Post by meizzwang on Apr 8, 2013 22:22:41 GMT -5
For those of you who have been following Rob Co's famous The Pitcher Plant Project, I had a rare opportunity to visit his collection last weekend (thanks homie!). For those of you who aren't familiar with Rob's recent challenges, in a nutshell, his entire collection last year was essentially "antho free" aka all green due to poor light in the greenhouse he temporarily moved into. He was forced into a greenhouse that received about enough light to grow ferns and other shade lovers! The water was a toxic 200+ppm...you'd probably grow a third eye if you drank it! Fortunately, Last summer or early fall, he moved out into a new greenhouse, so the plants had a chance to recover in the bright fall sun.
When I visited his collection last weekend, all I can say is HOLY S***!!!! This is the best his collection has ever been, and Rob clearly has mastered the art of growing in a relatively short amount of time. There are gigantic traps on many plants (one looks like it'll be more than 3 feet tall!), and they're all thriving! He gets very strong light, and the water quality is great. Being in a greenhouse at the same latitude as I, his plants are about 2 weeks ahead of my outdoor collection. His day temperatures can be in the 80's, which really speeds things up.
Every grower has their own direction and set of genetics that they work with. Rob has some of the most cutting edge genetics to work with in the hobby, and he focuses on hybridizing. NO doubt, Rob's achievements and skills are evident:
A complex hybrid involving Adrian Slack-this one looks very promising:
You're everyday S. x catesbaei, except look at those veins:
I like this one too, but it's too complex of a hybrid to remember the parentage (rob knows though):
Guiness book of world records for the most AF plants?
The very awesome S. x Legacy (Leah Wilkerson x Adrian Slack) grown out by Rob, bred by Brooks Garcia. The cultivar name honors two CP legacies that will live on past our time:
Another photo of S. x Legacy:
One last shot of S. x Legacy from a different angle:
One of the mother plants to S. x Legacy, S. x Leah Wilkerson, producing some huge pitchers:
S. leucophylla 'Wilkerson's Red Rocket' N. Walton Co, FL. A plant from the Wilkerson's property, selected by Brooks Garcia. This is just a spring pitcher, and the plant is recovering from last year's stress, so it's not red yet, but this thing can turn SOLID red:
And while we're on the topic of leucos, here's S. leucophylla clone A x clone B, Franklin Co, FL. This is another monster, and is the select seedling. I believe this one can also turn pretty dark red:
back view of S. leuco AxB franklin Co, FL:
Some really nice white clones of S. leucophylla from the only site in Georgia(Sumter Co, GA):
S. x Reptilian Rose, bred by one of our members, Phil Faulisi. The color hasn't come in yet, but holy crap, this thing is a MONSTER! I didn't know it got that big, and it'll probably get even bigger:
A beautiful S. flava var. cuprea...I believe this clone originally came from Dean Cook:
Another amazing plant, S. x Prince of Darkness. This is the one where the pitcher looks like it'll be more than 3 feet tall-it's an absolute monster, and an absolute winner clone! The lip on this thing, which unfortunately you can't see yet cuz the pitcher hasn't opened, is insane, and I think this one can get very dark. Bred by Phil Faulisi (note to Phil: hey, when are you gonna let Rob hook us up a piece, haha!!):
Some pretty S. oreophilas:
And last but not least, Jerry Addington's monster S. psittacina-DAMN, this thing is GIGANTIC:
When I visited his collection last weekend, all I can say is HOLY S***!!!! This is the best his collection has ever been, and Rob clearly has mastered the art of growing in a relatively short amount of time. There are gigantic traps on many plants (one looks like it'll be more than 3 feet tall!), and they're all thriving! He gets very strong light, and the water quality is great. Being in a greenhouse at the same latitude as I, his plants are about 2 weeks ahead of my outdoor collection. His day temperatures can be in the 80's, which really speeds things up.
Every grower has their own direction and set of genetics that they work with. Rob has some of the most cutting edge genetics to work with in the hobby, and he focuses on hybridizing. NO doubt, Rob's achievements and skills are evident:
A complex hybrid involving Adrian Slack-this one looks very promising:
You're everyday S. x catesbaei, except look at those veins:
I like this one too, but it's too complex of a hybrid to remember the parentage (rob knows though):
Guiness book of world records for the most AF plants?
The very awesome S. x Legacy (Leah Wilkerson x Adrian Slack) grown out by Rob, bred by Brooks Garcia. The cultivar name honors two CP legacies that will live on past our time:
Another photo of S. x Legacy:
One last shot of S. x Legacy from a different angle:
One of the mother plants to S. x Legacy, S. x Leah Wilkerson, producing some huge pitchers:
S. leucophylla 'Wilkerson's Red Rocket' N. Walton Co, FL. A plant from the Wilkerson's property, selected by Brooks Garcia. This is just a spring pitcher, and the plant is recovering from last year's stress, so it's not red yet, but this thing can turn SOLID red:
And while we're on the topic of leucos, here's S. leucophylla clone A x clone B, Franklin Co, FL. This is another monster, and is the select seedling. I believe this one can also turn pretty dark red:
back view of S. leuco AxB franklin Co, FL:
Some really nice white clones of S. leucophylla from the only site in Georgia(Sumter Co, GA):
S. x Reptilian Rose, bred by one of our members, Phil Faulisi. The color hasn't come in yet, but holy crap, this thing is a MONSTER! I didn't know it got that big, and it'll probably get even bigger:
A beautiful S. flava var. cuprea...I believe this clone originally came from Dean Cook:
Another amazing plant, S. x Prince of Darkness. This is the one where the pitcher looks like it'll be more than 3 feet tall-it's an absolute monster, and an absolute winner clone! The lip on this thing, which unfortunately you can't see yet cuz the pitcher hasn't opened, is insane, and I think this one can get very dark. Bred by Phil Faulisi (note to Phil: hey, when are you gonna let Rob hook us up a piece, haha!!):
Some pretty S. oreophilas:
And last but not least, Jerry Addington's monster S. psittacina-DAMN, this thing is GIGANTIC: