Sorry for the lack of updates this year...

I took a long break from posting, here and elsewhere in the plant growing communities. I needed to take some time away for a variety of reasons.

I was considering deleting this blog the other day, but I miss the positive aspects of sharing photos, ideas, and the meaningful conversations I've had with people from all over the world with similar interests due to having it around. I'm choosing to focus on the positive things. Like the fact that some of you emailed or sent me messages on Instagram and I truly appreciate everyone who kept in touch. I think I've caught up on all the comments on here as well.

I've some damage to a few of my plants, and some didn't make it due to Hurricane Matthew. So I'm working on growing really happy plants while a construction crew fixes the more important things damaged, such as the roof of our house, ceiling of the bedroom, etc.

New posts coming shortly..

Help Support Meadowview Biological Research Station, Limited Edition Shirts!

This year The Sarracenia Forum has voted to help fund Meadowview Biological Research Station with sales of these awesome shirts."Originally created to support and advertise the forum, The Sarracenia Forum Limited Edition T-shirt is now a fund raising effort to help protect our beloved Sarracenia in the wild! This year all profits raised from shirt sales will go to Meadowview Biological Research Station to help fun land aquisition at their Central Virginia Preserve. For 2015 our very own Rick Meyer has created an amazing design featuring the pleasingly plump pitchers and ornate venation of Sarracenia purpurea ssp. venosa var. montana, the Mountain Purple Pitcher Plant. Please help support Meadowview and our forum by purchasing one or more shirts! Thank you!"

This campaign went very well last year when proceeds went to support the NASC. I can vouch that the shirts are well made and the print does not wear off. I still have and wear my shirt from last year's fundraiser and it's been through the washer and dryer quite a few times!

Men's and Women's tank tops and t-shirts available this year.

Please Click Here To Buy A Shirt!

So help us help preserve the ever shrinking natural habitats that Sarracenia grow in. Even as far back as 1993, estimates that 97.5% of Sarracenia habitats have been destroyed in the Southeast US. Three Sarracenia species are already listed as Federally Endangered under the USA Endangered Species Act, (S. rubra subsp. alabamensis  in Alabama, S. rubra subsp. jonesii in North and South Carolina, and S. oreophila in Alabama, Georgia, and North Carolina.)

To read more about why Sarracenia need special protection click for the Wikipedia Entry and The Carnivorous Plant FAQ.

Please share on Facebook, Twitter, your blog, etc.! We're at 10 shirts into our goal of 40 and it's only day one!

Prices for different style tank tops and t-shirts are between $18 and $20 USD.

Shipping:

Domestic (United States) shipping $3.85 + $1 for each additional t-shirt.
Domestic (Canada) $9.50 + $4 for each additional t-shirt.
International shipping is $12.50 + $2 for each additional t-shirt.

Domestic orders have an estimated arrival date of approximately 2 weeks after the campaign has ended and International orders have an estimated arrival date of 3 weeks after the campaign has ended, (not 2-3 weeks after you place your order.) The campaign is for 20 days only so order asap!

Help Support the NASC, Limited Edition T-Shirts!

The Sarracenia Forum has decided to create a t-shirt for two reasons. 1. To build awareness of our community and 2. To raise a small profit to donate to the North American Sarracenia Conservancy. This shirt was chosen as the best design, and will never be available again.

Profits go to support the North American Sarracenia Conservancy, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, dedicated to preserving the natural habitats and genetic diversity of the genus Sarracenia. The t-shirt is American made by American Apparel. A quality, well made brand, not the cheap stuff! The goal is to sell 40 shirts. Teespring, the company producing them works like a crowd funding site. If we meet the goal everybody gets their shirts and the NASC gets our donation. If we don't meet the goal then the shirts don't get made, you won't be charged, but you also won't get an awesome shirt.

So help us help preserve the ever shrinking natural habitats that Sarracenia grow in. Even as far back as 1993, estimates that 97.5% of Sarracenia habitats have been destroyed in the Southeast US. Three Sarracenia species are already listed as Federally Endangered under the USA Endangered Species Act, (S. rubra subsp. alabamensis  in Alabama, S. rubra subsp. jonesii in North and South Carolina, and S. oreophila in Alabama, Georgia, and North Carolina. To read more about why Sarracenia need special protection click for the Wikipedia Entry and The Carnivorous Plant FAQ.

Please click here to buy a shirt!

Designed by rmeyer

Women's T-shirts too!

Please share on Facebook, Twitter, your blog, etc.! We're already halfway to our goal and it's only day one!
Prices for different style shirts are between $19 and $20.50 USD.
Shipping:
Domestic (United States) shipping $3.85 + $.25 for each additional t-shirt. Your shirt will arrive within 7-14 days from the end of the campaign.
Domestic (Canada) $7.50 + $1 for each additional t-shirt. Your shirt will arrive within 14-21 days from the end of the campaign.
International shipping is $10.50 + $1 for each additional t-shirt. Your shirt will arrive within 14-21 days from the end of the campaign.

A link to this blog showed up on eBay the other week...

I guess it's not really stealing when you provide a link to someones picture, and don't actually rehost it. You are only kind of using it without permission. Seeing as how this person literally just provided a link to this blog to show a picture of the potential blooms of a Grammatophyllum scriptum var. kiilani, and didn't actually use my picture I just laughed. Here's a screen shot of the event, as this eBay auction is long over.

LOL  Why? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Why my picture? It was only of 2 flowers. They typically bloom with much more than that, but I had some bud blast as it was shipped in spike. There are so many better pictures of what this orchid has to offer than mine. This is just funny and strange to me. If this person had contacted me and asked to use the picture, I would've said yes, maybe on the condition I could watermark it, but I guess this is much easier...

Not a big deal, which is why I edited out some things, including the sellers username from the sceenshot. I just found it amusing, this being my 1st experience with my pictures being used to sell plants online, something I know many of you that put your pictures up publicly online have experienced.

Click here for a working link to the post in question. Is it because I mentioned to someone in the comments that these pop up for sale on eBay from time to time? Or is that just a wacky coincidence?

More Bad News for Venus Flytraps

In terrible news for the day, the majority of a wild population of Venus Fly Traps were dug up and stolen in North Carolina, as well as some Sarracenia and Drosera. More than 1,000 Venus flytraps stolen from Wilmington's Alderman Park. Although the value was stated at $20,000, it really isn't about the financial value of the plants stolen. Genetic diversity and a healthy population size is what keeps plants like this from going extinct. The selfishness and nearsightedness of people who take plants from the wild is astounding. I'm a big fan of the phrase, "Take only pictures, leave only footprints."

I know it's not quite the same to buy a cheap tissue cultured plant from the local store as to have a seed grown plant. However, VFT seed is cheap and readily available too, it just takes some patience to have full grown flowering plants. My typical flytrap is from a place called Fly-Trap Farm. It was pointed out to me not that long ago that this business pays people with "collector's permits," to wild collect their VFTs,.(See Article: Rare Plants A Solid Niche Market.) I don't really care about collector's permits and whether these plants were legally obtained or not. I wouldn't have bought a flytrap from them if I knew it was wild collected at all. The ICUN Red List has Dionaea musculpula listed as "Vulnerable", let's not make such a beautiful and unique plant any worse off please. Buy seeds or buy a tissue cultured plant, make sure you're dealing with reputable and sustainable sources for your plants. I wouldn't be surprised if these stolen plants start popping up on ebay or other sites. Why would you need, and risk getting caught digging up protected plants at a park for that many VFT's if there wasn't some sort of profit involved.

Off Topic: Why I pay cash

The family was growing six plants: 3 tomato, 1 melon, 2 butternut squash. Apparently it's sometimes ok to search homes without probable cause, even the home of two ex-CIA agents. I'm the last person to encourage a lawsuit but I'm glad this couple has the resources to fight back. Have you seen this story yet?

Kansas couple: Indoor gardening prompted pot raid (AP)

Shopping at a hydroponics store is not probable cause. I shop at hydroponics stores. I buy fertilizer, net pots, those white square hydroponic pots, miticide etc. at hydroponics stores. I always pay cash. This kind of story reminds me of the reason why. I also occasionally see stories about police knocking on someone's door because a neighbor called the cops after seeing neon light shining from a basement window every night. Those of us that grow indoors, grow hydroponically, or even just shop at hydroponic stores do need to be careful. Granted, I'm a bit more paranoid than most, but it's because the last thing I want to be on any government list. Everything I grow is has been legally obtained and is as legal to grow as a tomato plant. Stories like these just go to show you that tomorrow this could be any one of us really, even if you've just got a couple vegetables growing in your basement.

A few things living among the plants

What I've found to be the most bothersome about moving 1000 miles away from everything I've ever known is the fact that I don't know the names of anything here. It's constantly irritating not to know. Someone please correct me if I'm wrong, but I think this is Hyla squirella, or Florida's "Squirrel Tree Frog."

Frog in with the Nepenthes

I'm trying with every opportunity to look things up so I can identify them for next time. I used to know at least nicknames for most plants, animals, etc. I knew what plants not to touch and what insects and snakes to watch out for.

Now, I see something almost every day and wonder what the heck it is. Yesterday, it was Phereoeca uterella, the "Household Casebearer". I know this now because a creepy shell looking thing with what appeared to be a worm inside it moved it's way out of an orchid basket I was watering and onto the deck. It was creepy, until I looked it up online and found out it was a just a moth in it's larval stage. Now, not creepy at all. What can I say, I'm a big moth fan and I'd be lying if I didn't sit there and watch it crawl(?) across the basket for about 10 minutes with a "WTF" look on my face the entire time.

This appears to be Hemidactylus turcicus, or the "Mediterranean House Gecko." Sorry for the poor lighting, but they're nocturnal and they scatter if you get too close.

Gecko!

Slowly learning over here, there's frogs and lizards I've never seen before popping up everywhere now that the weather has warmed up. It's amazing what you might see when you take the time to look around every once in a while. I was on call for work last night until 1am, so I had some time at night to just hang out. It's not worth going too far in case you get that call, so I tried to spend the time at home a little better than sitting on the internet all night.

Off Topic: A Sudden Influx of Green Tree Frogs

All of a sudden, tiny Green Tree Frogs are everywhere. Well, I'm sure they were there before, but now I can't water my plants without something green flying out at me.

They're living in the orchids, and in those plastic water dishes that I keep under the bog living carnivorous plants, and in between the banana plants leaves. I screwed up a lot of tiny frog days today just trying to water.

I couldn't get a picture of it but there was also an armadillo rooting through the complex last night that we spent a good amount of time watching from the deck. I'm used to seeing all the anoles, but lately it's been like living on a different planet with everything covered in frogs. Maybe all the recent rain has washed away enough of the pesticides that's sprayed around the buildings here, so now all the fauna is coming back.

Here's to trying to rescue them from the cats!

Off Topic: Field Trips

I was informed recently, you can get your masters degree in botany in the Philippines. If I wasn't already considering how I could possibly, ever, afford to go back to school (for a CRNA to be an anesthetist, 1st choice) this would be another choice for furthering my education. You know, just for fun. There are worse ways to spend fifty grand than on education, right?

Anyway, a friend sent me this video in an email of Nepenthes close to the summit of Mt. Trus Madi, the same day I learned that I did in fact, want to go to the Philippines to study plants. I'm sure this is not a coincidence. A quick trip to Borneo wouldn't be out of the question if I was going to school in that part of the world. However, there's also the fact that a week trip would cost less than a masters degree. Less long term value, but only maybe.




Or maybe I've just been spending too much time inside buildings lately. I never took a chance to go explore any of the native CP's and orchids in NY or the surrounding states. I missed an opportunity to go exploring with my mom and brother while he was visiting, (they went to one of the state parks here,) due to work. Florida has quite a few native and naturalized species of orchids, bromeliads, and carnivorous plants. Sarracenia leucophylla grows naturally in the panhandle, five other species of Sarracenia in other parts of Florida, not to mention all the different orchids, bromeliads, and other plant oddities.

I think a local field trip might be in order before it gets too hot to want to. Start adventures on a smaller scale, then work up to the more difficult (costlier) ones. Looks like a lot of the orchid's peak flowering season is in June, but I'm thinking I won't wait that long. I'll take along the camera. May not be quite the view that Mt. Trus Madi offers, but it's interesting in it's own way, including being right in my backyard.

Tillandsia butzii bloom and a cool spider moves onto the deck

This Tillandsia finally bloomed, one flower at a time unfortunately. Maybe once it gets larger it'll be more exciting when it blooms?

Kind of boring, sorry. I'm growing Tillandsia more for the foliage than the bloom anyway. So while we're  waiting on some more things in bud to flower, there's this spider living out there on the deck now. It's a Gasteracantha cancriformis, or "Spiny Orb Weaver," native to the Southeast US.

Gasteracantha cancriformis from the back

The underside

Not venomous to humans or animals, she can stay as long as she wants. I'm hoping she'll help keep the creepers off the orchids to her left.

Apologies for the temporary hiatus, will be back soon!

I haven't had an internet connection for a few weeks now. I'm using the 3G my phone gets to write this post as well as the Blogger app, which is only so slightly less than acceptable, that I'm still willing to use it. The good news is I will have internet and TV again by tomorrow, but just in time to work three 12's in a row. I have been reunited with a real camera (and my family, Hooray!) However, it'll be a few days before I have time to get out a real post.

In other news I did have the opportunity to go to an orchid society meeting, The Jacksonville Orchid Socitey I was never able to make one in NY in the past because they met on days I worked, or were too far to travel to. I'm going to have to join this society though, possibly the SAOS in St. Augustine as well. Being on orientation still at work I can't really pick my days, so next month I'll be working the night of Jacksonville's meeting, but will be off the night St. Augustine's society meets. So I'll go check out both before I join either and report back. I really enjoyed the JOS meeting though, some very friendly and helpful people, and I totally felt welcome despite being the youngest (or at least one of the youngest,) members there.

My Nepenthes ventricosa seedlings that I sprouted back in November have grown their 1st proto-pitchers, so I'll be sharing some pictures of their progress shortly. I'm also surprisingly still enjoying my Brassia Rex 'Tahoma' blooms, (which smell fantastic by the way, that orchid is a trooper,) and have my fingers crossed I'll have pictures of all the Phalaenopsis blooms too soon. The temperatures have been all over the place, but progress on their end is being made. I'm actually hoping that my Phalaenopsis stuartiana x self holds out another month before it blooms so I can take it to the next JOS meeting. A few people really made a point to encourage me to bring in my blooming orchids, so I will.

I never really had a chance to show off any orchids before to people that cared, (in real life anyway,) never really cared enough to bother either, but it was really cool to get to see everyone else's blooming orchids there. Even though orchids are judged, and even if I never win 1st, it feels like it would be fun to participate rather than it be a matter of pride or competition.

Anyway, to wrap this up, I'll be back shortly so don't unsubscribe yet! Next time with more pictures, but probably not less text! Here's a picture of Drosera spatulata 'Tamlin' with a neat double leaf it put out. Not terribly exciting, but I felt bad not putting any pictures into this post.

Off Topic: Florida

I apologize for the lack of updates recently. As some of you already know, we have been in the process of moving permanently to the state of Florida. I've moved myself and the plants and have been living here for about a month now. I'm also sorry that I only have my iPhone on me, the camera is in NY with the husband who will be following me after the holidays. This will temporarily limit my picture taking ability for posts. Moving is never fun, but starting a new job that I really am looking forward to is. I may be a bit busy but at least it isn't cold here, and so far everything has survived the move, so that's something. Here's a few of the (mostly) plant pictures I was motivated enough to take last week.

Tillandsia recurvata, and some usneoides aka "Spanish Moss" in the back starting to grow on this tree.
Both are really growing on almost every tree that isn't a palm though.

I am buying 10+ of these for my yard. They might be my favorite Palm that grows well here.
The label said it was an Adonidia merrillii.

Base of the Adonia merrillii Palm.

The weather was windy and gray, but this was somewhere around St. Augustine.
Palms of all kinds, everywhere.

These Palms grow along highways, yards, parks. Florida has an abundance of these.

This was at Big Value Garden Center in Daytona Beach. THIS IS A "POTHOS" or  really, an Epipremnum aureum. Yes, this is what happens when you can let it grow outside, year round, in hot to mild weather.. I'd say it was for show, but people had these growing up trees in their yards too in the Daytona Beach area. Want.

A Green Anole that got inside the apartment.
These are the only Anole species native to Florida.

Philodendron selloum, one or two of these will be in my yard one day too. I love those long aerial roots.

Close-up of the roots

Castillo de San Marcos,  a national monument from a distance. We were just driving through. I'll have to go see it sometime when I have time to be touristy, as it is the only extant 17th century fort in North America.

Some more different kinds of palms. I feel like I could write a whole blog on just different kinds of palms that grow well here. Actually, I may just take some pictures with the camera (when I have it again,) and just do a post of the best ones if I don't get run off of anybody's yard trying to take pictures.

What kind of plant hoarder would I be if I didn't at least get one cool plant they sell in FL but not in NY? This is Hylocereus undatus x polyrhizus 'Halley's Comet', a "Dragon Fruit/Pitahaya" that bears especially large fruit.

Nice to look at something other than pine trees for a change.

I'm convinced Florida itself is one big, constant struggle between people trying to build homes and infrastructure and nature trying to take the space back. Everything grows well here, including tons of invasive species and people's escaped pet snakes.

Off Topic: Some More Spider Friends

Took these pictures towards the end of fall. I'm not sure what type of spider this is, but you have to admit it is pretty:

Then we had another Orb Weaver, caught her hiding during the day, then it was real hard to try and get a picture of her later once she was on the move trying to build her web for the night:

While I was out there I took some picture of some other insects. It's amazing how much you can see if you just take the time to really look around you.

Is it a cricket?

I have no idea

And another.......BONUS SLUG:

That's probably the last of the cool spiders for the year. The influx of cellar spiders into the apartment as the temperature outside drops will be all I see for months to come.

Woot! Birthday Gifts!

I know I said that if my Tillandsia bulbosa did well here that I'd probably look into getting some more. They're nice and wacky looking, plus small sized ones work well for the space issues of apartment growing. A super nice friend sent me this Tillandsia butzii for my birthday. So hooray, my collection has increased to two! Thank you again!

The whole plant

Flower spike!

What a cool pattern!

My husband had to import this CD for me, Black Sun Empire: Lights and Wires. For those that know me personally you know how much I listen to D&B and how much I love Black Sun Empire, so this is right up there on top of the list of things I really, really, like.




Last but not least, from my mom, (who clearly let me pick out this gift,) a Nepenthes I'm waiting on. It's a good one, I'll share when it gets here. I keep obsessively checking the USPS Track & Confirm website like a crazy person. I cannot handle the anticipation of a package coming in the mail. It's even worse when I can check on it for updates of every sort facility it comes into and leaves en route. I swear Track & Confirm is like a blessing and a curse because I want to know, but can't handle seeing a package get to my post office, but not be out for delivery yet. Or, even worse, it get sent to the wrong place and get rerouted like when I ordered my N. robcantleyi and it took an extra three days to get here. That was a rough one. That was back when robcantleyi was limited in numbers, tiny, and the most expensive plant I'd ever bought, (still is to this day.) Straight up fear was involved.

Off Topic: 19 Species of Fern Named for Lady Gaga

This is both hilarious and  kind of awesome at the same time, so I had to share! As a big fan myself, I love that Duke scientists also love Lady Gaga. Normally naming a plant after a person this way doesn't follow the rules of the International Code of Botanical Nomenclature, but technically they got around it by naming it after the gene sequence. "The name Gaga also echoes one of the molecular synapomorphies that characterizes the genus. At nucleotide positions 598–601 in the matK gene alignment, all Gaga species have “GAGA” (Fig. 6), a sequence pattern not seen at this site in any other cheilanthoid fern sampled," from the paper, for anyone interested: Gaga, a New Fern Genus Segregated from Cheilanthes (Pteridaceae) 

From the article from the Duke website if you still don't believe me: 19 Species of Fern Named for Lady Gaga, "Two of the species in the Gaga genus are new to science: Gaga germanotta from Costa Rica is named to honor the family of the artist, who was born Stefani Germanotta. And a newly discovered Mexican species is being dubbed Gaga monstraparva (literally monster-little) in honor of Gaga's fans, whom she calls, 'little monsters'."

Off Topic: Our New Spider Friend

Warning: Seriously, do not scroll down if you have arachnophobia. 
Large pictures of a spider below......  /X( ;::; )X\    

For days we've been watching this spider make it's web right outside the bedroom window. She's definitely an orb weaver, we're thinking it's Araneus diadematus. We get a lot of cool orb weavers here but we actually got some good pictures of this one.

Every night she makes a new web and it's perfect. It's fascinating to watch, really. Apparently they eat it during the day so we get to watch her re-build it every night. I'm sure the light from the streetlights and the bedroom lamps attracts the insects, which is why the spider built her web there. The web gets messed up pretty fast from things flying into it, so I'm sure she's happy with her new spot.

Feel free to click to enlarge any of the below pictures!

She's awesome. Thanks spiders for catching all the insects that would normally sneak in through the cracks in the screen and window, (it's an older building,) and bother us. Not that I have anything against any insect, I catch and release them outside, I don't kill anything. I am glad when nature does the work for me though, spiders and bats like this little more woodsy section of the neighborhood. Both animals get a bad rap, but they really do keep the insect population to manageable levels, without them it would be a total bug-pocalypse.

Hi friend!

There's also a basement in this building, filled with everything from tiny cellar spiders to huge wolf spiders. I like spiders, I don't mind one or two in the apartment, but the basement is referred to as "Spider Town," around here. I make up nicknames for things, called it that once, and it stuck. The landlord also once sprayed for them so there's lots of web-y spider skeletons covered in some sort of white pesticide powder. Talk about creepy. I'm not a huge fan of Spider Town, but I'll make an expedition there if there's any reader interest in this sort of thing.

Gifts

My brother got me this really awesome gift. I'm mentioning it for two reasons.

1.) My brother found this botanical print of carnivorous plants. It's one of the most thoughtful gifts anyone's given me in a while. I don't do so much decorating. The thought of having to pack everything and move (again) keeps me from seeing much value in in acquiring "stuff." Having lots of things feels burdensome. Maybe it's because I've moved 3 or 4 times already and I don't spend that much time at home anyway. It reminds me of a quote from Chuck Palahniuk in the book Fight Club, "...and the things you used to own, now they own you." Therefore decorating investments have been limited to a few Salvador Dali prints (The Temptation of St. Anthony) and framed photographs. So I'm pleased with this small improvement to my living space as it's the kind of thing I'd probably be decorating with if I went out of my way to try.

Plants!

2.) The second reason is because although my brother didn't draw this particular print, he is an extremely talented artist. He also grows plants well (despite one of his current projects) as if the first fact wasn't good enough.

He has a website, if you don't believe me, or want to see what I mean: Allen West
There's a particularly nice looking Rhyncholaelia digbyana on his home page.