Post by Clue on Jun 13, 2021 19:45:49 GMT -5
Let's get some love in here for the western S. alata! I've got two-ish clones of S. alata from Tyler County, Texas - I'm not sure they're different plants, but if they were I probably couldn't prove it. Definitely worth checking out markt57's thread about these guys in the wild: sarracenia.proboards.com/thread/4793/sarracenia-alata-tyler-county-tx
Plant #1 was just labeled S. alata Tyler Co., TX; like many of my early Sarracenia this plant came from a BACPS raffle. Maybe it's because I've grown it for so long but I definitely take it for granted. Definitely reached and maintained vegetative maturity, these rhizomes are nearly broomsticks in terms of thickness and will break through pots if I don't divide them regularly.
Some nice fall pitchers from August 2017. The spring pitchers are tall and have pretty robust walls, but the base of the pitcher is so narrow that the spring pitchers tend to flop over. I think the fall pitchers are better about standing up, will have to observe better this fall (and get better pics of the fall pitchers!).
Flowers in late March 2021. When I first flowered this plant, I thought the notched petals were a fluke occurrence, but it's a very consistent feature year to year.
June 2021 - So the spring floppiness means this plant is really best appreciated up close. I generally don't look at this plant in much detail since it's pushed towards the back and other things tend to catch my eye first. I really like the well developed lip that the most robust pitchers have. My memory tells me that there usually aren't this many veins in the spring, but I've taken so few pictures of this plant I'm not sure.
My second plant came with the label S. alata Big Thicket Preserve, Tyler Co., TX. Whether S. alata grows in Tyler County but also outside of the Big Thicket National Preserve, I've no idea. I got this plant much more recently, and with such a big gap in acquisition time if they're the same clone I really wouldn't be able to find out. I do actually suspect they could be the same clone since they have the same notched petal trait, which I don't think is common. #2 is better at holding up the spring pitchers - could be a combination of not mature enough since it is a fair bit shorter; and the fact that it has no other tall plants to lean against so maybe it's making stronger pitchers. Or maybe it is a different clone!
April 2020 - Last year I did cross #1 and #2 together to make pure Texan S. alata seed. Still haven't gotten around to sowing them, historically I've had the problem of having too much Tyler County S. alata lol.
June 2021
Plant #1 was just labeled S. alata Tyler Co., TX; like many of my early Sarracenia this plant came from a BACPS raffle. Maybe it's because I've grown it for so long but I definitely take it for granted. Definitely reached and maintained vegetative maturity, these rhizomes are nearly broomsticks in terms of thickness and will break through pots if I don't divide them regularly.
Some nice fall pitchers from August 2017. The spring pitchers are tall and have pretty robust walls, but the base of the pitcher is so narrow that the spring pitchers tend to flop over. I think the fall pitchers are better about standing up, will have to observe better this fall (and get better pics of the fall pitchers!).
Flowers in late March 2021. When I first flowered this plant, I thought the notched petals were a fluke occurrence, but it's a very consistent feature year to year.
June 2021 - So the spring floppiness means this plant is really best appreciated up close. I generally don't look at this plant in much detail since it's pushed towards the back and other things tend to catch my eye first. I really like the well developed lip that the most robust pitchers have. My memory tells me that there usually aren't this many veins in the spring, but I've taken so few pictures of this plant I'm not sure.
My second plant came with the label S. alata Big Thicket Preserve, Tyler Co., TX. Whether S. alata grows in Tyler County but also outside of the Big Thicket National Preserve, I've no idea. I got this plant much more recently, and with such a big gap in acquisition time if they're the same clone I really wouldn't be able to find out. I do actually suspect they could be the same clone since they have the same notched petal trait, which I don't think is common. #2 is better at holding up the spring pitchers - could be a combination of not mature enough since it is a fair bit shorter; and the fact that it has no other tall plants to lean against so maybe it's making stronger pitchers. Or maybe it is a different clone!
April 2020 - Last year I did cross #1 and #2 together to make pure Texan S. alata seed. Still haven't gotten around to sowing them, historically I've had the problem of having too much Tyler County S. alata lol.
June 2021