I managed to get up to Sydney yesterday to attend the Australasian Carnivorous Plant Society meeting, which was a talk by Robert Gibson on his trip to Los Angeles and the ICPS 2012 conference plus field trips. Here are a few photos of the display plants:
This Sarracenia did not win plant of the night (Jessica Biddlecombe’s Drosera regia behind it won), but it was exceptional – one of the best S. flava var. atropurpurea in Australia. It was grown by Helmut Kibelis from seed produced by Steve Clemensha. Apparantly, it is a cross between a S. flava var. cuprea (a veined clone) and a S. flava var. rubricorpora (“good flava”). It is the epitome of flava var. atropurpurea – all red pitcher and nice tanned interior – a good looking grower, and a very good size.
Jessica Biddlecombe also brought in this beautiful red Darlingtonia, complete with stolons popping up at the edge of the pot. It is growing in live Tasmanian Sphagnum cristatum.
Helmut also brought in some Mexican Pinguicula. He grows them in a 1:1 mix of vermiculite and perlite. I brought home a beautiful P. moranensis var. superba (for scale, the pot is 120 mm):
I have grown this plant before. Its leaves can become pink with red veins and quite large. Pings have done best for me in bright but cool conditions. In fact, Mexican Pings. are one of the best plants for an office windowsill. I grew P. moranensis var. huahuapan on my office windowsill for several years, where it was happy even in the air-conditioned dryness (not surprising, given Mexican Pings. are desert growers). A self-watering pot (like for an African violet) works very well – just top it up when it gets dry. Sphagnum is also good as a growing medium, although I suspect African violet mix (which also works well for Nepenthes) may also be acceptable.
