Tag Archives: purpurea

AF Buds

Oooooh… now this is pretty interesting! Well, for me at least. I know there were a couple of freak early flowers that opened up last month – but seeing buds start to pop up like this always is exciting. Many more buds are on the way and The Asylum should soon soon be flooded in bud breaking badass-ery. Here’s a few AF (anthocyanin free) buds for your viewing pleasure.  Oh, the potential!

Sarracenia purpurea subsp. venosa var. burkii f. luteola
Sarracenia purpurea ssp. venosa var. burkii f. luteola

Sarracenia mitchellilana - Anthocyanin Free
Sarracenia mitchelliana, AF clone

Sarracenia courtii AF x "Green Monster"Sarracenia courtii, AF clone x “Green Monster”

Shooting Around

Just a few random shots from around the ‘house… enjoy!

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S. oreophila x 'Adrian Slack'Sarracenia oreophila x ‘Adrian Slack’

Nepenthes JambanNepenthes jamban

Darlingtonia californiaDarlingtonia californica peeking out over the edge

Pinguicula "John Rizzi"Pinguicula “John Rizzi” in bloom

S. (oreophila x 'Royal Ruby') x 'Adrian Slack'S. (oreophila x ‘Royal Ruby’) x ‘Adrian Slack’ – young pitcher of a cross I did a couple of years ago. I believe that this is a pitcher that was sent up a bit later last season.

S. [(oreophila x minor) x (purpurea x rubra) x leucophylla] x "Green Frog"S. [(oreophila x minor) x (purpurea x rubra) x leucophylla] x “Green Frog”
This is a complex hybrid I did a few years ago. It’s the first time I’ve actually seen some characteristics from this baby.

S. psittacinaSarracenia psittacina
This is a large clone from Jerry Addington. It is still dormant and was recently repotted. It does not look like much now, but hoping it throws out some beast-mode behemoth foliage once it wakes from dormancy.

Sarracena rosea "Big Mama"Sarracenia rosea “Big Mama”
It’s currently dormant and recently repotted. Just like the S. psittacina above, I am hoping it throws out some beast-mode behemoth foliage once it wakes.

Sarracenia venosa, AF CloneSarracenia venosa, anthocyanin free clone

Early Riser: First Bloom

While most plants are dormant, there are a few that are early risers here.  Perhaps it is because a few are still adjusting and out of whack from all of the shuffle last year. Also, the greenhouse I am in now has a couple hot spots. The winner of this year’s first flower goes to a complex hybrid I did a few years ago of Sarracenia moorei – Yellow River, FL x [((purpurea x flava) x flava) x minor]


Sarracenia moorei, Yellow River, FL x [(purpurea x flava) x flava)] x minor

Running not far behind are a few plants, one of which is this anthocyanin free hybrid. Not sure exactly what this one is – perhaps some combo of AF (anthocyanin free) psittacina/rubra cross. I caught this one as the sun was behind the new pitcher. It was really highlighting that glow that I love so much with AF plants. And yeah, there’s still a whole slew of dead pitchers in the background, but I’m making my rounds cleaning up each section as I get to it.

Anthocyanin free hybrid about to bloom. I suspect a psittacina/rubra hybrid.

Seeing the signs of plants breaking dormancy is exciting indeed. Like, I’m freakin’ out inside when I think about all the possibilities this year! SO much to look forward to! Again, most of the plants are dormant and just a pile of elongated crispy leaves. These plants are just a handful that are awake early. This won’t be for long though. In a matter of a few short weeks, there again will be a deluge of growth and color. And yes, it will be awesome.

Fire and Brimstone

Sarracenia 'Golden Red Jubilee' x purpurea ssp. purpureaWhile cleaning out the and organizing plants the other day, I stumbled upon a pot of Sarracenia ‘Golden-Red Jubilee‘ x purpurea ssp. purpurea. Always nice to find surprises like this! I did this cross back (I think) in 2009. Possibly 2008. Eh, gotta check. From what I recall, many of the seedlings were deeply and richly colored. (Example: see 5th photo in this post from June of last year.) Even some of the green ones exhibited a nice “chunky” veiny trait to them. In the photo to the left, you can see the older foliage just limp and blah all over the pot looking messy, however there are 3 recent pitchers that really stood out that stem from 2 of the seedlings in the batch. One plant decided to don a mischievous yet fiery pink. The other is cloaked in a sulfur and brimstone yellow backdrop for the web of dark veins. Seeing this color combination together made me think of fire and brimstone. Both young siblings, though different in color, display a similar and elegantly sinister facade.

Sarracenia 'Golden Red Jubilee' x purpurea ssp. purpureaSarracenia ‘Golden-Red Jubilee’ x purpurea ssp. purpurea

Sarracenia 'Golden Red Jubilee' x purpurea ssp. purpurea
Sarracenia ‘Golden-Red Jubilee’ x purpurea ssp. purpurea

Out On The Table

September Coverage

You may of remembered that at beginning of this month, I was covering quite a few things up. Now, I’m finding myself laying it all out on the table. Well, tables. This last weekend, Dahlia and I spent the day doing some trimming, pulling the weeds out of the pots, and finally – getting the plants out to the tables. In the photo to the left, you can see a few of the tables covered up, finally. I’ve had the plants just bumbling along in their cement mixing tubs and other trays packed in somewhat tight (to save space.) This is great for moving and saving space. But now, I’m sure that the plants are happy to be moving from cramped quarters onto the water tables. The way they’re packed now leaves them desiring some room for improvement. Literally. See, although it’s brighter now, the plants aren’t getting all the light or air circulation that they could be getting since they’re packed close. Don’t get me wrong though! I’m in an area that’s much better – and now that the plants are getting spread out, they’ll really get hit with the light and air that they desire. What I’m hoping for is that the elongated foliage they developed at the old place would really be put to use now – acting as larger solar panels (for lack of better illustration) and absorb even more light to store in the rhizome for next season. Also, insects do find their way in because of the vents, so that’s more food for them! It isn’t pretty just yet, but next year should be quite a show. (I’m putting this down in this blog entry so that by the time next season comes around – I can test my theory out and see if my hypothesis is right.)

In the meantime, enjoy a few photos of the work in progress below! It’s not pretty as you’ll notice the long and stretched leaves that the plants produced. I was really tempted to cut most of those leaves off for aesthetic reasons/personal taste, but I know that the plants would benefit better if I left the foliage. Like I mentioned before — I’m hoping that those long leaves will be put to good use so I’m keeping a majority of them connected to the plant still. Also,  I won’t be dividing them just yet as I’d hate to disturb/shock them after all the crap they went through this year. I plan on doing some divisions later in the late fall/winter.

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After moving a few plants to the tables, the place really started to look like a nursery! It is truly a joy to see things come this far. That’s Dahlia in the back helping me weed/clean the plants. I grouped the plants together by genus/species/subspecies/variations as well. One of the things I’d like to do in the coming seasons is concentrate more on species and populations from different locations. Doing all of this hybridizing work really makes me appreciate the species so much more and makes me realize that keeping the genetic bloodlines is truly important.

I had species mixed up all over the place before. Now that I have room, it’s good to have things together. Another project in the future that I have in mind will be to do a census. I no longer keep a growlist as there have been too many changes in a short amount of time to even try to keep up with things. Freakin’ intense…

Above I’ve placed all Pinguicula, Dionaea, Drosera, Utricularia, and Darlingtonia together. I’ll be going through and dividing/propagating later, so keep checking back as I’ll make things available every now and then. And yeah, sorry for not updating the shop as often as I should, but — once things settle down and get organized, I hope to change that!

Sarracenia purpureas, psittacinas, and minors all together in this section. In the distance, you can see how friggin beat up the minors are from being in the low light conditions. Behind that are the leucophyllas.

Here’s a shot of the grouping of minors. So SAD! UGH! They are so beat up! The older traps are weak, elongated, and floppy. However, check out a few of the new traps as you can see those are strong and upright.

Here we have the grouping of Sarracenia rubra, and in the back is the Sarracenia leucophylla section. I’m keeping the rubras on the higher end/dryish part of the table. Fellow Sarracenia-phile Mike Wang suggests that S. rubras like things on the dryer side. I’ve been top watering and letting the excess run down to the rest of the table where the S. leucophyllas are sitting. Uneven tables: I guess that’s a good thing for situations like this.

Sarracenia leucophylla - 'Hurricane Creek White' clone D

Sarracenia leucophyllas are making a come back! S. leucophyllas throw pitchers up in the fall anyway – this is their time to shine! It’s nice to see them recovering and looking much happier now!

In this front section of this table are all of the S. ‘Reptilian Rose’ hybrids/seedlings that were created by Dr. Travis H. Wyman. I’m really spacing these out to get as much light and air to the plants as possible. I have great hopes for these babies, and I’m sure Dr. Wyman does too. In the back section are various other hybrids of similar shape/form all mixed in.

Another angle of the Sarracenia ‘Reptilian Rose’ hybrid section. You can see the old lanky growth vs. the stronger upright recent growth on some of these plants.

OH MY! The anthocyanin free section. OF COURSE! Y’all should know me by now. I am an anthocyanin free addict!

Here’s a few of the Sarracenia courtii AF x “Green Monster” crosses I did from 2009. They are on the road to recovery!

The field of screams! The Dionaea group. They’ve really turned around since the move into The Asylum.

Hope you enjoyed this quick update – will be working on putting the rest of the tables together and moving plants over the course of the next few weeks. Good times indeed!

Green Dragons and Princes

Last week, the greenhouse was invaded with dragons and princes. Sarracenia-ly speaking, of course! A pair of Sarracenia “Green Dragon” and Sarracenia “Green Prince” have made their homes here. So freaking excited. Those of you who know me know that I LOVE anthocyanin free plants! A huge THANK YOU to Jason Austin of Rarefind Nursery! The plants arrived in great condition! They were a little muddied up, but that’s nothing to worry about at all. I repotted them and hope they’re happy!

Sarracenia “Green Dragon” and Sarracenia “Green Prince” are crosses involving S. “Green Monster” as the pod parent. S. “Green Monster” is fascinating and amazing anthocyanin free version of S. excellens (a minor/leucophylla hybrid) – a cross created by Bill Scholl. S. “Green Dragon” is S. “Green Monster” x purpurea f. heterophylla, and S. “Green Prince” is S. “Green Monster” x leucophylla AF. Both of these crosses were done by Bill Smith in May of 2009, and the seed was sown in December 2009. (Dude, awesome stuff, Bill!)

I’ve done S. purpurea f. heterophylla x “Green Monster” last year (the reciprocal cross of S. “Green Dragon”, using S. purpurea f. heterophylla as the pod parent and S. “Green Monster” as the pollen parent) so it will be interesting to compare them. I would imagine that similar looking plants will arise. My S. leucophylla AF on the other hand hasn’t been dependable in breeding in the past 3 years. That’s why you haven’t seen me doing many crosses with them. The pollen seems to be firing blanks, or something. I think this year a few pods did take, but seed count was very low in the ones I’ve harvested.

Anyway, below are a few photos of some of the new AF plants that have made their home with me. Jason and Rarefind – THANK YOU so much for these awesome plants! Looking forward to seeing them grow!

Sarracenia "Green Prince" and "Green Dragon" arrive
The princes and dragons arrive.

Sarracenia "Green Prince" Sarracenia "Green Prince"
Sarracenia “Green Prince”

Sarracenia "Green Dragon" Sarracenia "Green Dragon"
Sarracenia “Green Dragon”

Sarracenia "Green Prince" and "Green Dragon"The princes and dragons living together in harmony.

Growing Up Fast

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

My oh my, how quickly the children grow. It was only a few moments ago that they were sealed up in their little baggies waiting to germinate. Then sprouting up with a voracious appetite. Man, they grow up so fast…