed above with was simply the first of only four seedlings to get to this point. I look forward to cracking that pod open in a few months! So exciting to see something manifest from all of our cumulative efforts and ideas! Thank you Jerry and Mike!

Hope Sprouted

Dude, I’m so F****N’ excited! Back on 13 May 2012 Dahlia and I planted the 2011 Sarracenia crosses. Instead of the usual 4-6 weeks in cold stratification, the crosses were left in cold and damp stratification for over 3 months. It’s been very rough so I haven’t been able to get to them as soon as I would of liked to. Anyway,  a week later, on 20 May 2012, I began to notice that the seeds sprouted!

Seeing this gives me a renewed sense of hope, especially given the very rough growing season I’ve been having so far.  Many promising crosses have sprouted and there are so many awesome things to look forward to.  Anyway, a few folks have asked  me about how to germinate Sarracenia seeds.  A post on my set up and Sarracenia seed germination to follow soon! In the meantime, here’s a couple photos of the next generation.


Sarracenia moorei, select clone.

Sarracenia purpurea heterophylla x "Green Monster"Sarracenia purpurea heterophylla x “Green Monster”

Hybrid Update: S. courtii x “Green Monster”, AF Clone

Happy Friday everyone!  I was out relaxing a bit in the garden when I got home, and just wanted to share with y’all how this cross was doing.  Again, it was a cross I did back in 09, and now I’m starting to see the work start to pay off, 2 years later! Be sure to check this post out so you can see how far these babies have come along.

And again, just to show you, here are the two parents:

[Meet the parents]

[Left: S. courtii, AF | Right: S. “Green Monster”. (S. excellens, AF)]

What’s funny is that the the two “select” seedlings that I set aside back then, are about the same size (or now even smaller) than some of the other seedlings I have growing in that tub now.  Goes to show you, you never really know what you’ll get when breeding and growing from seed —  and what seedlings will spring up as late starters. Or I should say, late jumpers.

I’m really liking the seedlings with the clean polka dotish action on the pitchers. Finally seeing the fruition of my labor is exciting and keeps me going in this obsession.  I’m still fairly new at breeding – can’t wait to see some of the other stuff cookin’ grow up!

Sarracenia courtii AF x "Green Monster"[S. courtii AF x “Green Monster” –  August 12, 2011]

Take the Leap

A leaf hopper quietly sits and is tempting fate – about to take the plunge into S. AF courtii x “Green Monster”.  This leap into the abyss was very bad for Mr. Leafhopper, but very good for the plant. (Yummy!)
Livin' on the edge
[Leafhopper vs. S. courtii AF x “Green Monster”]

I took my own leap of faith yesterday as well… it was a first for me, but certainly *not* going to be my last.  A truly amazing experience indeed.  And I admit, the rush is kind of addicting! Leaping from close to 2 miles above the earth was unforgettable and a humbling experience that redefined my perception. Releasing all fear and restraint opens up new doors to endless possibilities.  Take the leap.

On Edge
[Sarraceniadude in the sky! Photo by Mark @ NorCal Sky Diving.]

 

Pregnant Pod?

Well, … I most certainly hope so!  I hope there’s a good seed set in there.  It’s that time of year, pods swollen and I’m so looking forward to harvesting seeds! Here’s a photo of a swollen pod of a cross I am looking forward to. It’s S. purpurea ssp. purpurea AF x “Green Monster”.  I’m hoping for anthocyanin free versions of S. swaniana – esque looking plants. This breeding thing is always interesting.  Ya never know what you’re going to get!

Sarracenia purpurea ssp. purpurea AF x "Green Monster"
[Sarracenia purpurea ssp. purpurea AF x “Green Monster”]

The Monster is Awake


BEWARE! The Green Monster is awake… some freshly opened pitchers, and flowering soon too!

Sarracenia "Green Monster"
[Sarracenia “Green Monster”, an anthocyanin free excellens.]