Ch'ien Lee at California Carnivores

Yesterday was a big day – the much-acclaimed wildlife photographer and Nepenthes authority Ch'ien Lee gave a presentation at California Carnivores.

Ch'ien Lee at the beginning of his talk.

Ch'ien is an amazing photographer (seriously, go check out his website) and has traveled throughout the remotest parts of Indonesia, Malaysia, New Guinea, and the Philippines. I hope it's not another 6 years before he comes back to the States! His presentation wasn't just pretty pictures either – there were lessons on geography, plate tectonics, and the history of science, along with great little vignettes about everything from orangutans to Cordyceps fungi, all with photo illustrations (of course).

Before and after the presentation, I wandered around California Carnivores, saying hi to the Carnivore Girl and others, and checking out all the sweet plants.

Sweet bromeliad display.

Huge Sarracenia 'Deep Throat' – the pitcher mouth was as wide as my fist.

I was very tempted by this Sarracenia flava with the exaggerated point on its lid.

Damon and Daniela also gave Maria and I a peek at all the new weird flytraps Damon got from Europe last year and which they're starting to put into production.

This is Dionaea 'Sunrise'.

Dionaea 'Werewolf', a tissue culture mutant.

This Dionaea "Mega Traps" was more beautiful than weird.

I wasn't able to buy as many plants as I had planned (I've spent a lot of money getting some camping gear lately), but I did come away with two very cool acquisitions. First, they finally managed to find me a Drosera slackii.

Finally! Can't wait to grow/propagate this guy.

I'd been trying to buy a D. slackii from California Carnivores for the better part of a year, but somehow they never got around to repotting their leaf cuttings. Then they found this beautiful plant somewhere in the back. It's great!

I also picked up this Sarracenia hybrid, because, well, it looked sort of dumb.

I'll need to find a succinct way to refer to this plant.

This is Sarracenia purpurea ssp. venosa var. burkii × (×wrigleyana × leucophylla). When I showed it to my roommate, he laughed out loud. I can't wait to grow this out more to see if the pitchers stay this silly. I really hope so.

Flowers!

There's a lot in bloom right now. It's spring!

Drosera helodes.

Sarracenia flava.

Drosera omissa with lots of flowers.

Utricularia calycifida.

Drosera sessilifolia (probably).

Utricularia subulata.

Drosera natalensis.

And it's not just carnivores that are in bloom. Peep this Cleistocactus tupizensis.

C. tupizensis.

Nice!

Field Trip: Nepenthes at the Conservatory of Flowers

I've posted several times about how much I love the UC Botanical Garden. Another of my favorite plant destinations in the Bay Area is the Conservatory of Flowers in Golden Gate Park. It's a big 19th century glass greenhouse that contains a stunning collection of tropical plants, including the largest Philodendron in cultivation, a 100+ year old specimen that is the centerpiece of the Tropical Lowland room. I always forget to take a picture of the conservatory itself when I visit, but here's a decent example from Wikimedia.

The Conservatory also hosts a delightful collection of Nepenthes. I decided to document some of my favorites on my most recent visit, since I don't feature that genus much on the blog here. One note: plants at the Conservatory aren't always labeled super well. A few of these I knew offhand, a couple I made educated guesses about, and a few are NOID. Please comment with a correction if you know more than me!

This NOID (I suspect perhaps Nepenthes ventricosa x alata, i.e. N. ventrata) is what made me realize I should start taking pictures.

Lovely coloration and pitcher shape on this plant.

The vine was also really impressive. The average hobbyist greenhouse owner probably couldn't afford to devote this much space to one plant, but it makes for a wonderful display.

Probably 100 pitchers on this plant? Fantastic.

These pictures are from the Aquatic Plants room, which has a large pond and hosts a lot of epiphytic species. It has lowland to intermediate conditions.

I think I had a guess about this species but I can't remember anymore.

Some of these Neps are huge, such as the following Nepenthes truncata and Nepenthes rafflesiana.

These pitchers are like, 18 inches (45 cm) long.

I love these fat pitchers. Great coloration too.

Other are just perfectly formed, like this Nepenthes ventricosa that's almost popped its top.

It looks like it's smiling.

Or this Nepenthes bicalcarata, which has one of the most perfect pitchers I've ever seen.

Those fangs are so distinctive. Love the orange and green too.

Bicals are the largest Nep by total mass, which is clear from this vine.

This plant is like an old friend of mine I like to visit.

The nearby Tropical Highland room hosts a couple of more delicate species, including this lovely Nepenthes mikei and its vine.

These upper pitchers are so fine and delicate.

Another great vine, although somewhat more modest than the one in the Aquatic Plants room.

And this beautiful Nepenthes lowii, sporting a big fat patch of crystallized nectar.

That nectar patch looks so inviting. If only I were a shrew.

N. lowii has such a distinctive shape. If I ever start growing highlanders this one is high on my list.

A few other (non-carnivorous) plants caught my attention that day, and I couldn't not share them with the blog. Such as this insane hibiscus flower.

This is in the Potted Plants room.

I had to include my hand for scale. The flower was enormous.

And this lovely Paphiopedilum.

I love that lantern-jawed look.

Paphs are so funny looking.

In conclusion, the Conservatory of Flowers is super awesome. It's a fantastic place to visit if you're ever in the Bay Area, and are keen on weird plants.

The Potted Plant room is really magical.

Drosera prolifera seems to be doing better

I received a Drosera prolifera back in April from the NASC Auction. It struggled for a while in my care, and by August or so it was looking pretty shot.

This poor plant looks fried.

I suspect its original conditions had had somewhat lower light and decidedly higher humidity. This photo was actually taken shortly after I moved it from its original position directly under the lights to a new one at the edge of the tray, where the light is somewhat reduced. I guess my instinct with this plant was correct, because it's looking pretty good lately.

It's really neat seeing them reach up out of the moss.

Also looking good is that Sphagnum. It's growing like crazy, and it's all the D. prolifera can do to reach up above it with its extra long petioles. There are also several babies poking up around the pot.

D. prolifera plantlets have to work to not get swallowed by moss.

Living Sphagnum is a pretty cool potting medium, but it makes the plants work for it.

One thing I've noticed about plants I receive from other growers is that sometimes they'll severely shrink back in my conditions and then regrow nicely. One thing it's good to know when trading or buying plants is what their typical growing conditions are. It can help you acclimate them to their new homes more easily.

My Drosera adelae (another of the Three Sisters of Queensland, and a close relative of D. prolifera) is going bonkers.

Look at this ridiculous D. adelae bush. I wonder if this is how they look in habitat.

It's also sending roots out the bottom of the pot and tossing up plantlets in the tray water.

I should take care that the roots don't invade other pots.

I sorta feel silly deciding to do some leaf cuttings of D. adelae as part of the Summer Batch. The cutting that struck is looking cute though!

It's so pretty and gem-like when small like this.

Wish I could get that nice red color on my mature plants.

Finally, in non-carnivorous news, there's a flower bud forming on my Aloe x spinosissima.

Aloes bloom in winter, and there are lots planted around the Bay. It's a real treat.

This is the first year it will bloom, and I'm excited. Aloe flowers are really pretty.

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.