Happy New Year, plant friends. I wanted to update you all on the 2024 plans for Bookhardt Botanicals, as I've been quiet this past year. If you haven't read the last blog post- "Life Replanted"- (https://bookhardtbotanicals.com/blogs/news/life-replanted) in April 2023 I moved to New Mexico, bringing my favorite plants along and leaving the rest with trusted friends back in Oregon. During my first growing season here in the desert Southwest, I focused on evaluating which plants performed well here, and which did not thrive in this very different climate. Many of the early season plants such as flava, oreophila, and their hybrids like moorei put up good leaves this spring, but were effected by a major heat wave in July. The plants...
Bookhardt Botanicals recently relocated to Albuquerque, NM! What are the implications of this major change to the nursery? I'm not completely sure yet. On April 4th, I packed my car with my favorite Sarracenia, Flytraps, and Nepenthes, and made the drive down through California, then across Arizona to New Mexico. The "car"nivorous plants fared very well during the drive. Many Sarracenia are pushing up new growth and flowers, anticipating the desert sun. Now that the plants and myself have arrived safely, there is a new set of challenges to growing these plants in the desert. Unlike Portland, tap water is hard here (120PPM), there is no humidity, and major temperature fluctuations are frequent. A benefit will be the consistent bright sunlight, which was...
Congratulations, you've just received a bareroot Sarracenia rhizome from Bookhardt Botanicals! What to do next? Ordering Sarracenia during winter dormancy (roughly anywhere between October and April) is most advantageous for a smooth transition into the growing season. While they don't look their best at this time, it is ideal to order a dormant plant because they arrive less stressed and ready to adapt to your home growing conditions. Here I have outlined a few simple steps to prepare your new dormant Sarracenia rhizome to flourish during the growing season. Everything you need for success (LEFT: 1:1 Sphagnum Peat Moss:Perlite soil mixture, CENTER: dormant bareroot Sarracenia rhizome with leaves trimmed, RIGHT: plastic pot with drainage) Before arrival, ensure you have the proper carnivorous plant soil to plant your...
History Sarracenia, or American Pitcher Plants, are indigenous to the eastern seaboard of the United States, into Texas and the Great Lakes area, and southeastern Canada, with most species occurring only in the southeast United States. These charming plants have been known to science since 1576, yet while being native to the United States, they have quite an extensive history of cultivation in England. Sarracenia were very popular in British gardens in the nineteenth century (1880 on) and not widely grown in the USA until introduced back to us. Today, the UK is home to many specialized Sarracenia nurseries, as well as national collections of Sarracenia and the British Carnivorous Plant Society. So it is no wonder why myself and other USA growers are eager to get our hands on Sarracenia from...
This Spring I potted up one of my favorite Venus Flytrap cultivars- 'Low Giant'- in a display bowl, which has happily grown all year on our patio table. I wanted to share the appearance of this display through the year to show the seasonal habits of this wonderful plant. Hopefully this inspires you to plant your own Flytrap display next Spring! Spring (June 24, 2022) The flytrap display bowl was planted a few months earlier from an overgrown 4" pot of Low Giant flytraps, with about 6 mature plants. By late June, a nice flush of spring traps had emerged. You can also see flower stalks emerging from a few plants. Some growers will remove these at this stage to divert...
