Tuesday, July 21, 2015

I've been really busy!

It's been so long since I've made a blog post. I feel bad about it!

Byblis liniflora budding.
Byblis liniflora forming its first bud. Cute!
As I mentioned in my last post, I've started a new job recently. I've also been visiting family, and had family come visit, and helped a friend move. There's been almost no time for plants.

Drosera burmannii from Gunung Keledang.
Little tiny Drosera burmannii from Gunung Keledang.
Luckily my plants pretty much grow by themselves at this point. I've been meaning to make a post about my setup (hopefully soon), but as long as I keep it watered they just chug along. Luckily I started some seeds just before I got all busy.

Nepenthes tobaica × aristolochioides.
Nepenthes tobaica × aristolochioides. Looking forward to this guy growing out.
I've even bought a couple Nepenthes lately, of all things. They're living on my windowsill in the kitchen. It's a good place for Nepenthes.

Nepenthes sanguinea orange form.
Nepenthes sanguinea orange form. I like easy neps.
One never stays this busy forever. I've got all sorts of plant projects that I want to get started with, and I'll make sure to keep the blog abreast of everything. It's not like I'm going to stop getting new plants hahahah.

Thursday, July 9, 2015

Small plants getting bigger

I've started a new job recently, so it's been hard to find time to spend with my plants. Hopefully things will settle down a bit in the next couple weeks. In the meantime, my Drosera spilos seem to have stopped sulking and are starting to put out some carnivorous leaves.

Drosera spilos.
Even unhappy pygmies are adorable.
Let's see if they actually start growing now.

The largest plantlet of my little Dionaea 'B-52' pot is looking mighty cute.

Dionaea 'B-52' plantlets.
There are like 6 or 7 rosettes in there. Nice!
This clone was selected for its large trap size primarily, but I think that the best things about it are the nice strong contrast between the red mouths and the green margins and petioles, as well as the very tidy shape. It's a really fantastic plant.

It's less tidy than the D. 'B-52' plantlets, but my Utricularia cornigera is really taking off.

Utricularia cornigera (and friends).
All the cool kids are growing Utricularia these days.
It's hiding behind the Drosera 'Marston Dragon' and the Utricularia humboldtii, but there's a leaf off to the left and several to the right. I should get this guy somewhere where it can stand out more, because it's looking wonderful.

For the really tiny though, you need to peep these Sarracenia seedlings.

Sarracenia 'Lamentations' × 'Extreme Unction' seedlings.
Maria calls Sarr seedlings "baby brontosauruses."
These are Sarracenia 'Lamentations' × 'Extreme Unction' – two Peter d'Amato cultivars that are just loaded with good genetics. Maybe in 5 or 6 years I'll have some fantastic clone to show off! We'll see.

And in terms of baby Sarrs, my Sarracenia leucophylla f. viridescens are getting bigger.

Sarracenia leucophylla f. viridescens.
They're almost glowing! I can't wait to see these grow out.
Well, they're actually mine and Anne's. We split the bid in the NASC auction. Come on little guys!

Saturday, July 4, 2015

Summertime!

I guess it's summer now for real. I can tell because Drosera cistiflora is finally giving up the ghost.

Drosera cistiflora.
Goodnight, sweet prince.
Now comes the real challenge – I've gotta get it to sleep, then keep it alive during dormancy, and then I need to wake it up in fall. Fingers crossed!

Right nearby there's some funny leaves in the Drosera adelae pot.

Drosera adelae.
Mmm. Lettuce.
You can clearly see the affinity with Drosera schizandra here. This big old colony is hilarious.

In terms of summer, my Pinguicula sp. Tehuacán is leafing out into carnivorous growth, and dang this is a cute ping.

Pinguicula sp. Tehuacán.
Looks like that pulling I took didn't take. Oh well.
It's got great color and nice neat leaf margins. Upturned leaf margins are one of my favorite characteristics on pings.

Finally, I made a very silly image to offer in lieu of fireworks for the Fourth.

Pygmy sundews as fireworks.
I'm not ashamed.
It's pygmies! :-D