Image - Wikimedia / Photograph by Mike Peel // Sarracenia hybride x chelsonii
Carnivorous plants of the genus Sarracenia are the easiest to care for, since they only want sunlight throughout the day, a substrate with a low pH and very poor nutrient richness (such as unfertilized peat moss, or sphagnum moss ), and lots of water. Surely this is one of the reasons why there are more and more hybrids, each one more beautiful. There are varieties with reddish, green, and even bicolor traps, which can reach up to almost one meter in height or stay at fifteen, perhaps twenty centimeters.
Name Sarracenia hybrid refers to a large number of plants that have characteristics that make them unique, so much so that many do not live in nature, but have been created by humans.
What is a hybrid?
Image - Wikimedia / Aaron Carlson from Menomonie, WI, USA // Sarracenia oreophila x Sarracenia 'Willisii'
To better understand what we mean when we talk about the Sarracenia hybrid, we have to first know what the word hybrid means. Without going into overly technical details, it will be enough for us to bear in mind that It is an individual that has been created by crossing two of the same genus but different species. For example:
If we cross sarracenia purpurea with Saracenia Flava., we will get Sarracenia x catesbaei. When a name has not yet been given, or if it is not clear what the aforementioned is, it is simply said that it is a Sarracenia hybrid, or a hybrid of Sarracenia. Sometimes the name of the species is even put, as for example Sarracenia psittacina x purpurea.
How is it created?
To get your own sarracenia hybrids, what you have to do is, first, wait for your plants - remember that they must be of a different species - are in flower. Then, with a small brush brush, pass the pollen from one flower to another, and then go back to the previous one. Do this for several days, until the fruit begins to form.
As soon as it is ripe, you can sow the seeds in a plastic pot with unfertilized blond peat and watered with distilled water. Thus, you will have your Sarracenia hybrid.
Examples of Sarracenia hybrid
Today in nurseries and plant stores the most abundant are hybrids of sarracenia; that is, it is a bit difficult to find 'pure' sarracenias. Therefore, below we are going to mention some of the most common so that you can identify them:
Sarracenia alata x leucophylla
Image - Flickr / Derek Keats
From the outset, it is important to know that the species sarracenia alata y Sarracenia leucophylla They are characterized by tall, thin pitcher-like traps. It is usual that they exceed 40 centimeters, and that they are of very different colors. But the hybrid Sarracenia alata x leucophylla you will always see that it has its white traps with dark red-maroon nerves. As for its adult size, it is about 40-50 centimeters.
Sarracenia alata x flava
Image - Wikimedia / Aaron Carlson
This is, and this is a personal opinion, one of the most beautiful hybrids that have been made from sarracenia. Their traps are tall and thin, similar to jugs, which can measure up to 40 centimeters. As the plant grows, it turns a dark red color that attracts a lot of attention.
Sarracenia 'Judith Hindle'
Image - Flickr / David Eickhoff
It is a hybrid that comes from the cross of, first, Sarracenia leucophylla y Saracenia Flava., and then, the plant that was obtained, was crossed with sarracenia purpurea. Thus, the scientific name of this hybrid is Sarracenia (leucophylla x flava) x Sarracenia purpurea, but since they gave her a proper name, she is also called Sarracenia 'Judith Hindle'.
How is it characterized? Well, it is a plant with maroon pitcher traps, which grows to 30-35 centimeters.
Sarracenia oreophila x purpurea
Image - Wikimedia / Aaron Carlson
If you like reddish colored sarracenias, this is one of those that you cannot miss in your collection. Their traps have very dark red nerves, sometimes almost black, and they are thin. They reach an approximate height of 50 centimeters.
Sarracenia (oreophila x purpurea) x flava
Image - Wikimedia / Aaron Carlson from Menomonie, WI, USA
This hybrid comes from the crossing of two hybrids: first it was crossed Sarracenia oreophila with sarracenia purpurea, and later, the plant that was obtained, was crossed with Saracenia Flava.. As a consequence of this, a plant with greenish traps has been obtained, whose nerves are red and the hat of its trap a beautiful orange color. Grows around 40-50 centimeters tall.
Sarracenia psittacina x purpurea
Image - Wikimedia / Michal Klajban
It is a relatively small plant, something that inherits from the Sarracenia psittacina. It does not usually exceed 10 centimeters in height, so it is splendid to have in small spaces, or to create with it compositions of carnivorous plants.
As a curiosity, to tell you that the darker the color of the parents, the darker that of this hybrid will be.
Which of them did you like the most?