Tag Archives: Plant

Baby Nepenthes!

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

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

Nepenthes villosa
Nepenthes villosa – pitcher about to pop open!

Nepenthes lowii
Nepenthes lowii – coloring up nicely!

Nepenthes macrophylla
Nepenthes macrophylla

Nepenthes attenbroughii
Nepenthes attenboroughii – showing some stripes!

Nepenthes attenbroughii
Nepenthes attenboroughii – pitcher from another seed grown baby.

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

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

Back Home

Home sweet home! I recently returned from a family vacation up in the beautiful Pacific Northwest. It’s nice to be back, but I really do miss it up there. I got the chance to visit Karen Oudean and Jerry Addington and meet up with a couple other talented growers. (Kinjie and Phaedra – great to meet you! Brie – I’m sorry we missed you!) And yes, I’ll be featuring photos from that visit in an upcoming post, so stay tuned!

For now, here’s a few snapshots from within The Asylum. Great to be home.

Back Home
The Asylum. The Sanctuary.

Sarracenia leucophyllaSarracenia leucophyllas putting up some nice fall foliage.

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

Sarracenia alata - maroon throat
Sarracenia alata – maroon throat

Sarracenia 'Reptilian Rose' x 'Adrian Slack'
Sarracenia ‘Reptilian Rose’ x ‘Adrian Slack’

Sarracenia (leucophylla "Purple Lips" x flava var. rubricorpora) x "Green Monster"
Sarracenia (leucophylla “Purple Lips” x flava var. rubricorpora) x “Green Monster”

Sarracenia leucophylla "Juju Lips" x flava "widemouth"
Sarracenia leucophylla “Juju Lips” x flava “Widemouth”

Sarracenia flava var. maxima x flava 'Suspicion'
Sarracenia flava var. maxima x flava ‘Suspicion’

Oh Hai! Even the Nepenthes are looking happy to see me back home!

Nepenthes izumiae x ramispina
Nepenthes izumiae x ramispina – new pitcher forming

Nepenthes "Song of Melancholy"
Nepenthes “Song of Melancholy” – pitcher opening up!

Nepenthes ventricosa x talangensis
Nepenthes ventricosa x talangensis

N. ventricosa X Tiveyi
Nepenthes ventricosa x tiveyi

Nepenthes thorelii x aristolochioides
Nepenthes thorelii x aristolochioides

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I returned home packing my suitcase with a few plants from Jerry. (Thanks again, Jerry!) The plants have made the trip back safe and sound and have been potted up. Here’s a couple of the plants that made it back with me.

Sarracenia oreophila hybrid
Sarracenia oreophila hybrid

Sarracenia 06-02
Sarracenia “06-02”  – sibling to Sarracenia “Jerry’s Goliath”
Parentage is uncertain, however Jerry suspects that S. ‘Doreen’s Colossus’ is involved somehow with Sarracenia “06-02” and Sarracenia “Jerry’s Goliath.”

Angles

Sarracenia 'Reptilian Rose' x (flava var. rubricorpora x leucophylla) - Clone 15Sarracenia ‘Reptilian Rose’ x (flava var. rubricorpora x leucophylla) – clone 15

I was going through some photos from earlier this year and found this angular beast. The photo was taken back  on 27 April. Kinda late, I know. Had to share though…  This peculiar plant has got some crazy angles going on! The cross was done by Dr. Travis Wyman and I started germinating the seed I got from him back in 2008. Phil Faulisi’s creation – S. ‘Reptilian Rose’ has a clear influence on this plant. The spring pitchers on this plant so far are typically the largest and exhibit some of the craziest angles. Pitchers later in the season are a little shorter, but still showcase a little bit of the angular peristome. Sweet.

SF GIANTS 2012 WORLD CHAMPIONS!

CONGRATULATIONS TO THE
2012 WORLD CHAMPION
SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS!

PURE EPIC. Against all odds the SF Giants have fought back from the brink of elimination time after time to win it ALL! This whole season was truly historic on so many levels, with so many stories of redemption. In my garden, the SF giants represent as you’ve probably read about here, or pollination using SF Giants finger here, 2011 parallels here, pitcher plant companion “catcher” plant here, and Sarracenia SF Giants tattoo pitcher plant project here.  I’m still buzzin’ after this victory… I can go on and on about the parallels between this team and my garden. But right now, I am just savoring this moment and reflecting on such an amazing season. Dude, it’s surreal. Once again, congratulations to the 2012 World Champion San Francisco Giants! GO GIANTS!!!!!

Sarracenia leucophylla "Purple Lips" x flava v. ornata
GO GIANTS!

Sarracenia SF GIANTS REPRESENT
Black and Orange! 

Sarracenia SF GIANTS REPRESENT
Sarracenia ‘Alucard’ – “Prince of Darkness” — #RomoBomb style!
For more info on how I did that SF logo imprint on the pitcher, 
check it out here.

CONGRATULATIONS TO THE SF GIANTS!
2012 WORLD CHAMPIONS!

Sarracenia (leucophylla x oreophila) Oudean Clone x ‘Adrian Slack’

I recently was cleaning and re-potting some of the S. (leucophylla x oreophila) Oudean Clone x ‘Adrian Slack’ babies and wanted to share a few photos of the resilient youngsters. This was a cross I did back in 2009. As with all of my other plants, they were struggling for most of the year due to the low light levels in the last grow area. Things are coming around I am constantly amazed by what I see. The pod parent plant is a richly colored S. leucophylla x oreophila clone that I obtained years ago from Karen Oudean. I used pollen from S. ‘Adrian Slack’ and got a wide range of great looking young plants.  Here are a few that have made an exceptional come back thus far. I am hoping for a great spring flush of pitchers next season. Being that the plants are recovering, who knows what they’ll look like next year with a full season of light? I can only dream.

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S. (leucophylla x oreophila) Oudean Clone x 'Adrian Slack'
Sarracenia (leucophylla x oreophila) Oudean Clone x ‘Adrian Slack’

First up is this one rather subtle yet elegantly tinted clone. It has a slight coppery blush about it. The pitcher recently opened as you may be able to tell as the nectar roll hasn’t quite fully unfurled. I’ll be watching it to see how that color develops. It would be interesting if most of the exterior of the pitcher will copper up, while the interior stays light.

Sarracenia (leucophylla x oreophila) Oudean Clone x 'Adrian Slack'
Sarracenia (leucophylla x oreophila) Oudean Clone x ‘Adrian Slack’

Another angle of the same plant above. There’s a few prominent vertical veins at this point in time – not too vieney. I like it. Who knows if more of those veins will fill in and lace the pitcher as it ages? I am also hoping for some of the white coloration to pull through from the leucophylla influences of both parents, even if it’s a quiet expression. With the obvious lack of strong color, I am still impressed by the form and structure of this one. Neat-o.

Sarracenia (leucophylla x oreophila) Oudean Clone x 'Adrian Slack'
Sarracenia (leucophylla x oreophila) Oudean Clone x ‘Adrian Slack’

Here’s another one from the batch. More veins are visible on this one. At this point in time, there appears to be some white “frosting” to the nectar roll adding a nice touch of color and depth to the overall look of the plant.

Sarracenia (leucophylla x oreophila) Oudean Clone x 'Adrian Slack'
Sarracenia (leucophylla x oreophila) Oudean Clone x ‘Adrian Slack’

Another clone, this one looking a little more rugged than the others. The shape of the nectar roll exhibited by the pitcher in the foreground reminds me a little bit of S. ‘Reptilian Rose’ it has a bit of that angularity mixed in. This is another one of those – eh, who knows?! The parentage of S. ‘Reptilian Rose’ is S. oreophila, Sand Mountain x S. ‘Royal Ruby’. All of the species in S. ‘Reptilian Rose’ (oreophila, leucophylla, flava) have a representation going on in this scenario. The pitcher in the rear has a nice little dip in the lip to it. Too early to tell if that toothy angularity will be consistent though.  Whatever, I’m still likin’ it.

Sarracenia (leucophylla x oreophila) Oudean Clone x 'Adrian Slack'Sarracenia (leucophylla x oreophila) Oudean Clone x ‘Adrian Slack’

This one has a nice radiant brightness about it. It is freshly opened so the coloration will most likely change. Right now, a lot of the white from the Sarracenia leucophylla influence from both sides of the parentage is apparent here. What I like about this one is that the heavy undulating lid that follows most of the Sarracenia leucophylla hybrids has been diluted, and what is left is the leucophylla color without all the frills. As with everything else, it’s too young to tell if all the current characteristics will remain. What I do know is that they are making a good recovery and that I look forward to the surprises they’ll  have in store next season.

Sarracenia ‘Reptilian Rose’ x ‘Adrian Slack’

Sarracenia 'Reptilian Rose' x 'Adrian Slack'

Sarracenia 'Reptilian Rose' x 'Adrian Slack'Sarracenia ‘Reptilian Rose’ x ‘Adrian Slack’

Earlier in June I wrote an update about this cross I did between two very special plants in 2010 – Sarracenia ‘Reptilian Rose’ x ‘Adrian Slack‘. (Parents photographed in the first photo above.) The photos in that June post were kind of colorless as they were just moved to the brighter holding area. They began to color up there and things are starting to look better now.

Photographed above is only one of the FOUR survivors from that cross. Both young pitchers are a result of the autumn flush of growth. The pitcher on the right has a very subtle irregular and slightly angular flavor to the nectar roll. I’m hoping that the angles from S. ‘Reptilian Rose’ will express themselves even more so as this plant and it’s siblings mature. The others may express it more so,  but I honestly can’t tell right now. Time will reveal all. The others don’t have much to show right now. They’re still looking like sorry floppy skinny looking things, but they’re serving a function by absorbing light, and saving the energy in the rhizome for next season’s growth. I hope to be able to see more defining characteristics from both parents next year.