Tag Archives: nepenthes

Winter Greetings

Posted on December 27, 2014 | 2 comments

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 up 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.

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

Dormancy: Sarracenia oreophila

Sarracenia alata - Maroon Throat Sarracenia 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 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.

2 Comments

Posted in Blog, Cephaltous, Heliamphora, Nepenthes, Video

Tagged alata, aristolochioides, Cephalotus, Dionaea, dormancy, drosera, Eva, eymae, Grow Tank, hamata, Heliamphora, katana, leucophylla, lowii, nepenthes, ore, Pinguicula, Red Hairy, Sarracenia, singalana, stenophylla, Sword, thorelii, tiveyi, trim, trusmadiensis, Tujuh, ventricosa, winter

The Garden of Drew

Posted on November 19, 2014 | 7 comments

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

7 Comments

Posted in Nepenthes, Out and About

Tagged Cephalotus, Drew Martinez, Heliamphora, Hella, Josh Brown, Mike Wang, nepenthes, Pitcher Plant, Plant Dorks, Plant Nerds, Sarracenia

November Photo Reel – Phone Edition

Posted on November 15, 2014 | 8 comments

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!

Under the Nepenthes dome. View in fullscreen here!

Untitled Sarracenia 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.

Untitled Nepenthes 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!)

8 Comments

Posted in Blog

Tagged Amorphophallus, Amorphophallus titanum, Drosophyllum, jamban, leucophylla, lusitanicum, nepenthes, rosea, Sarracenia, Song of Melancholy, talangensis, tiveyi, veinless, ventricosa

October Update

Posted on October 21, 2014 | 2 comments

Hi all! I am still alive. Geez, has it really been over a month since I’ve posted anything up on here? Yeah, it has been a busy month so far – and now that dormancy is fast approaching, things in The Asylum will get even busier! Divisions, repotting, cleaning, and reorganizing are all things that I hope will be done while the plants are asleep. (By the way, you can always catch me on the Instagram – @rco911 – in between blog posts.)

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Before the photo updates, just a couple things worth mentioning…

– A core member of BAPP and dear friend… moved to Oregon. I’m currently babysitting Derek’s plants. For the time being, his plants and my plants are getting along and playing nicely.

– Mike Wang and I went on a lil’ Darlingtonia excursion earlier this month. Photos and video to be featured in a future post. You can read about *one* of the sites we visited in Mike’s post on the Sarracenia forums. Stay tuned for a future Darlingtonia update!

– Not plant related, but SF GIANTS ARE IN THE WORLD SERIES! AGAIN! YEAHHHHH!

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So anyyywayyyyyy… at this point in time, much of the greenhouse looks like this. Fugly.

October Dormancy. Time to bust out that katana blade and slice through this madness soon.

BUT! There are still a few gems in that mess.

Although *most* of the Sarracenia pitchers are fading, things are still looking OK in the mini-greenhouse. This is a small 6 x 8 greenhouse with it’s own micro climate. Read more here. It’s more humid than the main house, and the temperatures seem to be a bit more stable. It does not get so hot in there during the day and (I am hoping) it does not get too cold in there during the winter. I can line this with bubble wrap and stick a small heater in there if need be during winter. I would not want to find myself stuck in the same cataclysmic-cold-snap situation like last year. See link above. Anyway, some of Derek’s plants have moved in here. So far, so good.

Nepenthes House Inside the dome.

Nepenthes tiveyi "Red Queen" Nepenthes tiveyi “Red Queen” – from Kinjie Coe

Nepenthes ventricosa x tiveyi – from Paul Barden

In the realms of Sarracenia – couple things still looking decent in the wreckage of burnt out foliage. I haven’t had a chance to photograph some of the leuco/leuco hybrids that are still OK but on their way out. Hope to provide an update on that later.

Sarracenia moorei “Orange Glow” x ‘Adrian Slack’ – one of my crosses from a few years ago. Still a young plant that I finally put in it’s own pot! Let’s see what that extra root space will do next season.

Sarracenia “Saurus” – Fall pitchers. Cross by Phil Fauilsi. The Spring pitchers were even more massive.

Sarracenia purpurea ssp. venosa – a cross between two different S. purpurea ssp. venosa clones by Mike Wang. I’m diggin’ the ruffles.

Stapelia in effect. Not a carnivorous plant, but boy does this mofo smell. Thanks for giving me the opportunity to experience this awesome odiferous wonder, Derek! OMFG does this thing staaank.

2 Comments

Posted in Blog

Tagged Adrian Slack, moorei, nepenthes, Orange Glow, purpurea, Red Queen, Sarracenia, Saurus, Stapelia, tiveyi, venosa, ventricosa

Baby Nepenthes!

Posted on August 28, 2014 | Leave a comment

Here’s a few little baby Nepenthes that I’m watching grow with great anticipation. Some don’t look like much right now, but I hope that in time I can look back at these photos and see just how far they’ve come. It will be a few years before I see anything considerable but it will be a fun journey to watch these babies grow for me. Aren’t they just adorabs?! Like OMG, cute-plant overload!!

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Nepenthes hamata
Finally showing some signs of toothy-ness on it’s peristome!

Nepenthes robcantleyi x hamata
Showing some nice potential with that ribbed peristome at such an early age!

Nepenthes villosa – pitcher about to pop open!

Nepenthes lowii – coloring up nicely!

Nepenthes macrophylla

Nepenthes attenbroughii
Nepenthes attenboroughii – showing some stripes!

Nepenthes attenboroughii – pitcher from another seed grown baby.

Aww yeah – Nepenthes edwardsiana. A Nepenthes freakin’ edwardsiana!! YES!! Soooo cute. Now hurry up and grow lil’ one.

Nepenthes lowii x campanulata

Posted on August 23, 2014 | 1 comment

Here’s an interesting Nepenthes hybrid that I received from Drew Martinez during the 2014 Annual Bay Area Carnivorous Plant Society show and sale this past June. It’s been a nice addition to the Nepenthes sector of The Asylum. One thing I that I find really fascinating is the sweet sugary secretion under the pitcher lid. This is thanks to the Nepenthes lowii all up in the genes. (Yeah, I did taste it and it’s mildly sweet… maybe I harvest some to use in my coffee? Heh heh!) Thanks again, Drew!

Nepenthes lowii x campanulata

Nepenthes lowii x campanulata
Check out all of that sweet secretion on the underside of the lid!
Yummy!

1 Comment

Posted in Blog, Nepenthes

Tagged campanulata, Carnivorous Plant, lowii, nepenthes, Pitcher Plant

BACPS Nepenthes Haul

Posted on July 1, 2014 | 1 comment

A couple of weeks ago we had our annual BACPS (Bay Area Carnivorous Plant Society) show and sale. It’s always great connecting with fellow growers during the BACPS meetings… and winding up with a few more plants in the process too! Here are a couple of Nepenthes that found their way into the plant haul from the show and sale.