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
Sarracenia Seedlings
Hi! Here’s a few seedlings that have been under lights this winter. Some of the characteristics are now starting to show and I’m pretty excited to see how these evolve! There’s a few interesting ones I’m watching. As always, I am enjoying the journey. Witnessing something that was once a concept manifest into something tangible, beautiful, and carnivorous is pretty special. 🙂
Seedling: S. luteola x purpurea “Smurf”
Last month I pulled some seedlings from the outdoors to grow under lights indoors for the winter. This will give them a little jump in growth to prepare for next season. A few years ago I did some crosses with the uniquely shaped S. purpurea “Smurf”. Smurf has an interesting form with a hood that tightly rolls inward. This causes the hood to form a point or appear contorted. … Read More
A visit with Jeremiah: Aug 2021
Back in Aug 2021, Kinjie and I traveled to Colorado to meet up with Jeremiah. Here’s a few clips and photos from the visit. A huge thank you to Jeremiah & family for your hospitality and generosity! 🌱☺️
Frosty
Mornings have recently been pretty chilly and during this time, days have been starting off with frosted plants. And icy water tables. Warmer days are around the corner, but for now I’m enjoying the haunting beauty of dormancy. Here’s a few frames of frosted foliage. Photos are from 26 Jan 2022.
Super Duper!
There’s a new anthocyanin free Sarracenia in the collection. Sarracenia purpurea f. luteola ‘Super-duper’! A huge thank you to Bob Ziemer for this fantastic plant. This is an incredible large growing luteola. The official cultivar description can be found here: https://cpn.carnivorousplants.org/articles/CPNv49n3p139_142.pdf Upon opening the box, I was shocked by the impressive size of the plant. The other luteolas that I grow have not gotten anywhere close to this size. … Read More