Pinguicula sethos

This week I bought a lovely little butterwort, Pinguicula sethos (an intergeneric hybrid between P ehlersiae and P moranensis).  It is in a little pot in a glass self watering thingy.  The pot has a little wick that goes down into the water.  The whole thing is rather pretty.

There are four little plants in the pot, all of which look healthy.  I have always wanted to grow Pinguicula because I think they look nice, but have never grown one before.  So this is new for me.

The guy I bought it from was really knowledgeable.  He has been growing carnivorous plants for years and was clearly very passionate about them.  I would love to talk to him again and glean some of his knowledge. 

We got talking, and he generously also put in two leaf pullings.  One leaf pulling was from P kondoi, it has since started to look limp and may or may not survive. 

The other leaf pulling already started to produce a plantlet before I was given it.  I think this is P emarginata x weser but am not sure.

I only bought one, at the time I almost bought one of each species that he had on offer.  As I have never grown Pinguicula before I think starting with one and seeing how I go with them is probably wise.

Pinguicula x sethos

Pinguicula leaf pulling started to grow a plantlet

Pinguicula in glass self watering thingy

Mexican Pinguicula plants

UPDATE: after about six months of growth in the same pot my little Pinguicula plants are looking bigger and better than ever!  The leaf pullings both worked and are now healthy little plants.  Once spring comes I will try to separate these to give them some room to grow and try to take some leaf pullings to get a few more of these plants.

Pinguicula plants doign well

Huacatay - Targetes minuta

Huacatay (Tagetes minuta), is also called Peruvian Black Mint, is an annual herb commonly grown across the Peruvian Andes and less commonly in other areas.  I am not sure why, but very few people seem to grow huacatay in Australia.

Huacatay is not a type of mint (Mentha sp) or even related to mint.  It is not invasive like mint, nor is it perennial in my garden.  

Huacatay is a type of marigold, and is sometimes called 'southern cone marigold'. Huacatay is sometimes referred to as 'Peruvian Black Mint' because it smells a bit like mint.

Huacatay leaves

The internet says huacatay "leaves have a flavour reminiscent of mint and sweet pineapple but with an additional hint of bitterness and a strong scent of marigold flowers" or that huacatay has "minty, aniseed and citrusy aroma".   Sounds incredible!  

To me, huacatay tastes much like spear mint, but a little different and more complex, I can't really explain how.  Some people prefer huacatay to true mint, some prefer true mint, I like both in different ways.

Huacatay grows to about 6 feet tall, maybe a bit less depending on the soil and the climate.  It has dissected leaves that get a lot of comments as it looks like another plant...

I am told that huacatay can seed so prolifically that it may become a weed in some gardens.  I haven't grown it for long enough for this to be an issue.  I would grow more of it if I had more space, so would welcome it popping up as a weed from time to time.

Most often huacatay is either used as a way to flavour meat dishes, in things such as tortillas, and in the sauce called ocopa.

When brewed into herbal tea, huacatay is known to reduce cold symptoms and improve the health of the respiratory tract.  I have made herbal tea from huacatay a few times, to me it tastes a lot like speamint tea, I rather like it.

I found a recipe for ocopa huacatay sauce:

Huacatay Sauce 

Take a massive handful of this plant (pick the young tips), a clove of garlic, a couple of chillies (traditionally aji amarillo), a pinch of salt, juice of a lime and enough oil to make a sauce.
Blend them all together and adjust for taste.

That sounds simple enough.  Perhaps I should give that a try and see how it goes.

At this stage I don't sell huacatay plants or seeds.  Depending on how well it seeds for me I may try to sell seeds through my for sale page.

Banana Mint Plant

A few years ago I heard of a plant called banana mint.  It was said to be a mint plant (either a Mentha species, or hybrid of several Mentha species) and it is meant to smell strongly of banana.  This herb sounded intriguing.  

Banana mint plant

Strangely enough I only ever see banana mint mentioned by nurseries that sell it and no mention from home gardeners.  Other than a passing remark that it exists, I don’t see any home gardeners ever mention this plant, which I find rather odd.  Good or bad I would have thought that someone would have spoken about their experience growing and eating it.

I searched for a few years and only found this plant for sale overseas, then one day I found it listed in Australia.  It was sold out, so I emailed the nursery and asked when they would likely have it in stock again.  They replied and said it should be back in spring, so every few weeks I checked their site and once it was available I bought one.  The place I bought it from is run by some dedicated, knowledgeable, and really lovely people, I highly recommend buying from them.

The plant arrived healthy, bare rooted, and small.  Quite often smaller plants cope better with postage and grow faster than larger plants, so I was happy with this.  I planted it in a pot, but it didn’t do much growing.  From spring to autumn it really didn’t get any larger than it was when I bought it.  We were in the midst of one of the biggest droughts ever recorded in this region, and had week after week of thick smoke, so I didn’t give it as much water as it deserved.  I tried to pick part of a leaf every now and again to smell, but feared damaging the plant so never took more than quarter of a leaf and was never able to really smell much.

Then winter came and the plant died down to below soil level.  I wasn’t sure if it was dead or not and wasn’t going to check until spring.  I top dressed the soil to boost fertility and hoped for the best.  Some mints die back over my winters, others power through, I didn’t know what to expect.

Once spring hit my little plant got to work, it had divided into 4 or 5 larger plants and was even growing out of the draining hole in the bottom of the pot.  As summer hit it started to flower.  I often try to prevent mint from flowering because they drop seed everywhere and are difficult to control, but I am tempted to allow banana mint to seed and see what the seedlings are like.  Chances are they will be nothing like the parent, but there may be something nice in there.  

Banana Mint Flowers

The growth rate of banana mint is slower and far less aggressive than other mints.  I usually find mint difficult to control even when planted in a pot, so a less aggressive mint should be easier to grow long term.  The leaves are green and a little fuzzy, the flowers are a lavender colour and like any other mint seem to attract bees.  But it is the smell that matters with herbs like this.

I am told that banana mint smells “freshly minty with strong unmistakable undertones of banana”.  I don’t smell any mint in my plant.  To me this plant does smell strongly of bananas but not exactly like banana.  I really like banana mint.

Back when I was at university I remember working with an organic ester called isoamyl acetate (3-Methylbutyl ethanoate), this has a distinctive smell of bananas but not exactly like bananas.  Most people who smelled this liked it, it does smell like banana, but just a little different.  I think banana mint must be high in isoamyl acetate because that is what it smells like to me. 

I am told that banana mint can be used to flavour sweet meals such as cakes and things, I am told it goes well with chicken or salads, and I am told it goes well in fruit punch.  I am told that it holds its flavour well after cooking.  I haven’t tried any of that but it all sounds reasonable.  So far I have only eaten a leaf raw here and there with my kids, and I have made herbal tea with banana mint.  The herbal tea is nice, it does smell like bananas.  

Banana Mint Leaves

To make banana mint tea I put a few leaves in a mug, add some honey, pour on some hot water, and stir.  Really simple. 

I quite like banana mint and plan to keep growing it.  Even though it is less aggressive in its growth I won’t risk growing it directly in the garden and will always keep it restrained in a pot or some other container.  If I have a spare plant I may offer it on my for sale page, but it is unlikely I will ever have many of these because my kids can’t help but strip the leaves off and smell/eat them whenever they think I am not looking. 

Drosera binata

When I was younger I grew a lot of carnivorous plants.  I loved them.  I started with Drosera capensis, gained some skills, and slowly built a rather impressive collection.  

I mostly had easier to grow species, many of which look incredible.  I had a low of sundews and pygmy sundews, many of which I don't see for sale any more.  It baffles me why they are not more common in collections because they grew so easily and looked incredible.

Drosera binata and other carnivorous plant - in a cage because birds keep pulling them out of the pots

One carnivorous plant I always wanted was a rather common Australian native sundew called Drosera binata.  I tried to buy a plant a few times but my timing was off and they were always sold out, I tried to trade for it once or twice but they forgot to put it in the package.  

Drosera binata - potted up after being posted

Now that I am older and am growing carnivorous plants again I wanted to get the elusive (yet incredibly common and apparently easy to grow) binata.  

I paid a lot of money for some seeds, which arrived quickly yet never germinated.  I ordered a binata ‘t form’ plant from a very reputable nursery and paid far too much for it, this plant quickly lost all of its dew, then all of the leaves died, then all signs of life above the soil line disappeared completely.  

Months passed and it never showed any sign of life.  I kept the pot in a tray with water just in case it was alive, but I figured that plant was dead and I was somehow jinxed with this species.  

I found this very odd because people often comment on how binata is one of the simplest carnivorous plants to grow, it is native to my area, and I have success growing more difficult plants.

Drosera binata slowly losing all of its leaves

Then a very generous person offered to send me some binata plants.  They sent multiple large healthy plants which I put in multiple pots.  This is different to the t form, most leaves have four tips and the leaf petioles are quite thick.  

This one self-seeds readily, I am told that many binata in cultivation cannot set seed so I was happy to have one that will seed.  These plants did not die back after postage, and did not lose their dew. 

Drosera binata

I thought that the binata t form was dead so I planted one of the smaller divisions in its pot.  Then, after a week or so, the t form sprouted and grew into two plants.  It wasn’t dead after all!

After they grew larger they started to flower.  The unnamed binata also started to flower at the same time in the same pot.  The ones growing in other pots are also flowering and developing seed.  They are lovely looking plants.

The binata 't form'  seems to grow branched flower stalks with many flowers, while the larger form of binata appears to produce less flowers and stalks that either don't branch or don't branch very much.  This may be due to the plants being weak after postage, they may all branch a lot once they have settled in a bit more.

Drosera binata flowers

Drosera binata flowering

Now I have two very different forms of binata, both of which I think are lovely, and both of which are flowering.  I am not sure if they are self-fertile or if they require cross pollination, but both of them are setting seed.  

Given that I have two very different forms of the same species flowering next to each other I dare say there will be some crosses and the seedlings should show some genetic diversity.  I can hardly wait to grow out the seedlings and see what they are like.

I do sell some carnivorous plants through my for sale page.  I often have some Drosera capensis plants, capensis seeds, and I usually have some typical venus flytraps for sale.  

 

I probably won't sell any binata unless some of the seedlings turn into something special, I would trade them though.  If you are interested in a trade I would been keen to hear from you as there are some species that I am trying to track down and grow again.