Sarracenia ‘Saurus’
The mighty and monstrous Sarracenia ‘Saurus’ – adjusting quite well to the PNW. Cross by Phil Faulisi. For more info, see the official cultivar description here.
“Take me home, Rob!”
Last month, a few fellow Carni-heads and I went to meet up with the Great Sarracenia Grandmaster Wizard of the Pacific Northwest, Jerry Addington. (Yes. A future post to follow.) Anyway, there was one seedling that I was particularly drawn to. Out of the thousands of plants – there was this one that I had this unexplainable attraction to.* At first glance, I didn’t know what the plant was and the tag was not visible. The tag was buried and hidden by a mass of other seedlings. But still, there was just something about this one. When I asked bout it, Jerry wasn’t sure what it was off the top of his head, but he was kind enough to let me bring it home with me. ** I then pulled the pot, and then looked at the tag. OHHHH. DAYMN. It was a cross I did a couple of seasons ago, then gave Jerry some seeds from the cross back then. Sarracenia ‘Saurus‘ x ‘Legacy‘. Even without knowing what it was at first sight, it was almost like the seedling was calling me. Weird. I know. But weird in a cool way.
It is still young and I’m looking forward to seeing it develop. It doesn’t have the rich and ominous coloration of S. ‘Saurus’, and it does not have the clear throat splotch of S. ‘Legacy’, but I think what I found familiar was the seedling shape – especially the mouth. See last photo below of S. ‘Legacy’ from 2010.
Here’s a few things that I’m watching with this baby that I’ll leave here on the blog so a few years from now I can look for this post and figure out how I did:
1.) Shape – I like the wide mouth and the smaller lid to mouth ratio. The mouth at this age really reminds me of the shape that S. ‘Legacy’ had in 2010.
2.) Size – this seedling was a bit taller than the others, and even taller than some of her siblings that were in the same pot. With S. ‘Saurus’ genes in the mix, who knows what this one will do.
3.) Coloration – Again, this the deep color from S. ‘Saurus’ did not carry over and the splotch of S. ‘Legacy’ is not really present (if you look closely, some coloration from the splotch is very very faint) — but this baby has this quiet and subtle pitcher coloration I like. The upper portion of the pitcher and inside is white with red veins running throughout. Should be a sweet contrast. The lid still maintains a bit of bright yellowish green. There is a main stripe down the middle, in the throat. When S. ‘Legacy’ was a baby, she also had one very prominent main stripe in the middle of the throat that developed into a beautiful splotch as she matured. (See last photo for reference.)
Again, this is still a baby but with those genes all up in the mix, who knows what it will do. For now, will just watch and wait. Thanks for germinating and growing this baby Jerry!
Sarracenia ‘Saurus’ x ‘Legacy’
Sarracenia ‘Saurus’ x ‘Legacy’
Sarracenia ‘Saurus’ x ‘Legacy’
For reference, the pollen parent in the above cross as a youngster. Sarracenia ‘Legacy’ photo from July 2010.
* The Rocket Man Ron Spores was with me when it happened. He witnessed the whole thing! Forreals!
** Funny enough, in the rush of packing things up and leaving that evening – I had left this pot and realized this only when I was on the road that something was missing. Thankful that fellow Sarraceniaphile and neighbor, Calen, visited Jerry later on and was able to bring this one back. Thanks again C-dawg!)
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.
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.
Inside the dome.
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.
Posted in Blog
Tagged Adrian Slack, moorei, nepenthes, Orange Glow, purpurea, Red Queen, Sarracenia, Saurus, Stapelia, tiveyi, venosa, ventricosa
Sarracenia “Saurus” never ceases to amaze me. This select cross of S. leucophylla “Purple Lips” x flava var. ornata was done by the legendary Phil Faulisi. I remember when I first saw this beast of a plant at Phil’s place in 2009 – I had to pick my jaw off the floor. I jokingly told Phil, “Phil – dude that thing is a Sarracenia-Saurus!” He then goes “Dude, you know what? You just named that plant!”
The pitchers on my division this year got to over 30 inches. If the plant wasn’t divided, they would of gotten close to the 40 inches that it normally attains. (See Phil’s post here.)
The pitchers below are fresh fall pitchers that recently opened up this past week. They will color up and get dark as the season rolls on. You can see the pitcher on the right in the first photo starting to darken up. For the time being, I’m enjoying the beautiful contrast of the veins as they lace up the pitcher. Simply amazing! As always, brilliant work, Phil!
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Sarracenia “Saurus” – A Phil Faulisi Creation
Sarracenia “Saurus” – A Phil Faulisi Creation
Posted in Blog
Tagged Faulisi, flava, Leucphylla, ornata, Phil Faulisi, Pitcher Plant, purple lips, Sarracenia, Saurus
