Death machines with dying fall foliage

[jamesp]

Time to go to sleep for a winter rest. Colors beginning. Apparently bug eating requires a hibernation.

[jasoninsd]

The colors in those pictures is outstanding James! I need to pull this thread back up in about another month when the only colors I'll be seeing are browns and white! LOL

[hummingbirdstones]

Beautiful, beautiful colors and plants, jamesp!  I wonder if those bug eaters would live up here in the high country.  I'm going to have to do some research and find out.  Sure could use them during the warm weather when all the damn flies are out.

[jamesp]

Oct 14, 2022 10:36:28 GMT -5 hummingbirdstones said:

Beautiful, beautiful colors and plants, jamesp!  I wonder if those bug eaters would live up here in the high country.  I'm going to have to do some research and find out.  Sure could use them during the warm weather when all the damn flies are out.

Let's try Robin. Time for dividing/planting is February. Get with me then.

[jamesp]

Oct 14, 2022 10:31:11 GMT -5 jasoninsd said:

The colors in those pictures is outstanding James! I need to pull this thread back up in about another month when the only colors I'll be seeing are browns and white! LOL

Color is early and just starting Jason. Should start a really fancy show in a week or two.

[brybry]

Those are gorgeous! I love the big eaters but they don't love me,lol.

[jamesp]

Three purple hybrids came up this year. They cross pollinated 1 to 2 to 3 years earlier with some purple hybrids bought in 5 years ago. There were no purples 5 years ago. The seedlings made it even in difficult conditions. The first one is a giant, giants happen when they cross occasionally. If so it will be sought after.





A giant hybrid:

[jamesp]

Oct 14, 2022 14:03:56 GMT -5 brybry said:

Those are gorgeous! I love the big eaters but they don't love me,lol.

The cut off yellow ones come from SW Georgia brybry. It is Flava, a big one.

[brybry]

I've tried them in pots in the house but they didn't last the winter. All of those are the awesome!

[jamesp]

Oct 14, 2022 14:33:40 GMT -5 brybry said:

I've tried them in pots in the house but they didn't last the winter. All of those are the awesome!

They WILL NOT do inside. Find the lowest hottest most stagnant most humid full sun spot on earth and they will love you.(south Mississippi lol)
Like a greenhouse full of water containers completely closed off in full sun dawn/dusk @100% humidity and 125F. Such conditions are what I used to grow them in to maximize their color for marketing and timing for spring sales.. Sounds cruel but they thrived in that steam bath.
They will do fine anywhere in the SE US outside with at least 6 hours of direct sun.

[brybry]

I'll have to keep that in mind for next time. Not even sure if the ones I had before were from the SE. Thanks for the tips brother!

[Pat]

We thoroughly enjoyed our California bug-eating plant experience. However, they didn’t thrive. Yours are lovely at every stage.

[hummingbirdstones]

Oct 14, 2022 13:52:29 GMT -5 jamesp said:

Oct 14, 2022 10:36:28 GMT -5 hummingbirdstones said:

Beautiful, beautiful colors and plants, jamesp !  I wonder if those bug eaters would live up here in the high country.  I'm going to have to do some research and find out.  Sure could use them during the warm weather when all the damn flies are out.

Let's try Robin. Time for dividing/planting is February. Get with me then.

I will do that, James!  Thank you.  I would love to get some natural revenge on the flies.  

[jamesp]

Oct 14, 2022 19:36:39 GMT -5 Pat said:

We thoroughly enjoyed our California bug-eating plant experience. However, they didn’t thrive. Yours are lovely at every stage.

It must be the clear dry air that allows such intense solar radiation Pat.
They did well in an enclosed greenhouse with full Georgia sun that stayed consistently over 120F during higher sun.
However the moisture content also stayed above 90% humidity. So the solar radiation is less intense.
Central Florida solar radiation is more intense than Georgia's and they suffered down there too.

There is only one Sarracenia variety(the Minor) that naturally occurs up to 100 miles south of the Georgia state line.
I don't grow them anymore as they sold fast and I ran out. They take high solar radiation levels.

The S. Minor is even more dastardly, it has deceptive clear spots(false windows)that the insect tries to escape thru.
The insect's efforts only end up wasted and the tired insect falls down to the acid vat only to be dissolved alive as all Sarracenias do.

This is the S. Minor with the windows. There is a giant version of Minor found in the Okefenokee swamp(S. Minor var. Okefenokensis):



S. Minor var. Okefenokensis with charcoal tops. Evil looking and cold blooded:

[rockpickerforever]

Oct 14, 2022 14:04:37 GMT -5 jamesp said:

Three purple hybrids came up this year. They cross pollinated 1 to 2 to 3 years earlier with some purple hybrids bought in 5 years ago. There were no purples 5 years ago. The seedlings made it even in difficult conditions. The first one is a giant, giants happen when they cross occasionally. If so it will be sought after.

If I recall from genetics studies in high school science class, it is called "hybrid vigor."

James, those bug eating plants are gorgeous.

[RickB]

jamesp apparently bug juice makes for colorful fall foliage in the carnivorous plants.

[jamesp]

Oct 15, 2022 5:34:36 GMT -5 RickB said:

jamesp apparently bug juice makes for colorful fall foliage in the carnivorous plants.

Lol. Come February James gets the string trimmer out and chops the dead foliage into tiny pieces to serve as mulch and smelly fertilizer, cutting the pitchers starting from top to bottom about every inch to make small pieces. The mulching slows weed growth too.
The new generation cringes at this practice. They think those plants are super delicate - not, and they thrive in their own dead foliage like they do in nature when the foliage dies back on top of the tubers. The occasional scarring due to the string trimmer hitting some of the surface tubers actually sends out new growing tips for increased propagation. The experts on the Sarracenia forum just doesn't believe me. After 40 years of tinkering with these plants ya learn. Most of the guys on that form aren't even 40 years old... ALWAYS listen carefully to the elderly lady gardener to get plant tips ! They've been there done that many times.

But, talk about rotten bug juice, that string trimmer splatters that rotten crap all over you. Don't breathe thru your nose or you will gag. Smells just like a rotting deer, no kidding.

[jamesp]

Oct 15, 2022 2:54:20 GMT -5 rockpickerforever said:

Oct 14, 2022 14:04:37 GMT -5 jamesp said:

Three purple hybrids came up this year. They cross pollinated 1 to 2 to 3 years earlier with some purple hybrids bought in 5 years ago. There were no purples 5 years ago. The seedlings made it even in difficult conditions. The first one is a giant, giants happen when they cross occasionally. If so it will be sought after.

If I recall from genetics studies in high school science class, it is called "hybrid vigor."

James, those bug eating plants are gorgeous.

So Jean, I ordered 12 varieties, 5 tubers of each variety about 5 years ago. 60 tubers at a cost of $2000 ! From a sarracenia hybridizer in North Carolina. The only specification was "the fastest, biggest most robust sarracenias he had".
Looks to be that the investment has done well, guessing there is 50 of each variety now. So from 60 to about 600 in 5 years !

Well many of his hybrids just happened to have purple in them. I never had a sarracenia with purple in them. And only had two hybrid seedlings (that were very unique and different) in 40 years. So these three new seedlings were a big victory. And the seedlings formed in the row of my plants growing directly next to this row of new hybrids, close proximity for hybrid pollination....And my intent was to build an inventory of robust large sarracenia anyway. But never thought crosses would seed out and survive. There will be a good chance that more seedling hybrids will rise up in the next few years. I can assist the delicate seedling process by putting fresher/less populated repotted pots next to these two rows to provoke seedling survival.

So hopefully what you learned about hybrid vigor will result in some giant man eating pitchers lol ! Like 15 feet tall and 2 feet in diameter !

The new hybrids are to the left of the red dairy crate mid way. The row of plants to the right will be hop-scotched over to the right to next pan over to leave an empty row next to the new hybrids. Fresh pots of peat put in that empty pan planted with the seedlings and some of the new desirable hybrids. These new pots will accept seedlings better.



Then the empty row 3 over from the dairy crate will also be filled with fresh pots to be planted with the brought in hybrids providing more habitat for potential seedlings. The 2nd row from the dairy crate is my old stuff, that is where the 3 new seedlings came up.



The top row is the newly brought in(5 years ago) pot-buster plants. The purple/red tint is noticeable. The lower row is my old robust bright(native) stock. My old stock is the best of many plants. I trashed many over the years due to poor performance or lack of color. The bright yellow Flava is missing in the old plant lower row but the new hybrids are mostly based on Flava. Flava has the 'beast' gene. It is native mostly to south Georgia. Flava is said to have over 300 hybrids. (so they say).



So the goal is to produce some giants. I could perform manual pollination too. Never have but can learn. Obviously somebody is cross pollinating, who it is may never be known ! These winter seed pods will be opened up and the seed WILL be collected today. In this case I can germinate the seeds under controlled conditions and will greatly increase the new hybrid rate. And many of the plants will be sterile and produce wispy infertile seeds or none at all.

[hummingbirdstones]

This is really interesting, Jim.  Can you take pictures of the seed pods and the seeds inside so we can see what they look like?  

[rockpickerforever]

jamesp. I love the photos taken from overhead with your drone! Very good tool (toy?) to have, lol. You can check on inventory/general condition of plants from your porch!