Darth Nepenthe

"I was watching the Star Wars marathon on TV last night and got to thinking: "If Darth Vader was a nepenthes, which one would he be?" Kind of a tough question to answer but I figured the best choice out of my own collection right now would be my Nepenthes izumiae x XTrusmadiensis. I've attached a pic of my plant. This is the first pitcher I've gotten so far. Hopefully as it matures it will get darker and more Sith-like."

*The above quote was from a new thread I started on Terra Forums. I'm interested to see the responses from other users. Follow this link to check it out:

http://www.terraforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=127180

Here is the photo of my Darth Nepenthe...

Purple People Eater...Revisited!

I first posted about this particular Sarracenia cultivar back in February when I had just received it in the mail. Back then there wasn't much to show, just some dormant rhizomes. The same can NOT be said now!



This gem is fast becoming one of the favorites of my Sarracenia collection. Hopefully I can keep the aphids and caterpillars off of it (some of my other pitcher plants haven't been so lucky). Can't wait to see what other pitchers it has in store for me this season!

Hamata is King (of my collection)

I'd say out of all the Nepenthes out there, the one that evokes the most admiration from growers has to be N. hamata. [Ok, maybe that isn't entirely true. N. macrophylla and N. edwardsiana are heavy-hitters too. I don't have an N. edwardsiana (sigh) BUT I do have two N. macrophyllas. I'll have to save that for another post though. :) ]

Aaaanywaaays...

If that N. hamata also happens to be seed-grown then double that admiration. The reason I say this is that I've seen the sheer number of responses and views from online posts related to hamatas. People go crazy for 'em! Also, prices for tissue-cultured plants are usually high. I'm not really shocked though since this has to be the most sinister-looking of all Nepenthes (and perhaps any other carnivorous plant). Those wicked, recurved teeth. That wild hair on the top of the lid. That cool pattern on the pitcher. What's not to like?!?! Alright, alright...I'll quit gushing about this plant (for now) and go ahead and show you my seed-grown N. hamata. Here is the latest (and greatest) pitcher. ENJOY!