"Spring" cleaning

[Est]

Not to rub it in, but with days in the 70F (!) range, and a little time off from work, it's time for some early spring cleaning under the grow lights.

A number of non-CPs needed to be transferred outside (succulents, monkey paw, wormwood...) and a number of CPs needed to upgrade to a better potting situation. Pandemic has provided a large number of takeout containers, but they don't last forever.


Before: Still figuring out the positioning and lighting for some plants, so the Heliamphora are a bit on the dull side. But I'm quite happy with how the Nepenthes, Cephalotus, and Darlingtonia are coloring up. The U. longifolia in front has grossly outgrown its pot and is well established in the tray! Once it's settled into its new home, I'm sure I'll have divisions available.





Here you can get an idea of the extent to which the U. longifolia has been escaping its pot. Single 1/8" hole yielding an entire tray of utric...




After repotting, starting a bunch of seeds, and repositioning. Things are looking slightly more sane. Still need to tackle the second floor.

 

[bluemax]

'Looks great! U. longifolia is never happier than when invading some other growing space, it seems. What are in the cells on the lower level?

 

[adnedarn]

Look great indeed! Those darlingtonia look really red and the heli look to be a great size! Now hook us up with some close shots of things, like those neps

 

[madrone]

I chuckled with your longifolia progress - I'm constantly clipping runaways from the humboldtii pot - those utrics like to run!!

 

[Est]

Thanks y'all. I'll try to grab some closeups tomorrow. I'm pretty happy with the two lowii hybrids in there.

Right now there is one tray of Sarracenia seeds from a cross I made last season (but it's midnight so I'm blanking in the parentage). But soon it'll be joined by VFT, D. regia, and some D. capensis seeds. I have some woodruff I need to start soon as well!

Once I get the bottom sorted, I'll update on that. Right now it's mostly a succulent propagation station for my wedding in April!

 

[bluemax]

'Sounds like a very nice seed assortment! I wish you success.

 

[DragonsEye]

My longifolia needs to take lessons from yours.

 

[Vbkid]

Same thought here, what media is your longifolia in?

 

[Est]

Thanks! The longifolia is in a mix of mostly sphagnum. A bit of peat and perlite/pumice ended up in there. It was not super intentional, as you could likely guess by the fact that it was in a takeout food container.

Closeups, as promised! Still getting used to the camera on this phone -- it likes to try to be too clever sometimes and blows shots.

Heliamphora tatei "Cerro Duida" x folliculata "Murosipan" -- This one has really started to come into its own! It's taken me a minute to find out what kind of light it likes, but the nectar spoons and margins are starting to color up nicely on new pitchers. New pitchers are forming regularly, thought the latest one hit a physical obstruction, so this may be my nicest one for a minute.




N. lowii x ventricosa red -- Pitchers keep getting more attractive on this one! Peristome is becoming nice and toothy, and the waist on the pitchers are getting a bit more pronounced. And I can't complain about the colors. From @Pinguiculas on TF classifieds.




N. veitchii x lowii -- This is the first plant I tried to pot up using the repurposed pot you see in the background. I'm not entirely sure what they are -- related to irrigation systems I think. In any case, makes for a sturdy, breathable container.



Cephalotus folicularis -- Picked this up as a tiny little plant maybe a year back. You can see how parts of it were shaded so the coloration isn't super even. I'm fond of the volunteer fern in there. I really should get more cephs. I wish they weren't such a pain to track down. Anyone want to put some up in the classified section?



Darlingtonia californica -- I'm assuming the light intensity is what's keeping the traps rather short, but this is also not a particularly old plant either -- it has yet to flower. It's happily putting on new traps and I love the color, so I won't complain. The Sphagnum moss here shows that I don't have particularly high humidity (I live in the desert, darnit!) but everything seems to be happy enough.



D. capensis Bainskloof and D. muscipula 'Maroon Monster' (or is it not a registered cultivar?) -- I've had a rough history with this one! I planted it in a media that was a bit too heavy and in a terra cotta pot (which I knew was risky!). I've since switched to trying a 1gal fabric type container. Both of the plants in there have appreciated the repot and the extra light afforded by trimming back the old dead material.



That's the exciting stuff for the moment. The keen eye might spot a few other plants of interest, but they're recent purchases and I can't really claim much responsibility for them one way or the other. Among them are a Roridula, H. heterodoxa 'Gran Sabana' x pulchella, H. nutans. Hopefully I'll have updates on those in the future.