Tag Archives: Pitcher Plant

2014 Sarracenia Seeds: So It Beings

First PodSarracenia ‘Reptilian Rose’ x “Legacy”- 2014 Cross

So it begins! Last week I harvested my first seed pod of the 2014 season. This year, it was S. ‘Reptilian Rose‘ x “Legacy” – which I hope should yield some interesting progeny.  Since then, I’ve harvested about 20 or so pods, with many more to come! The next generation of Sarracenia goodness is on the way. Stay tuned, fellow Sarraceniaphiles! I’ll be listing many of these seeds for distribution later this season. Lots of great stuff (hopefully) is on the way!

Sarracenia ‘Adrian Slack’ x ‘Judith Hindle’

Sarracenia 'Adrian Slack' x 'Judith Hindle'Sarracenia ‘Adrian Slack’ x ‘Judith Hindle’
Cross by Mike Wang

Sarracenia oreophila x ‘Adrian Slack’

Here are a few various Sarracenia oreophila x ‘Adrian Slack’ siblings from a cross I did back in 2009. I am so loving the variations among these babies!

Sarracenia oreophila x 'Adrian Slack'Sarracenia oreophila x ‘Adrian Slack’ – 2009 cross

Sarracenia oreophila x 'Adrian Slack'
Sarracenia oreophila x ‘Adrian Slack’ – 2009 cross

Sarracenia oreophila x 'Adrian Slack'
Sarracenia oreophila x ‘Adrian Slack’ – 2009 cross

Sarracenia oreophila x 'Adrian Slack'
Sarracenia oreophila x ‘Adrian Slack’ – 2009 cross

Sarracenia oreophila x 'Adrian Slack'Sarracenia oreophila x ‘Adrian Slack’ – 2009 cross

Surprise, Jerry!

Back on 6 and 7 Jun 2014, a plan went into effect to surprise one of the wonderful botanical inspirations in my life: my friend, Jerry Addington the GREAT. Jerry was hosting an assemblage of carnivorous plant growers at his place in the Washington countryside and this was something that I did not want to miss. I figured it would be the perfect time to surprise Jerry.

In addition to this, another good friend of mine – the legendary Wes Buckner and his family were all going to be there as well! I saw Wes, Megan, and Caleb a couple of weeks prior to Jerry’s event. They stopped by my place on their road trip out from Tennessee and I got to show them a little bit of the SF Bay Area. Good times!

Anyway, I figured I might as well just surprise them ALL at Jerry’s. Helping me organize this surprise was my brother from another mother – Kinjie Coe. (Yeah, I knowwww – Coe and Co!) I flew out to Portland the day before Jerry’s gathering on Friday, 6 Jun 2014 where Kinjie picked me up and we started on our journey to Jerry’s. On the way up there, Kinjie took me on a little detour to visit another local grower, The Professor. What a way to start a wonderful weekend full of carnivorous plant goodness. (See previous post.)

It was amazing seeing plants, but it was definitely awe inspiring to to meet many other fellow growers and carnivorous-plant-o-philes in person! I am very thankful that I got to meet so many amazing people on this epic weekend.

Below you’ll find a short video (gotta love Jerry’s reaction!) as well as a slideshow and some highlight photos.

Kinjie – thanks so much for helping make this happen, bro. Chiemi, Malia, Bently, and Ipo – a huge thank you for allowing a couple of plant crazed guys into your home. 🙂 Jerry – as always I am filled with gratitude for your hospitality and generosity. I am beyond blessed to know you. Thank you.

***


View the full screen slideshow here.

***

A Surprise Visit to Courting Frogs Nursery

A Surprise Visit to Courting Frogs Nursery

A Surprise Visit to Courting Frogs Nursery

A Surprise Visit to Courting Frogs Nursery

A Surprise Visit to Courting Frogs Nursery

Operation Addington Surprise - Jun 2014

A Surprise Visit to Courting Frogs Nursery

A Surprise Visit to Courting Frogs Nursery

A Surprise Visit to Courting Frogs Nursery

Operation Addington Surprise - Jun 2014

Operation Addington Surprise - Jun 2014

A Surprise Visit to Courting Frogs Nursery

A Surprise Visit to Courting Frogs Nursery

A Surprise Visit to Courting Frogs Nursery

A Surprise Visit to Courting Frogs Nursery

A Surprise Visit to Courting Frogs Nursery

A Surprise Visit to Courting Frogs Nursery

A Surprise Visit to Courting Frogs Nursery

A Surprise Visit to Courting Frogs Nursery

A Surprise Visit to Courting Frogs Nursery

A Surprise Visit to Courting Frogs Nursery

A Surprise Visit to Courting Frogs Nursery

A Surprise Visit to Courting Frogs Nursery

A Surprise Visit to Courting Frogs Nursery

A Surprise Visit to Courting Frogs Nursery

Nepenthes: They Live!

Nepenthes. Yes, they live!

A few months ago, we had a relatively nasty cold snap (hey, cold for us at least) that the Nepenthes didn’t appreciate very much.  I think it got down to the mid 30’s or something. I had the Nepenthes growing out in the unheated greenhouse with no protection like this.

With lack of a better plan, I moved them to the corner of the greenhouse and just threw overwintering film on them. For the past few months, there they stayed. I didn’t pay much attention to them as they were kind of depressing to look at. Crispy brown all over the place. Not good. Dahlia or I would water them every now and then by lifting up the overwintering film and just aimlessly hosing everything down. I had my fingers crossed hoping I would get something that would survive. And survive they did!

I wanted to do a better job this year. If I left that monster dome up, the plants would of had better protection. But nooooo, I was ambitious and brought that house down in December (DECEMBER!) of all  months. Geez. Hey, that dome took up 3 tables worth of space! I didn’t need anything that big. So my plan for this year was to provide them better shelter that didn’t take up a footprint of 20′ x 15′. That’s too much and I need that space for Sarracenia.

 

So, I picked up a sweet 6 x 8 greenhouse find on Craigslist and that would be the new Nepenthes house. (Thanks Steve!) This is a great size. It doesn’t take up a lot of room, and come winter I can insulate the small greenhouse with greenhouse bubble wrap, or something of that nature. This should keep it a little warmer and offer a little more protection from the cold. I had my eldest son Josiah help me put the greenhouse together. It reminded me of when I put my first greenhouse together with my grandfather when I was about Josiah’s age.

This last week I spent some time cleaning the Nepenthes up and moving them into their new home. The photo below is very depressing. I had thought this plant was a goner for sure! If you look closely, a few months under the overwinter film proved helpful. There’s a couple basal shoots in there!! Yeah!!

Nepenthes reloadedThe Nepenthes took a beating from the cold a few months back…

I know, that’s just nasty up there. Fortunately after trimming all the dead crap off, I found signs of life! YEAH!

Nepenthes reloadedThe Nepenthes lives! Yes. Yesss… YEAASS!!

Nepenthes densiflora x truncata-1-3I did have a lot of losses though and I’m still mourning those plants. As my friend Kinjie told me regarding these plants, “Hey, you gotta learn somehow!” Yes, true, but losing plants is a sucky way to learn! To the left is a Nepenthes densiflora x truncata. You can see some of the cold damage that this baby took. The center of the plant is still alive and there are new growpoints forming where the cold turned the main growpoint into mush. In any event, I’m so very glad that many of the plants survived. Some of the surprises that I found under that overwinter film provided some great comfort, hope, and solace.

 

Nepenthes HouseNepenthes cleaned up and just moved in!

***

They have survived.

Nepenthes spectabilis x singalana
Nepenthes spectabilis x singalana

Nepenthes peltata
Nepenthes peltata – new foliage looking good.


Nepenthes spectabilis


Nepenthes boschiana x densiflora – new pitcher forming.


Nepenthes “Dormouse”


A very pleasant surprise – pitchers on Nepenthes jamban!


Nepenthes tiveyi – “Red Queen”


Nepenthes Poi Dog – Maxima Hybrid


Last year’s cuttings with new growth!


Nepenthes ventricosa x tiveyi – new pitcher just opening.

An Ornata Cross

Here’s a rather lovely and sinister looking Sarracenia flava var. ornata cross that was done by none other than my Sarracenia-bro-dude, Mike Wang. I like how the pitcher tube is heavily brushed in a rich red. The dark network of veins run up through the hood accented by the gold backdrop on the lid adds a nice touch to this pitcher. Awesome work, Mike!

Sarracenia flava var. ornata x flava var. ornata "Black Veins" - Bulloch Co., GA Clone B
Sarracenia flava var. ornata x
flava var. ornata “Black Veins” – Bulloch Co., GA – Clone B
Cross by Mike Wang

Sarracenia flava var. ornata x flava var. ornata "Black Veins" - Bulloch Co., GA Clone B Sarracenia flava var. ornata x
flava var. ornata “Black Veins” – Bulloch Co., GA – Clone B
Cross by Mike Wang

Lidless Freaks

Carnivorous plants are in a category of their own, and within this special syndicate of bizarre botanical badassery there are those plants that are, well… just plain freaks. I’m talking about some of these lidless ones. Some may even apply the adjective “fugly to these curiosities. But hey – to me, they’re beautiful in their own unconventional way. Keep it freaky.

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

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

Sarracenia leucophylla 'Bris'
Sarracenia leucophylla ‘Bris’