Carnivorous Plant Clone Wiki
Awaiting Mike's review. This entry was AI-extracted from forum posts. Treat specifics as a working draft until reviewed.

dionaea muscipula

Dionaea muscipula 'Orton's Red Side'

NC

First described
2015
Into cultivation
2005
Type
single clone named from seed batch
Cultivar
'Orton's Red Side'

A Mike-cultivation Dionaea selection from a 2002-2003 Orton's Plantation NC seed batch, originally grown by Dr. William Ratcliff and transferred to Mike Wang in 2005. After 6+ years of severe neglect, the strongest survivor revealed a distinctive trait: red exterior trap pigmentation combined with green petiole and somewhat green interior — distinct from typical 'all-red' VFT cultivars.

Standout traits

  • **Red exterior trap pigmentation while retaining green petiole and somewhat green interior** — distinct from typical 'all-red' VFT clones (Mike, post #1, 2015)
  • **Survival vigor** — survived 6+ years of severe neglect (jammed in a 4" pot, no repotting, smothered with dead Sarracenia leaves) before recovery; out of 50+ original seedlings only the strongest survived
  • Long petioles, decently large traps once recovered
  • Vigorous self-division — 'when bulb grows large, splits into 2 or 4 plants, and the back of the bulb forms a few tiny plantlets' (Mike, post #1, 2015) — comparable to B52
  • Outdoor NorCal hardy — Mike's notes that only the most vigorous VFTs do well in outdoor NorCal cultivation
  • Phenotype is genetic + environmentally modulated

Cultivation

  • Outdoor Northern California.
  • Flowering tax: Mike (post #1, 2015): plants 'shrunk' the year he let them flower; he plans to pinch off flowers next year to retain plant size. Stalks were 'as thick as baby asparagus.'
  • Tolerates extreme neglect — established from worst-case-scenario multi-year neglect.
  • Vigorous self-divider; expect tray to fill with offsets over time.

Photos (5)

Orton's Red Side — interior red, exterior red, green petiole, 2015-08-07— Mike Wang
exterior trap pigmentation — distinctive trait, 2015-08-07— Mike Wang
Orton's Red Side, 2015-08-07— Mike Wang
post-flowering shrunk plants; baby-asparagus-thick stalks, 2015-08-07— Mike Wang
Orton's Red Side, 2015-08-07— Mike Wang

Naming

Mike's tentative name 'Orton's Red Side' (post #1, 2015): references the Orton's Plantation seed source + the clone's distinctive ability to produce red pigments on the OUTSIDE of the trap (most VFTs are red-interior only).