Sunday, December 30, 2001
[Garden Note] - Today I went out and cut back all the dead (and soon to be dead) Sarracenia pitchers that are in my potted mini-bogs. This seemed like a good time of year to do it...it's been getting very damp with lots of rain and I'm seeing fungus near some plants in the sunroom. Some of the pitchers were still in pretty good shape, but I cut them back and left only the strongest ones still standing upright. Of course, no gardening would be complete without some sort of screw up.....while moving the plastic "bowl" type pot I was going to use for all my S. purpurea, it slipped and I cracked it open. Have to add that to the list of things to buy when I get ready for the big spring re-planting - I'm probably going to use these types of pots when the time comes.The best thing about doing the winter pitcher cutting is that you can slice open the pitchers and see what the plants have been eating all year. This year was especially gross as most of the pitchers were full of rain water, so the bug carcasses were a mushy black mass....made it hard to pick out what was what. From looking at the remains, the plants were eating mostly yellowjackets, wasps, and all sorts of housefly type bugs. No ants. There was still some maggot activity in some of the pitchers. That's always pleasant.
All the Sarrecenia look healthy. The only thing to watch is the scale infestation on the Darlingtonia. I've cut back all the pitchers and will try and clean up what remains over the next few weeks. The scale doesn't seem to be doing much at the moment....it's pretty cold and wet. Hopefully, they are suffering.
Friday, December 28, 2001
Linn's: 2001 Stamp Popularity Poll: Commemorative stamp - Vote for the 2001 carnivorous plant stamp for stamp of the year!
New USPS stamp - In April 2002, the USPS will issue a new 10 pane stamp called "Longleaf Pine Forrest". Looks like S. flava and S. minor will be in there. Thanks to John Green.
Saturday, December 22, 2001
Google Image Search: sarracenia flava - A quick way to see S. flava and its varieties.
The Carnivorous Plant FAQ: Sarracenia flava - I'm on a quest - I'm trying to find more S. flavas to grow. I have plenty of S. flava var. flava, but need to find more red/copper forms of S. flava. It would also be nice to find an anthocyanin free variety...
Thursday, December 20, 2001
Amazon.com: buying info: The Savage Garden : Cultivating Carnivorous Plants - The bible.... If you could only have one book - this is the one.
Books by Charles Clarke - Clarke's new book is out, but I haven't found an easy way to buy it.
Amazon.com: buying info: Gardening With Carnivores : Sarracenia Pitcher Plants in Cultivation & in the Wild - Ron reports on a new book about Sarracenia:
Author: Nick Romanowski : 106 pages : ISBN 0868404527
Can't wait to add this one to the library...
A plant store parody - You really have to be a plant geek to like this, but man, the number of entries is staggering.
Tuesday, December 18, 2001
Google Search: Trichoderma I need to find some of this either mail order or locally. One person found it here: Root Shield.
Sarracenia Seedlings
Kit Halsted has a decent picture of Sarracenia seedlings just as they start to germinate. Good to know.
The Carnivorous Plant FAQ If this is to be a blog of CP info, I can't think of a better first link.
Friday, December 07, 2001
I'm convinced it works.
