A brief post in which I threaten Utricularia praelonga

You've got to be kidding me Utricularia praelonga. I first noticed your flower stalk in mid-April. Over 3 weeks ago I boldly declared that you would be open in a day or two. And this is what I've got so far.

This has been absolutely glacial.

At least your spur is visible. This is progress. Maybe you'll be open tomorrow. Maybe Wednesday. I mean, look at this, your flower stalk is almost 15 inches (~38 cm) tall and I've had to stake it. My Utricularia longifolia is just over 16 inches (~41 cm) tall, and it's been in bloom for 4 months.

U. longifolia photobomb in this picture.

Now listen. I don't care when you open, except it had better be before Saturday. Because Saturday is the BACPS show, and I swear to all that is holy if you aren't open on Saturday I might forget how proud I am to get a flower from a plant that rarely blooms in cultivation and set you to soak in a bucket of saltwater. Just open. Please. I've been checking that bud every morning when I wake up and every evening when I get home from work for the last 3 weeks. You can just open. Please. Please open. Soon.

Utricularia 'Betty's Bay' in flower

Fun new utric flower today. Utricularia 'Betty's Bay' is a location form and cultivar of Utricularia bisquamata that is notable for having flower much larger than the common weedy form, and also for not readily self-seeding. Here's a photo of its flower next to a standard U. bisquamata stalk I plucked.

The color is a bit richer too!

Regular U. bisquamata is on the right, U. 'Betty's Bay' on the left. I think the flower stalk I'm holding got tilted forward as I was taking the picture, so it looks larger than it should. Even with that, it's clear to see that U. 'Betty's Bay' is definitely a superior clone! It's very pretty.

We're really really close on this Utricularia praelonga!

The tension is building.

You can see the color of the petals! It's gonna pop tomorrow or the next day. I'm stoked.

The neighboring pot of Utricularia lateriflora has some lovely blooms as well.

I've never been disappointed by a new Utricularia.

I love the combination of dark purple and white. This is a great little utric!

Finally, here's something weird. My Drosera filiformis Florida red is apparently still alive.

This is my white whale.

This plant keeps going dormant forever, but keeps not dying. If I were better at pot upkeep I would have thrown this away 2 or 3 times by now. Guess you should never clear out your collection ever! I hope I can get this one to grow in a bit.