Feed me, Seymour

[nanila]

One of Keiki’s many obsessions is carnivorous plants. He has been maintaining a collection of around 7 plants, a mixture of nepenthes, sundews, and Venus flytraps. Recently he expressed a wish to acquire sarracenias (the more upright pitcher plants). Some sleuthing by the bloke revealed that there is an avid sarracenia grower around an hour’s drive from us, so he contacted them and asked if we could visit. They responded enthusiastically, so we set a date and off we went.


It was a fantastic place. There were five greenhouses, plus a number of cold frames and, apparently, a collection of the more tropical nepenthes that could only be glimpsed tantalisingly through the windows.













Keiki didn’t know where to go first. He went up and down the greenhouses, chattering away to other visitors (mostly older gentlemen) and peppering the owner with questions. He was delighted to meet an enthusiast who was so young. He’d started his collection when he was 14 - still had the original Venus fly trap that had started him off - and is now in his sixties.

We spent well over an hour there, and of course, before we left, Keiki managed to spot the rarest and most difficult hybrid to cultivate, which is in the photo at the top. He is now on the waiting list for the rhizome, which the grower can only split once a year.



We came away with 7 new plants (pictured above): three sarracenia variants, a sundew and three Venus flytrap variants. The original deal was that he could get three, but it was just not quite enough with several hundred cultivars to choose from.

Our next trip will be to Chester Zoo, which apparently has the country’s largest collection of nepenthes.

Comments

[bookscorpion]

What a neat place! It looks amazing, and I fully agree that having to choose just three plants would not have been enough XD
I love sarracenias and have kept them on my balcony for a while but then the tits learned how to make holes into the pitchers and the plants did not survive that. Maybe I will try again inside.

[nanila]

It was a stunning collection! It would have been so difficult to narrow down the sarracenia choice alone, as they have such tremendous physical variations.

One of the tips the grower gave us is that even when a plant dies back down to the rhizome, it is still possible to resurrect it in the spring if it is kept watered and pest-free. So even if all the pitchers are gone, he said not to throw it out until you've gone through a full seasonal cycle and it hasn't come back.

[kotturinn]

That looks like heaven for s young enthusiast.
Are you planning on greenhouses - especially if Keiki gets into propagation (and hybridisation)!?

[nanila]

We have a greenhouse, which we mostly use for veg and herbs, but one of the shelves is being reserved for the growing collection in the spring!

[kotturinn]

Taking bets on how long before it outgrows one shelf?

[nanila]

I dare not, haha.

[pbristow]

Those tall ones are looking very Triffid-like! =:oo

[nanila]

They are! And when we brushed against them as walked through the sarracenia-only greenhouse, they rustled ominously. O.O

[forests_of_fire]

omg, I love carnivorous plants! Those plants look amazing. They're so big!!

[nanila]

Some of the sarracenias were enormous! There were a few that were decades old, and even after having their rhizomes split several times, produced the most luxurious pitchers.

[forests_of_fire]

I noticed some of pictures you posted looked like they were taller than I am. That sounds so ridiculously unbelievable. But, then again, I can't keep a plant alive to save my life, so keeping a plant alive for 10 minutes is impossible for me. XD

[frith]

Beware traditional clay flowerpots. I transplanted my thriving Saracenia into a wide clay flowerpot and it died. Turns out clay flowerpots leach. Stick to plastic or if you can find it, glass.

[nanila]

Oh, what shame! Sorry to hear it. Will make a note. We've so far only transplanted between plastic pots, so have not experienced this misfortune.

[cmcmck]

How marvellous!

[nanila]

So wonderful!

[annofowlshire]

Amazing! I wish my carnies were so lush!

[nanila]

Yes! We had a spider mite infestation over a year ago which was nearly fatal for all of them, but we managed to get rid of it by completely submerging the plants in buckets of water for a couple of days, then removing them. Most of them have bounced back, but a couple are still struggling to recover their original lushness.

[annofowlshire]

My pitcher plants are doing fine, but my venus fly trap is still the size of my thumb after two years. My sundew inexplicably died, but another one somehow self seeded(?!) in the venus fly trap's pot so I'll be separating them in the spring...

Although I keep a kitchen garden and such, I'm usually hopeless with any form of potted plant. I'm just glad I've kept them alive for two years!

[nanila]

Sundews seem to be remarkably opportunistic. We keep finding them around the roots of other, non-carnivorous plants in the bay window.

Congratulations on your success in keeping your carnivorous collection going!

[frith]

Sundew flowers self-pollinate and the seeds are really tiny.

[annofowlshire]

Also, I would like to know what direction in which the carnivorous plant place is an hour from you? Is it perhaps nearer me?

[nanila]

Yep, it's in Shropshire.

[silveradept]

Ooh, the plants look lovely, and I'm glad that Keiki got to see them and ask lots of questions about them.

(I also so very much appreciate that you and the bloke (and Humuhumu) appreciate and encourage Keiki's interests and the deep learning that comes with them as much as you possibly can. There are likely some wonderful memories being made.)

[nanila]

I hope so! We have frozen the first lot of seeds from his original Venus fly trap, and are going to try planting them in the spring.

[silveradept]

That sounds delightful. I hope they'll thrive in the climate.

[solteronita]

Oh, how fun! I only just got my first carnivorous plant this year and am envious! :D

[nanila]

Apparently a lot of nepenthes species are critically endangered in the wild, so we should all be growing more carnivorous plants!

[sabethea]

Oh, fabulous! I do sympathise with that obsession, I’ve always rather liked those plants myself. And I remember watching a programme on the one in question when I was about 9 and being morbidly fascinated. Do you have to buy flies from somewhere to feed them?

[nanila]

No, the thing they need above all is to have their feet constantly soaked in rain water. Flies are more like occasional tasty snacks for them, they mostly don't need them to survive.

[sabethea]

Ah, they’re big drinkers, not big eaters!

[nanila]

Haha, yes, exactly!

[qian]

What a cool interest for Keiki to have! My two's interest in/awareness of carnivorous plants was sparked by a very cheesy but (for their age) engaging attraction at Singapore's Science Centre, with animatronic carnivorous plants singing songs at the entrance. When we got back to the UK we bought three -- a sundew, a Venus flytrap and a pitcher plant -- though have been somewhat disappointed in their fly-trapping abilities lolol.

Apparently glutinous rice steamed in pitcher plant pitchers are having a bit of a moment in Malaysia, they're a traditional Sarawakian food, but for obvious reasons environmentalists are advising against eating/making them.

[nanila]

We also found that they're not great at fly-trapping, apart from fruit flies! Keiki does occasionally assist them with it, ha.

The pitchers make beautiful cooking vessels, but agree, unless you're harvesting pitchers from a plant you're maintaining indoors, please do not.

[jesse_the_k]

All these ‘carnies’ are so showy! May Keiki's plants all flourish.

[nanila]

Such an appropriate icon! 😄 Thank you.

[cosmicjellyfish]

SO cool. I would have loved this place as a kid (and as an adult!)

[nanila]

It was fantastic. Looking forward to seeing it in the spring!

[brittdreams]

Very cool. Those plants are beautiful!

[nanila]

They are stunning, especially en masse like that.