Some plants just struggle

Not every plant can be a Drosera spiralis. There are a handful of plants in my collection that always seem like they're in a slump. Drosera collinsiae is definitely like that.

On the plus side, that utric looks great.

This is a very handsome plant when it's happy, but it just seems to get deflated by everything. Heat for sure, and Pyrethrin, but also the Bayer 3-in-1, which didn't seem to affect any other plant in the collection. I can't remember the last time this one had more than 3 dewy leaves.

Another consistently wimpy plant is Drosera ×snyderi, which is D. dielsiana × nidiformis.

They actually look pretty decent right now.

There were originally 5 plants in each pot. The one on the right clearly had a bit of a crash recently, but all of them look super set back whenever I have to spray for bugs or whatever. Funny plant.

A very funny case is Drosera schizandra. I've got two pots, and they're looking pretty different right now.

Spinach anyone?

There's a little pup in the bottom of the pot actually.

They're also looking pretty different than they looked back in January. I don't think there's been enough heat to cause a crash like this, and nothing else weird has happened. Who knows? This is a famously temperamental species, after all.


This next is a funny one. I got this Pinguicula esseriana from California Carnivores a year ago. It certainly hasn't grown, and looks to have shrunk back a bit in fact.

Little guy is lost down in there!

I don't know why that would be the case, because a bit later I received some small P. esseriana starts, and those are doing much better.

Look at all the little babies.

I should really just scoop out that first one and put it in the second pot to free up some space in the tray. I wish it would put on some size!

On a more hopeful note, the itty bitty Cephalotus follicularis I got in a trade a bit ago seems to be settling in rather than dying off.

We've got a long road to go, but we're off to a good start!

I believe that's a new pitcher on the upper right, and it's certainly a new leaf on the lower right. Progress!

The Drosera hamiltonii are a funny case. These look absolutely terrible, right?

Sooooo ugly right now.

The thing is, they're just fine. I fed a bunch of plants (including these) a week ago or so, and D. hamiltonii take forever to look good after feeding. The thing is, when they look good they look really good. Weird little sundews.

Finally, a pygmy that seems to have no idea whether or not it likes me.

I love all pygmies, even the fussy ones.

Drosera spilos is the only pygmy I've got that seems to go dormant at all in my conditions, and as you can see there are a couple of them that are dormant right now, in the middle of winter. Amusingly, this is as good as this pot has ever looked. No idea why. Sorry you don't like it here as much little guy!

Plants are weird.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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!