Darlingtonia californica

About my Carnivorous Plants:

I've been collecting CPs for a few decades. And believe me, there had been times I wondered if my hobby became more of a chore than of joy. When the collection became too large, I spent most of my time watering... and the plants just kept growing ...I was held hostage with the simple fact that I had to keep watering them, weeding them and getting rid of all the dead leaves, slugs, mealy bugs, scale, thrips - well you get the picture. So I've just refocused on those CPs that are easy to maintain. Plants that thrive out here in the temperate westcoast. So now my yard is a mess of Sarracenia and Darlingtonia, with the odd Drosera anglica, D. rotundifolia and happy, but prolific, D. capensis (a transplant from South Africa)! Oh yes, and then there are my Nepenthes.

After losing most of my plants to theft years ago, I am rebuilding my small collection...but a couple of bad apples doesn't ruin for me, the fellowship of CP enthusiasts. And I have met some of the most decent and caring CP folks over the years. For now, there's nothing better than spending an evening with my CPs with the BBQ stoking after a nice sunny day watching whales, and searching for Drosera rotundifolia in the nearby ponds and bogs.

Acquiring Carnivorous Plants in Canada:
It has always been difficult to buy Carnivorous plants in Canada - especially with the strict controls on possible pest introduction (thus all plants need to be cleaned and verified with a phytosanitary certificate). It's now even more difficult with the requirement of CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna) certification from the plants' originating country.

There are a few good nurseries in Canada that sell these wonderful plants, some better quality and pricing then others. Hawaiian Botanicals based in Richmond, British Columbia is a reputable nursery that stocks many wonderful forms and species.



Nepenthes maxima	Sarracenia flava	Nepenthes ventricosa

The oldest Nep plants I have growing are now over a couple of decades old. These include some of the first Southeast Asian pitcher plants I ever purchased: Nepenthes ventricosa (red), N. maxima and N. alata. As I mentioned earlier, I concentrate mostly on plants that are easy to care for here in the cool sea breeze climate - so I collect most of the highland Nepenthes species. These tropical pitcher plants are aptly called "highland" forms as they find their homes in the higher attitudes - the mountains of Brunei, Borneo, Indonesia, Kalimantan and Malaysia.

And from the cleverly twisted mind of mother nature, Nepenthes are some of the most exquisite vessels of delight. Besides, I truly believe these are some of the most beautiful pitcher plants out there.


Sarracenia purpurea bloom	Sarracenia oreophylla blooms	Nepenthes maxima seeds


Dan's Heliamphora minor in bloom	a new generation of Dionaea	Nepenthes burbidgea eating each other


It doesn't matter how many times I've seen a CP, I always can't get enough of them. I look for them on every trip - to a local botanical garden, a university's arboretum, or a colleague's home. I read as much of it on the Net, and pick up every available book on CP. Just can't get enough of them. And happily found among these meat eaters are the local guests - frogs, salamanders, turtles, butterflies and other inquisitive creatures we share our planet with. Not many of these larger animals fall prey to the CPs. They seem to attract flies, wasps and other bugs. Sometimes you feel for the flies buzzing for their lives inside one of those pitchers - but that's the cycle of life. But when I see one of my favourite amphibians, Hyla regia (Pacific Treefrog) caught between the jaws of my giant Venus Flytraps... I help let the little guy go. Photographed here is my friend Dan S's CP bog. Dan grows some of the most wicked looking CPs around.

On the edge of my pond are the Sarracenias. This photo was shot in mid summer when the lilies and water hyacinths were blooming. There is one CP that is not welcome in my pond - the Utricularias (bladderworts) who will make a meal of my baby fish. My pond is shared by at least four species of local frogs, newts, "rosie" fatheads (pink coloured fish) and goldfish. I used to have some real fancy lionheads and bubble eye goldfish in the pond until the racoons and herons brought them home to feed their young. My pond overflows into my peat moss bog where the pitcher plants thrive year after year. In spring the sarracenia blooms justify their existence...let alone the cool pitchers that follow later and throughout the year!

Sarracenia oreophylla x flava cross. These beauties were raised from seed and are grown in pots. A note about oreophylla: every oreophylla I've ever grown has succumbed to the cold winters we have out here. Even though it has been documented all over the place that this particular species is supposedly the hardiest of all Sarracenia (!) So don't believe everything you read. Even as montaine habitat plants in North America, oreophyllas are wimpy compared to some of it's southern cousins such as S. flava and S. Alata. Complaining aside, S. oreophyllas present spectacular flowers and have lids in the shape of hearts when viewed from above. Try romancing your valentine with these heart throbs.

And here are my CPs in capitivity. Trained like sissys growing in plastic urns. These three planters contain three different Sarracenia flava forms: (from left to right, 'veined', 'coppertop', and typical form). The smaller Sarracenia growing include S. purpurea, S. rubra and S. psittacina. Also found are a few rogue Darlingtonia seedlings and Drosera species. These plants have been growing in their containers for over 10 years. I split them up around every third year or so. [footnote 2009] I have since lost these plants to the great winter freeze of 2008 - 2009.