- Wed Nov 21, 2018 8:22 pm
#325462
I know that most of you probably saw my post stating that I was going to be away from the forums for a bit, due to a personal mistake causing the freezer to go down to 14 degrees fahrenheit last night. Well, a few things have changed my mind.
As I was assessing the damage in the chest freezer, I noticed a Drosera prolifera in the corner that I had ignored for a few months. That plant came from a leaf cutting sent in a very generous trade from a user over a year ago. A couple months ago, I traded other plants from the same leaf cutting to another grower for three large capensis forms in another very generous transaction. Just today, yet another grower told me that he was going to send a prolifera along with five other plants that I had just sent him back to me next week. This hobby is full of kind and warmhearted people, and at that moment I felt selfish. I had received so much kindness and generosity from all of these people, and as a thank you I was retreating away from the very forum that started my passion for carnivorous plants. This wasn't right. Besides, it's thanksgiving tomorrow! I had no reason to feel sorry for myself when I have so much to be thankful about.
Also while I was going through the plants in my freezer, I picked up the Drosera solaris pot that I posted about only yesterday. Last night the pot was full of beautiful gem-like plants, and I was so excited to see its progress. Now I was apprehensive about even looking at it––I felt sure that no South American sundew that fragile could handle any freeze, let alone 14 degrees fahrenheit.
And yet... Holding it up to the light, I saw many of the plants still sporting healthy growth points! One of the plants even had a bit of dew left on the leaf! That's no guarantee of the plants' survival, but I was heartened at the sight of the possibility of the plants pulling through. As I kept looking through the pots, I found many other plants, some of which I felt sure would never have made it, still carrying dewy leaves or green growth points. These plants are much tougher than I think many people, including me, realize. Although I will almost certainly sustain some losses still, they are probably going to be much less that I would have thought.
And so, as a thank you to the cp community who I joined when I only had one cape sundew, I am turning to that plant again for a thanksgiving giveaway. A few months ago, I went on a capensis-collecting spree, landing me with not only some generously donated leaf cuttings but also several large specimens, the ones I talked about earlier on in this post. The winner of this giveaway will receive at least three cuttings from the following capensis forms:
D. capensis "Narrow Leaf": This was my first ever carnivorous plant, purchased from california carnivores when I thought that a sundew could survive on a partially sunny west facing windowsill. Although it barely pulled through that winter, it managed to survive until I read up more on the needs of carnivorous plants and purchased a grow light. The plant is now supported on a substantial stem, and the etiolated leaves and aphid-infested flower stalks of two years ago are long gone.
capensis narrow leaf.jpg (2.87 MiB) Viewed 3083 times
D. capensis 'Albino': This plant came (I believe) from seed from the FTC Seed Bank donated by Fishman, yet another great example of one generous person spending hours of their valuable time to organize something for the good of the entire community (thanks, Mike!). Mainly because of my poor cultivation skills at the time, I had dismal germination with the seeds and only a couple seeds germinated, with only one surviving to adulthood. This is the plant that you see here, and it has grown into an impressive specimen that I can ignore for months with it still looking fantastic.
capensis albino.jpg (2.84 MiB) Viewed 3083 times
D. capensis "Big Pink": I received this plant almost exactly one year ago in a trade with Fishman, another great and generous grower. It arrived very pink, and although it turned green for several months after I received it, probably due to shipping shock, it rebounded into a truly breathtaking specimen. It was so pink it was almost red! Although I have been feeding it more as I am trying to get it to flower, making it lose its coloration a bit, it still has a very nice pink hue and is by far the largest capensis form in my collection at the moment.
capensis big pink.jpg (2.72 MiB) Viewed 3083 times
D. capensis "Triffid Rose": The first of three capensis forms I received from hollyhock. This plant came in large, with multiple growth points, and a beautiful reddish coloration. I has still not fully recovered from shipping yet (I find that while capensis plants themselves rebound from shipping in days, it takes months for true coloration to reappear), but you can see the influence of capensis "Wide Leaf" and capensis "Red", its parents, already. This is a very robust and beautiful form, and I hope to have it display its vibrant coloration soon. Thank you, hollyhock!
capenss triffid rose.jpg (2.69 MiB) Viewed 3083 times
D. capensis "Montagu Pass": Another plant from hollyhock, this might be my favorite variety of capensis at the moment. Its upright growth habit, combined with the long petioles and wide leaves, make for a very neat specimen. Although not full size yet, it is growing very fast and already topping my capensis "Narrow Leaf" in shear leaf length. All around a beautiful specimen.
capensis montagu.jpg (2.56 MiB) Viewed 3083 times
D. capensis "Palmiet River": The last capensis form I received from hollyhock in that trade. I must admit that I had never seen this form before I received it from hollyhock, and was relying on her great taste in plants to guide me. Needless to say, she was right on the money! The growth habit of "Palmiet River" is similar to "Big Pink," but I find the coloration if anything even prettier. On the newest leaves, the petioles stay a vibrant green while the laminae have a delicate reddish tinge, and as the leaves get older the entire leaf attains a beautiful red hue. It is a very handsome plant, and again one of my favorites.
capensis palmiet river.jpg (2.38 MiB) Viewed 3083 times
As for the logistics of the giveaway, add your names in the normal format:
1) personX
2) personY
3) personZ
I will pick a winner using a random number generator at 9:00 PM EST this Saturday. The winner will have to send me their shipping address, but I will pay for shipping. The cuttings will be wrapped in a damp paper towel and shipping in a padded envelope.
The cp community is really an amazing thing. I hope that all of you have a great thanksgiving. I sure know that I am thankful for a lot.
Thanks,
-mo_carnivore
As I was assessing the damage in the chest freezer, I noticed a Drosera prolifera in the corner that I had ignored for a few months. That plant came from a leaf cutting sent in a very generous trade from a user over a year ago. A couple months ago, I traded other plants from the same leaf cutting to another grower for three large capensis forms in another very generous transaction. Just today, yet another grower told me that he was going to send a prolifera along with five other plants that I had just sent him back to me next week. This hobby is full of kind and warmhearted people, and at that moment I felt selfish. I had received so much kindness and generosity from all of these people, and as a thank you I was retreating away from the very forum that started my passion for carnivorous plants. This wasn't right. Besides, it's thanksgiving tomorrow! I had no reason to feel sorry for myself when I have so much to be thankful about.
Also while I was going through the plants in my freezer, I picked up the Drosera solaris pot that I posted about only yesterday. Last night the pot was full of beautiful gem-like plants, and I was so excited to see its progress. Now I was apprehensive about even looking at it––I felt sure that no South American sundew that fragile could handle any freeze, let alone 14 degrees fahrenheit.
And yet... Holding it up to the light, I saw many of the plants still sporting healthy growth points! One of the plants even had a bit of dew left on the leaf! That's no guarantee of the plants' survival, but I was heartened at the sight of the possibility of the plants pulling through. As I kept looking through the pots, I found many other plants, some of which I felt sure would never have made it, still carrying dewy leaves or green growth points. These plants are much tougher than I think many people, including me, realize. Although I will almost certainly sustain some losses still, they are probably going to be much less that I would have thought.
And so, as a thank you to the cp community who I joined when I only had one cape sundew, I am turning to that plant again for a thanksgiving giveaway. A few months ago, I went on a capensis-collecting spree, landing me with not only some generously donated leaf cuttings but also several large specimens, the ones I talked about earlier on in this post. The winner of this giveaway will receive at least three cuttings from the following capensis forms:
D. capensis "Narrow Leaf": This was my first ever carnivorous plant, purchased from california carnivores when I thought that a sundew could survive on a partially sunny west facing windowsill. Although it barely pulled through that winter, it managed to survive until I read up more on the needs of carnivorous plants and purchased a grow light. The plant is now supported on a substantial stem, and the etiolated leaves and aphid-infested flower stalks of two years ago are long gone.
1) personX
2) personY
3) personZ
I will pick a winner using a random number generator at 9:00 PM EST this Saturday. The winner will have to send me their shipping address, but I will pay for shipping. The cuttings will be wrapped in a damp paper towel and shipping in a padded envelope.
The cp community is really an amazing thing. I hope that all of you have a great thanksgiving. I sure know that I am thankful for a lot.
Thanks,
-mo_carnivore
- By alecStewart1
- By optique
- By andynorth