Windowsill Nepenthes

Sometime in the last 6 months I wound up acquiring a few Nepenthes. I've been pretty vocal about not really caring for neps, but I've been pleasantly surprised by how nice it's been to have them on the windowsill in my kitchen. It's a pretty ideal environment for them – higher-than-average humidity, cool nights, convenient for watering. They make the kitchen much more festive!

This Nepenthes sanguinea is the largest of my windowsill neps.

N. sanguinea looking all clumpy. Nice!

Pretty good color too.

There are two separate growth points, and a huge amount of pitchers. This is a pretty ideal plant right now. Dunno what I'll do in a year or two when it starts vining everywhere, but that's a bridge to cross when we arrive at it.

This Nepenthes tobaica × aristolochioides was impossible to resist when I saw it at California Carnivores in July.

Cute little thing.

I like the leaves too.

The pitchers are nice and squat, with a good dark color. Apparently it stays fairly compact too, which is a definite plus for someone who does not want to mess around with greenhouses etc.

This cute little Nepenthes ventricosa definitely gets the most attention from house guests.

Just hanging out, you know.

I guess I can't really blame them. It's pretty cute.

Off in the corner, getting a lot less light, is the big old vine of a Nepenthes ×ventrata I got a year or so ago. It doesn't pitcher much, but at least it does so in a manner that is consistently hilarious – right in the dish rack.

My current houseguests aren't great at loading a dish rack.

Keep on truckin' guy.

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!

Aphids: My Tiny Foes

This aphid thing is getting out of control.

Aphids all over Drosera capensis Baineskloof.

There are several pots in my collection that look like this. Limited applications of Pyrethrin haven't proven effective, and I'm not willing to use it more heavily, considering that several different species reacted poorly even to the light applications. I've ordered some Bayer 3-in-1, which is a rather toxic systemic. Luckily this is my indoor collection, so I'm not too worried about hurting pollinators or anything. I just...I need to get rid of the aphids. I've been busy lately, and the aphids are just another discouragement when it comes to spending time with my plants.

Okay, let's cheer ourselves up. I've got a couple Drosera tomentosa germinations!

It's easier to see if you click through to the large sized photo.

Just a couple, but this seed sat around for a while before I got around to sowing it, so I'm happy with anything.

I picked up a really nice wide-leaf Drosera capensis on my last visit to California Carnivores.

I feel like more people are digging D. capensis lately. That's awesome.

Big, strappy leaves. You can never have too many D. capensis varieties.

My Drosera ultramafica × spatulata was looking spectacular so I had to take a photo.

A prize-winning plant! Love this hybrid.

Easily the brightest red plant in my collection, and an easy grower to boot.

Finally, my Drosera natalensis pot is also looking excellent during this period of neglect.

Fluorescent lighting really shows the dewdrops well.

So dewy and perfect! I like the nice color contrast with the moss as well.

Okay, I feel better now. I'll feel a lot better once I get this infestation under control though.

I've been really busy!

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

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.

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. 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. 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.

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!

Summertime!

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

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.

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.

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.

I'm not ashamed.

It's pygmies! :-D

Response to Take Down Garden Spray

As you may remember, I've been using Take Down Garden Spray on my collection recently to combat aphids. The active ingredients are pyrethrin and canola oil, so it's pretty gentle stuff. Still, some plants have reacted better than others.

Drosera collinsiae and Drosera ×snyderi have definitely not appreciated the applications.

Don't look so down buddy.

Fried! Frazzled! An unhappy plant.

A handful of other plants have had a similar, but less severe, reaction. I'm using a 2% solution right now, and this is after I applied it twice in 5 days, and then didn't apply for a week. To be fair though, these two plants were both slow to settle into my conditions, and have both seemed a bit on the fragile side.

Other plants, like Drosera anglica CA × HI, have totally taken the spraying in stride.

I know I can always count on this guy to do well.

It's even blooming again! It bears repeating that this is one of the most vigorous plants in my collection as well. It just seems like the finicky plants are going to be finicky, and the robust plants won't mind (my Drosera adelae has also been fine, for example). It's not a surprising finding, but it's good to know.

On a related note, my Drosera spiralis is definitely not phased. Not only is it flowering again, but it's put out an offset for the first time!

Look at those cute little baby leaves.

I'm really inordinately fond of this species. It just does so well for me, and gives me all sort of nice surprises. Looking forward to the little guy growing up a bit.

Of course, none of this has addressed whether or not the aphids are being beaten back. Well, I think they are? I hope they are? I'll need to apply a few more times before I make a solid decision. However, I am considering going systemic pretty soon. My patience is wearing thin. We'll see!