What happens after 3 months of neglect?

So we all know that I haven't been giving my plants quite the attention they deserve lately. But what really drove it home for me was seeing Drosera prolifera take things into its own hands.

Thus the name I guess.

Look at these little plantlets just dangling in midair. Tell me that's not hilarious.

Hahahah whoops! Let's see what else is going on around the collection.

Drosera 'Emerald's Envy' doesn't seem to have enjoyed the handful of heat waves we've had recently.

Sorry about the heat little dude.

I don't think this guy is toast though – there's a new flush of leaves there, and the weather should be cooler over all pretty soon.

As I was preparing this post, I was planning on saying "The smaller Pinguicula reticulata died while I wasn't looking," but then I went in for a picture and realized it was just dormant.

So tiny I almost lost it.

So tiny! The larger plant didn't go dormant, and is looking great.

What an unbelievable red.

Check out that color! I'm swooning here.

The Drosera occidentalis that I had given up on as a lost cause sprouted up out of nowhere on me.

I'm continually surprised by how hard it is to actually kill a plant.

Look at those cute little nubbins! I don't know why everyone isn't an obsessive pygmy collector.

The Drosera madagascariensis, which I've been needing to trim back for a year, have given up on the stakes and are just splayed out everywhere.

Stems everywhere!

There's a lot of flowers stalks I need to trim in there too...

I've missed photographing 2 Byblis liniflora flowers during the last couple months, but it looks like a couple more might be on the way.

The colors in this plant are so subtle and fine. I love it.

I really like this plant. It's so fragile-looking.

Finally, the best thing to come out of this period of neglect is my Pinguicula 'Aphrodite', which is looking absolutely stunning right now.

Again, thus the name.

The color plus the dew is nuts. And it's offsetting!

All told the collection is still looking pretty good inside (don't ask me about my Sarracenia – that's for another, more somber post). I'm really fortunate that the climate in the Bay Area is very sundew-friendly, and that my growing setup is so self-regulating. The timer keeps the lights on the right cycle, and the cool nights keep the plants from frying. I even got quite lax with water – letting my trays go dry for several days at a time – and the plants didn't noticeably suffer.

This is not to say that I could ignore my plants forever. I've got a lot of trimming and a bit of repotting to do to keep things tidy in my collection. Fortunately the Bayer 3-in-1 seems to have finally taken care of my aphid problem. Looking forward to a good autumn. It's almost gemmae season!

Some new plants

Everyone (in the US at least) should check out Carnivorous Plant Auctions and Sales on Facebook. It's a great group to find uncommon plants for sale. Just recently I bought a couple plants from Brie, a grower in Washington state who has an amazing collection (I'm especially fond of her pings).

The first plant I got was a mature Pinguicula reticulata.

Some leaves fell off during potting, so I'm hoping I get some babies.

I just couldn't resist! I didn't want to wait for the little guy I got in the NASC auction to grow up.

Come on little guy!

And who knows, maybe it'll be two different clones and I can try cross-pollinating them at some point.

I also picked up a mature Dionaea 'Justina Davis'.

Flytraps are pretty cool I guess.

This all-green cultivar was registered by Barry Rice back in the days of yore (2006). Definitely a less-than-common cultivar with a funny story behind the name.

Finally, since I've been moving things around a bit under the lights I had room to start some new seeds. It's been a while since I started seeds!

Starting from seed is so exciting.

These four pots contain seeds of Drosera burmannii (Gunug Keledang), Drosera filiformis "Florida all-red", Drosera brevifolia (Kountze, TX), and Drosera tomentosa. It's been a while since I've started from seed, so I'm excited to watch these guys get going.

Some of my NASC auction acquisitions

As I mentioned a bit ago the NASC held its annual benefit auction at Terra Forums about a month ago. I donated several plants, and bid on several plants. I'm still waiting on some of my flytraps to arrive, but I'll just go ahead and post about the plants that have shown up.

First up is the most exciting, and the one for which I paid the most, Pinguicula reticulata.

So small, but so full of promise!

It's not huge now, but it's very attractive when mature. Also, the flowers are beautifully veined.

Another ping with a beautiful flowers is Pinguicula rotundiflora.

Let's see some strikes on those leaves.

I cannot wait until I have a little pot full of these guys in flower. It's adorable. There were lots of leaves to try as pullings when it arrived too, hahahah.

This next plant is Drosera capillaris, which I already have. This, however, is a very different long-arm form, and it came with location data I couldn't resist: Tate's Hell Swamp.

I had to get at least one sundew.

I've said it before, but Drosera capillaris is a very underrated species.

The grower from whom I received the P. rotundiflora and the D. capillaris (as well as a Pinguicula debbertiana that, alas, didn't survive shipping) sort of messed up shipping, and in his second package he sent along a handsome bonus: Drosera slackii!

When it rains it pours I guess.

I'm really hoping this is a different clone from the one I got from California Carnivores recently. That would leave the possibility of someday getting seed, if I provide excellent conditions and get lucky.

This last acquisition is actually one I split with my friend Anne, who works at the Cactus Jungle. It's a seedling plug of several little baby Sarracenia leucophylla f. viridescens, aka anthocyanin-free S. leucophylla.

Sarracenia seedlings take longer, but that just builds anticipation!

Little babies! I'm going to grow them out a bit under my lights and then we'll divide the plug between us. These are going to look awesome in a couple years, see if they don't!

I can't think of anything better than buying carnivorous plants for charity, hahahah.