A couple of days ago whilst I was meandering about the garden, I spotted some lunch makin’ its way to the plant. Needless to say, after a few moments of sippin’ that luscious plant liqueur – there was a slip n’ slide, a few faint buzzes and… well… lunch was then served. Yumm-o!
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[Sarracenia “John Rizzi” x ‘Judith Hindle’ w/ lunch.]
[Sarracenia Seed Pods, collected 8.15.10]
Clockwise from top: S. flava “widemouth” x ‘Adrian Slack’, S. ‘Alucard’ x leucophylla anthocyanin free,
S. “Goliath” x ‘Adrian Slack’, S. oreophila – veined x ‘Adrian Slack, S. ‘Alucard’ x ‘Leah Wikerson’
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It’s that time of year again – today I was out in the grow area harvesting some pods. I left some of the labels on them so you can see how I keep track of the crosses as I do them. I learned the hard way to cover the tag in tape as snails will eat the cardboard and you loose the ID all together. That was one mistake I learned the hard way last year. I did all these crosses only to have the identity taken by snails. DOH!
Anyway, I know the pods may not look like much now but I am hopeful for some of these crosses. Over here it’s been on the cool side of things so many plants and pods seem a little behind. More pods are forthcoming which means more seeds soon! I am really looking forward to some of the ones I did this year … now just gotta figure out where I can put them all… 😉
Sarracenia ‘Reptilian Rose’ is definately one of my all time favorite plants. S. ‘Reptilian Rose’ was created by a good friend and breeding mentor, the legend: Phil Faulisi. (DUDE!) More information on the plant can be found here: http://www.carnivorousplants.org/cpn/Species/v38n1p12_22.html#Reptilian The following photo is an example of what S. ‘Reptilian Rose’ looks like. (Same plant as in my gravitar, to the right) 😉
[Sarracenia ‘Reptilian Rose’]
The following photos are seed grown crosses of S. ‘Reptilian Rose’ that were created by fellow carnivorous cohort, Dr. Travis Wyman. (Thanks Travis!) These photos were taken in June/July of this year (2010) and seedlings are just a little under 2 years old. I began to germinate them indoors back during the December of 2008. You can see some variation and some similarities. Keep in mind that these plants are still young and still have a lot of growing up to do. Some are showing tell-tale signs of the angular nectar roll, but we won’t really know how pronounced that characteristic will be until these pitchers are fully mature. And I haven’t noticed any scents just yet… but I’ll keep you posted on my findings and I’ll post photos now and then as the plants mature. 😉
[Sarracenia ‘Reptilian Rose’ x leucophylla “pale”]
[Sarracenia ‘Reptilian Rose’ x leucophylla “pale”]
[Sarracenia ‘Reptilian Rose’ x leucophylla “pale”]
[Sarracenia ‘Reptilian Rose’ x leucophylla “pale”]
[Sarracenia ‘Reptilian Rose’ x leucophylla “pale”]
[Sarracenia ‘Reptilian Rose’ x (flava var. rubricorpora x leucophylla)]
[Sarracenia ‘Reptilian Rose’ x (flava var. rubricorpora x leucophylla)]
[Sarracenia ‘Reptilian Rose’ x (flava var. rubricorpora x leucophylla)]
[Sarracenia ‘Reptilian Rose’ x (flava var. rubricorpora x leucophylla)]
Howdy y’all! So as I was thinning out some of the S. leucophylla x flava seedlings pots a few days ago, I stumbled across this one interestin’ lil’ fella. This was from a batch of seeds that a buddy of mine sent in 2008. Most definately, this is one of the kids that I’ll be watching in this group. This is the first juvenile pitcher showing these characteristics. The new pitchers that are coming up will be opening in a few days are exhibiting the same qualities – predominately white upper pitchers with nice green veins. Dude, you never really know what you’ll get with those lil’ seeds – and that’s part of what makes this breeding thing so fun! 🙂 Hope everyone has a good weekend!
[Sarracenia “Ares”]
I’m standing somewhat at the threshold of my own “hybridization journey” since I’ve only recently started breeding a couple of years ago. A lot of ideas have already taken root and put up those “seedling” pitchers. Some plants are a couple years old and are showing a lot of promise as young juveniles. And yet, some ideas are still locked away in seed pods waiting to be harvested. This journey has just begun. As I watch my own path open up before me, I savor and enjoy the moment as it all unfolds before me.
Now, watching things unfold before you is pretty awesome. Here’s Sarracenia “Ares” opening a brand spankin’ new pitcher!
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Sarracenia “Ares” is a plant that was created by a very good friend who has motivated me much in this Sarracenia creation madness/obsession/addiction – Jerry Addington. (Jerry – Thank you!) Countless hybridization ideas have been bounced off each other, and hopefully soon you’ll be able to see some of those things take life! Be sure to check out Jerry’s website: http://courtingfrogs.com/
Posted in Blog
Tagged Ares, Carnivorous Plant, create, Garden, Obsession, Pitcher Plant, Saracenia Ares, Sarracenia, Sarracenia Hybrid, The Pitcher Project, vision
[Sarracenia ‘Tapestry’]
A few days ago, I was just decompressing in the garden spending some time with the Sarracenia. Just one of the ways I love to decompress after a VERY trying day in the office. My mind numb from all the demands that comes with the real estate industry.
So there I am with in camera in hand photographing some plants. Looking over to where this plant was, it’s elegance really struck me. S. ‘Tapestry’ has always been a plant I’ve greatly admired, but that day I was really taken (even more so) by how the rich dark veins play such a beautiful contrast on the pitchers.
After such a long day, I found myself drawing some pretty self relevant metaphorical parallels by just admiring the plant. We all go through “stuff”. There are times that will be challenging and dark. But looking at the big picture, those are the times that refine us and add character. Those are the defining times that add a flair of enigmatic artistry to the beautiful tapestry of our life.
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This is one hybrid that’s just amazing. S. ‘Tapestry’ was created and registered by my good friend, Karen Oudean. (Thanks Karen!) Visit her website at: http://www.oudeanswillowcreeknursery.com/
For more information about S. ‘Tapestry’, check out http://www.carnivorousplants.org/cpn/Species/v38n2p56_58.html
Posted in Blog
Tagged Carnivorous Plant, Garden, Obsession, Pitcher Plant, Sarracenia, Sarracenia Hybrid, Sarracenia Tapestry, Tapestry, The Pitcher Project
I’ve always been fascinated with carnivores. Ever since I was a child, I was involved in gardening with my grandparents. When I learned that carnivorous plant existed, I was determined to obtain and grow them. I first learned of carnivores when I saw them on TV, watching Nature on PBS. I also remember seeing a segment on carnivorous plants on the kids science show Mr. Wizards World back when it used to be aired on Nickelodeon.
Back then I only had access to the pale and wilted moldy venus fly traps at the local hardware store. The plants were located on the bottom shelf of course. In the dark. Behind the paints. Directions to care for these things instructed me to “feed hamburger”, allow only “4-6 hours of sunlight a day”, “plant in rich loamy soil” that “included leaf mold” and “keep under 60F.” Horrid I tell you. Pretty much, for us carnivore-heads, we’ve all been there.
When I first saw the pitcher plant on TV, I was just going nuts. I HAD TO HAVE ONE. JUST ONE. I must of been about 6 or 7 years old at the time. I didn’t have access to any pitcher plants so I made my own. How you ask? Forced evolution. Kinda.
My grandfather had onions growing in the garden. The large kinds that were as tall if not taller than me at the time. I noticed their tubular leaf structure and in my childhood wisdom and creativity figured out that Sarracenia must of evolved from these plants.
Now the photos I took today were of some green onions I have growing in the yard, so these aren’t as large and magnificent as the pitcher plants I created before… but for illustrative purposes, it will do.
[Onions. Where “Sarracenia must of evolved from.”]
So what did I do? I selected large onions leaves to create the pitcher. I took my scissors and cut the tube at the desired length and angle. Viola! There’s my pitcher! To help it evolve faster, I used a spray bottle to fill it with water. Ok. Now how about digestive fluid?
[Pitcher plant in creation.]
Uh… so again, my childhood creativity kicked in and I spat into the pitcher. Yeah. That’s right. I spat. I spitted. Yumm-O! My idea was that the saliva would help digest the insects that it would catch. That onion smelled enough anyway, and I figured bugs would be drawn to the scent. I helped to feed the plant by finding bugs and placing it into the watery-spit filled abyss… Oh those were good times indeed. My addiction in its early stages yielding some really creative results…
