Alas, Fred and last winter’s pygmy sundews did not make it through the summer. Once I turned off the LEDs, I couldn’t find the right combination of light and coolness to keep them alive. So when I started up the lights this fall I made another order to California Carnivores. I let them pick the sundews, a sample pack, and unfortunately, none of them have colored as nicely as the ones that I picked last year. But they seem to be doing their job as I’ve seen the occasional gnat but no damage to the plants.
Fred’s variety was no longer available so I ordered a pretty Nepenthes spathulata x ramispina (M-SG). Lacking any better ideas, I named her Freida. She is bigger and her darker color makes her look fiercer than Fred did. Also the detail along her “blossom” edge looks like teeth to me. Very fierce. Shiver…
The slender stalk in the lower picture front right is an emerging “blossom”. The small structure at the end will develop into something like the large, complex structure in the top picture. By then the mature one will have shriveled up, hopefully after feeding.
Click on either picture to enlarge.