Backyard Sarracenia update

I've been spending more time indoors with my pings and sundews lately, so I decided to have a look at what's going on outside. The light was a little funny, so the pictures are a bit funny. At least this Sarracenia minor looks sort of cute with that soft hazy light.

This is one of the prettiest pictures I've seen of my S. minor.

Really nice color on these pitchers. I love the orange and green with the white fenestrations.

My Sarracenia purpurea has also fleshed out and colored up, so that all the bird damage from last year is gone.

Nice and fat again!

I could probably afford to size up the pot again as well, but I can't imagine that happening before next year, hahahah.

This is a clone I got from the Cactus Jungle that they're calling Sarracenia "Rosy Reptile", since it's apparently the same cross as the famous Sarracenia 'Reptilian Rose', but a different selection.

Kind of a flamboyant pitcher. I like that.

S. 'Reptilian Rose' is Sarracenia oreophila "Sand Mountain" × 'Royal Ruby' (which is a natural S. ×moorei selection). I wasn't clear if this means that S. "Rosy Reptile" is a different selection of the actual cross that produced S. 'Reptilian Rose', or if someone reproduced the cross and selected this clone. I'll have to ask Anne for clarification. In any case I dig those red lips and the big pitcher lid.

I'm getting some color on Sarracenia psittacina, but I really need to pot it into something larger, since it's getting a bit cramped as is.

Poor cramped little guy.

I've got at least two divisions in there too. Excited!

I got several Venus flytraps during the NASC auction, and this Dionaea 'Dente' was among them.

Dionaea is a pretty cool genus I guess.

The rest need to recover some more from shipping, but this one's looking good!

I've got a total of 3 pitchers on Sarracenia ×formosa now. That's not a lot, but they're really pretty.

Not as big as they were at the end of last season. We'll see!

This plant is fairly low-profile and sturdy, so it bears the high winds we've had lately fairly well.

Alas, the same cannot be said for the taller plants, and this Sarracenia flava pitcher has paid the ultimate price.

The Carnivore Girl and I both have derpy S. flava now. Feels good man.

Poor goofy little pitcher.

Sarracenia out back

It's still early in the season for Sarracenia, but my plants have gotten a bit of a head start, considering that spring arrived in the Bay Area sometime in mid-January. I went out and took some photos in the early evening today, since the diffuse light shows them to much better effect that the glaring sun that they enjoy during the middle of the day.

The first thing I want to highlight is Sarracenia 'Red Bug'. I picked this plant up from California Carnivores just under 3 weeks ago, and it is looking great out in the full sun. Check out the tan it's got going.

S. 'Red Bug' and Drosera filiformis on March 17th.

S. 'Red Bug' on April 2nd.

Now I can see why it's got that name.

Nearby my Sarracenia 'Abandoned Hope' has popped a couple of big, beautiful pitchers.

I love the orange-yellow-red coloring.

These are still really fresh too – they should color up even more deeply over the summer.

I've finally got a few new pitchers on my poor Sarracenia purpurea that got all torn up by pigeons last year.

This was one of my first carnivores. It makes me nostalgic.

I love how the new pitchers have this sort of porcelain glow to them – they almost don't look real.

Speaking of glowing, since the sun was heading down I got a great backlit shot of the newest pitchers on my Sarracenia minor

It's lit up like a lamp. That would be a cool lamp!

This one gets nice and dark orange after a couple of months in the sun too.

The nearby Sarracenia ×formosa (which is S. psittacina × minor) only has two pitchers so far, but they're developing nicely.

"Formosa" means beautiful in Latin. Appropriate!

I like the color gradient running down the pitcher tube a lot.

There's a large clump of Sarracenia alata red throat that has 3 big flowers and is just sending up its first pitcher.

These flowers are so cute coming up from the rhizomes this way.

I'm looking forward to having a big clump of pitchers soon.

I received this Sarracenia ×moorei (which is S. flava × leucophylla) as a bonus plant in a trade a couple months ago. I had no idea how it was going to look.

Charming closeup here.

Looking pretty nice so far! I'm hoping the colors become more distinct as the season progresses.

My original Sarracenia flava has essentially no coloring to speak of (though it's not anthocyanin-free). What it does have is some of the most nicely-shaped and proportionate pitchers I've seen anywhere.

Some of these pitchers are bug-damaged. Darn!

Now that is a lovely plant. If my conditions were more controlled I bet I could grow it out into a show-worthy specimen.

I've got a young Sarracenia oreophila that has some really nice venation going on.

Enjoying the last rays of sun.

It'll be another year at least before the pitchers are big and mature, but I bet it will look fantastic.

Meanwhile my large clump of S. oreophila has the nicest composition of any of my pots outside.

A nice little S. oreophila vignette.

Wonderful plant!

I'm very excited for the next few months.

Challenges growing Sarracenia outdoors

I don't post about my Sarracenia very often. In large part that's because they're really difficult to photograph with my phone camera, which loves to focus on the wood grain of the fence in the background rather than the pitcher in the foreground. Whatever.

In any case, here's how they looked today.

The outdoor growing area is still pretty haphazard.

First of all, they are definitely pitchering pretty nicely, especially that Sarracenia leucophylla in the background, and the Sarracenia flava  var. maxima on the left. I've seen some good rhizome expansion too, especially on the S. leucophylla.

The clones I have are pretty attractive. The S. flava maxima has wonderful lid shape, and the Sarracenia minor is really nicely colored. However, there are definitely problems. First of all, I think this area is much too windy. Check out these broken pitchers.

Broken S. flava pitcher.

Broken S. alata pitcher.

Broken S. minor pitcher.

It can get powerfully windy in my neighborhood and I think it's just too much for these pitchers. The breaks are too clean to be chewing, and the pitchers are often younger, so I don't think it's just too many bugs.

I also have a problem with pigeons. I've seen them perch on my plants and peck out the bugs. Pretty sure that's what happened to Sarracenia 'Abandoned Hope'.

I still haven't Abandoned Hope yet!

And my Sarracenia purpurea has been totally shredded.

Someday my S. purpurea will be back in shape.

However, there's new growth on both of these, so it's not like they can't bounce back. I guess I'll just have to be okay with somewhat ratty looking Sarracenia until I put together a nicer growing area. Oh well! Growing carnivores is always a learning process.

One big plus I've noticed lately is that the S. leucophylla "Hurricane Creek" that I won at the Spring BACPS meeting auction has finally started sending up a pitcher. I couldn't get a decent picture, but that's exciting! I had given up on it almost.

Plants that are doing great!

I feel like lately I've been posting a lot about plants that are struggling, or cultivation errors, stuff like that. I've felt a little down on the collection recently, mostly because I haven't had time to spend with my plants, even though there are several chores I'd like to do. Also the Summer Batch isn't doing so hot (but that's a later post).

In order to not be all down in the dumps, I decided to document some plants that are doing really well. Most of these I haven't mentioned much lately.

First up, my Drosera anglica  CA x HI has bounced back strongly from that haircut I gave it back in June.

This hybrid is really the work of an extremely skilled horticulturalist.

I haven't even fed it all that much. This is an extremely vigorous clone, and it seems to really like my conditions. Major winner!

My main Drosera aliciae is sending up a new bloom stalk, and is looking as good as I've ever seen it look.

The color on this plant is still totally nice, just not as burnished red as it can get.

This is the first time it's seemed properly dewy. My lights are somewhat higher than they were a couple months ago (to accommodate my Drosera binata clones), so the light intensity is somewhat lower. As a result the leaves are a bit longer and the coloration isn't as red. However, dew production is higher and the plant looks healthier over all. Perhaps a data point against my "more light is always better" standard for sundews?

I received a Utricularia calycifida during the NASC Auction, and it is spreading all over the pot, in addition to mounding up nicely in the middle.

It's so funny seeing a pot fill up with a utric.

Now I'm just waiting for it to bloom, which is always the goal with utrics. Although I've got to say, seeing the new leaves pop up everywhere is extremely gratifying, even without flowers.

This little Sarracenia purpurea seedling I received as a trade bonus is quite the treat to have inside.

I'll totally be able to keep growing these under lights for at least another year.

Coloration is great, and it's pitchering nicely. This is especially nice since the S. purpurea I have outside is all torn up. I couldn't figure out what was going on until one day I noticed a pigeon perching on top of the pitcher plant, from whence it would peck the bugs out of the taller plants (like Sarracenia flava and Sarracenia leucophylla), also damaging those. It's a grim sight among the pitcher plants outside (although in truth they're essentially healthy and growing, just beat up).

Okay, enough bad news! Back to the cool plants. Check out how rad this Drosera binata clone is looking.

The color on this clone is really special. Look at that red!

It's big time! Great color, great dew, just going along putting out new growth. A+, would grow again.

Finally, a permanent member of the "plants that make me feel happy" club, Drosera allantostigma.

D. allantostigma is really my loveliest sundew.

This picture almost captures its wonderful shape, and the color and the dew are obvious. In my opinion this little pygmy is the gold standard in rosetted sundews. It's just so perfectly shaped and lovely and it grows and grows. Pretty much perfect in every way.

There. I feel better. Sometimes it's important to sit back and think how cool it is to be growing these complex, unique plants. It's really a privilege, if you think about it – getting to observe these weird life-forms up close and learn about this whole different world, right in my living room. Sundews are great :)

Some plant progress photos

Decided to share some photos of my plants progressing and growing. It's fun! Although in the case of the VFT it's more "breaking dormancy" and less "getting more mature" but who cares. First, my mixed pot, featuring Drosera allantostigma and the mystery sundew.

Feb. 15, 2014

Apr. 7, 2014

  Sarracenia purpurea also has a few nice photos in my folder.

Jan. 28, 2014

Feb. 15, 2014

March 26, 2014

Finally, Dionaea muscipula.

Dec. 10, 2013

Apr. 3, 2014

Having a camera makes growing plants more fun. Do you have any good progress shots of your plants?

Sarracenia breaking dormancy

I mentioned last week that my Sarracenia were finally breaking their dormancy, but I was unable to get a decent picture. They've put on a little size since then, so today it's time to make that post.

S. alata (Stone County, MS) "Heavy Veins." Hope the veins are as nice as the name implies!

I got these plants back in mid February, in my first carnivorous plant trade. I actually didn't have much in the way of carnivorous trading material then, so I was lucky to find someone looking for cold hardy succulents. I was able to send him a couple Agave americana and Agave parryi var. huachucensis, as well as a bonus Sempervivum. In exchange I received S. minor (Orange County FL), S. flava typical, S. alata (Stone County, MS) "Heavy Veins," and S. leucophylla "Titan." None of them are registered cultivars, but it's nice to get species rather than hybrids to start off my collection, especially a few with location data.

S. minor (Orange County, FL).

I'll be the first to admit – I barely knew anything about growing Sarracenia when these showed up. This contributed to my anxiety as they sat around in the backyard, doing nothing. Meanwhile people all over the internet had pictures of big, handsome pitchers coming up.

S. flava, typical. Also a VFT photobomb.

The first growth I noticed was during a break in our 10 days or so of serious, constant rain, but I don't really think the rain is what woke them up. I think they were just adjusting to their new digs, sending out some new roots, and getting ready for the show. I was super relieved when I saw the growth starting up – it would have been embarrassing if I had made some catastrophic error and lost the plants.

S. leucophylla "Titan." This was the first of the four to wake up.

According to the grower, these are divisions from nice mature plants, 8 to 10 years old. I can't wait to see what the full flush of summertime pitchers looks like. In the mean time I'm enjoying seeing the funny little proto-pitchers push up noticeably every day.

My S. purpurea, which I bought from the Cactus Jungle, doesn't go dormant to quite the same degree as other species. It's been pitchering pretty regularly for the last month and a half or so, and continues growing nicely. There are also ants and gnats in the pitchers. Good job little guy!

S. purpurea. This plant is growing very vigorously, with loads of new pitchers in just a few weeks.

Outdoor things

I unexpectedly had the day off yesterday, so I decided to dedicate myself to tidying up my outdoor plants. That's mostly my cactus and succulent collection, but I also rearranged some carnivores (including moving my VFT and a small D. capensis outside, making a bit of room under my lights). It was great! I love spending a day out with my plants.

The best part of my day was putting together a display shelf for my cacti and succulents. Too many of them had been sitting the ground, too low to be appreciated and all cluttered. But now things are looking a lot nicer!

The cinderblocks and 2x4 shelf was pretty inexpensive for how much of a difference it made in my backyard.

Cacti and agaves really look nice with some backlighting. Here are a few highlights from my collection.

Agave tequilana 'Sunrise' (along with – from left – Cleistocactus tupizensis, Agave parryi var. huachucensis, Opuntia subulata monstrose), and a mixed African succulent planting..

Unidentified Mammillaria – the first blooms since I've had it.

Stenocactus crispatus, looking even more fabulous than usual.

Clockwise from back left: Euphorbia trigona, Kalanchoe eriophylla, Agave americana, Agave 'Joe Hoak', Crassula 'Moonglow', mixed Haworthia/Gasteria planter, Agave schidigera 'Shira Ito no Ohi'

I also tidied up the old display stand that my roommates made for me back in November. No more plants just abandoned on the ground!

Much like my lights, I remember when this plant stand seemed to have a lot of extra space.

In the background are my outdoor carnivores. Their digs aren't quite as fancy, but hopefully I'll be able to address that lack soon enough.

My outdoor carnivore collection is a bit slim!

These round trays are pretty inefficient in terms of water loss, but they'll have to do until I can purpose-build some more ideal trays. The green pots contain Sarracenia rhizomes I received as part of a trade a month or so ago. They haven't put out any new growth, but I'm willing to chalk that up to shipping stress. I've heard that Sarracenia can be a bit touchy after having been divided and shipped and then potted. Just gotta keep 'em wet. The other plants look pretty decent though.

S. purpurea, with new growth coloring up much more quickly in full sunlight. I took the occasion to give it a slightly bigger pot as well.

The pioneering D. capensis.

Hopefully my VFT will also color up nicely. I feel like it could also afford a repotting.

Pretty fun use of a day off, I think.