Apoc (short for Apocalypse) gets faded up! This wonderful creature was first spawned in September, 2020. It is comprised of custom concrete horns, glass eyes, sphagnum moss, and the fantastically strange S. purpurea “Smurf”. The gnarled and twisted pitchers of S. “Smurf” fit perfectly as the crest. Live sphagnum moss was used as a top dressing in this creation. As the moss grew in, it secured everything into place. … Read More
Thank You, Dr. M.
I am saddened by the news of the recent passing of the great Dr. Larry Mellichamp. My deepest and sincere condolences go out to all his loved ones. “Dr. M.” has been, and continues to be such an legendary inspiration. Larry and I were in first in contact back in 2009 when I was really getting into Sarracenia cultivation and breeding. I had a lot of questions about this … Read More
Hail Yeah
Oregon spring weather has been interesting latey. Last week temps reached a high of 79°F. And then later that week was snow. Yes, snow. Yesterday hail happened. Yay. Fun stuff right? Here’s a few clips of hail from yesterday, 14 Apr 2022.
Spring Cleaning 2022
Spring cleaning is in full effect in the garden. Each season, once the deep freeze danger passes, I remove the dormant pitchers that once served as winter insulation. I typically wield the clippers (these specifically are my favorites for the job – thanks Jenn!) but occasionally other methods such as a sword or fire could be involved. As mentioned previously, trimming is one of those meditative and therapeutic work … Read More
Nepenthes Pollen Collection
Hello! One of my nepenthes recently bloomed – exciting stuff! In the past, I’ve snipped those flower spikes off – but this time, I’ll be attempting some Nepenthes crosses in collaboration with other growers. This is my actually very first time collecting Nepenthes pollen and wanted to document and share what I’m learning. Unlike Sarracenia, Nepenthes are dioecious. This means plants produce flowers that are either female or male. … Read More
Sarracenia Clean Up ASMR
Enjoy the soothing sounds of Sarracenia pitchers burning. With the impending growth right around the corner, it is now time to clean up the grow area. My usual method of tidying the Sarracenia up is trimming. (See Trim 2021 here.) This season, I decided to commence cleaning with a little bit of burning. In the 90 second Sarracenia burn ASMR video, the flames consume the dormant pitcher canopy allowing … Read More
Persistent Pitchers
March already?! What? Spring and new growth is right around the corner. But for now – it is still grey and cold out here. While most of the collection is looking very dry and crispy, a few persistent pitchers are still lingering from last season. Last season! Mostly S. purpurea and their hybrids seem able to hold a few traps through a PNW winter. I love how hardy these … Read More
Cold Dragon
Here’s another creature that survives the winters out here. Below is a photo from September 2020 – when this infernal alien amalgamation was spawned into existence. It is comprised of custom concrete horns, glass eyes, sphagnum moss, and the fantastically strange S. purpurea “Smurf”. The gnarled and twisted pitchers were the perfect plant for the crest. Sphagnum moss was used as a top dressing. As the moss grew in, … Read More
Purpurea Pumice Ice Bowl
More frozen fun from this morning! This week, temps have been dipping into the low 20’s and teens – and some plants still look decent. S. purpurea (most notably northern types) and their hybrids can take that cold – with the pitchers lasting into the next season. More recently I’ve been drawn to purpurea and purpurea type plants lately. Not just for the looks, but also for cold hardiness. … Read More
Seedling Spotlight: Lidless
Pitcher plants come in all sorts of colors and forms. They look pretty unique already … but those lidless ones? Oh, those lidless ones are on another level of strange and I like it! They are beautifully bizarre and appear heliamphora-esque. I enjoy the overall look of their simplified shapes. Back in 2019, I crossed S. flava var. rubricorpora – lidless and S. flava – lidless giant. That cross … Read More