Date: Sun, 18 May 1997 00:11:57 -0400 (EDT) From: CMcdon0923@aol.com To: cp@opus.hpl.hp.com Message-Id: <aabcdefg1962$foo@default> Subject: You Find 'em in the Strangest Places
Finally got back online after our 5 day, 1900 mile trek to our new home in
Texas. I transported my small group of CP in a 10 gallon terrarium, and they
all appear to have survived being burried in the back of the van, without
much (if ANY) light for a few days. But the wierdest part of this is that I
actually made an addition to my collection along the way!!
We had decided to combine some sightseeing with the traveling, and one of the
first places we stopped was Monticello, the home of Thomas Jefferson, just
outside of Charlottesville Virginia. After we had toured the home, we were
walking along a path through the woods, back to our van. When we arrived at
he parking lot, we noticed a tent where they were selling a variety of
flowers, etc. My wife said "I wonder if they have any CP for sale?" ... my
reply was "I doubt it." But, no sooner had I said it than I spotted a table
with six potted Sarracenia, and about 20 small potted VFTs. The Sarrs were
all very healthy looking with anywhere from two to four pitchers per pot, in
various stages of development. The price was $12 per pot. The VFTs were
$4.25 each.
I picked out a nice one with four pitchers; one still closed and two just
opened, all about 10 inches (25 cm) tall, and one nicely developed pitcher
about 20 inches (50 cm) tall. Upon closer examination, there are two
additional shoots just emerging from the growing medium.
All of the plants had a tag identifying them as "Sarracenia flava" /
"Yellow Pitcher Plant". The back of the tag is marked: "The Thomas Jefferson
Center for Historic Plants". At the checkout counter, I received a
photocopied instruction paper with a basic description of the plant and how
it traps its prey, along with repotting and growing instructions. All in a
format even a beginner (like me) can understand. Had I not been driving
half-way across the country, I probably would have bought one or two more.
I asked the people at the counter why they happened to have these plants for
sale. The stated that in his writings dealing with horticulture, Jefferson
specifically talked about the VFT and Sarracenia.
This paper states that they are grown by a company in "central Virginia"
called "Botanique" (no address or phone #). Anyone familiar with them? FYI,
you can visit this tent setup BEFORE you must pay to get into Monticello, so
it might be worth your time if you live nearby.
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