Sarracenia flava var. cuprea 'Lois clone' (Lois Ochs / Raccoon Ridge Nursery origin)

Origin

Mike's most-celebrated cuprea, sourced from Lois Ochs of Raccoon Ridge Nursery after Mike visited her collection. Mike defends cuprea classification despite occasional full-atropurpurea-like expression, on the grounds of breeding evidence (cuprea-dominant offspring) and direct comparison with stable atropurpurea behavior.

History

2013-05-27 — Mike's introduction; defends cuprea ID against ICPS forum atropurpurea claims
2018-07-02 — full-cuprea expression after careful repotting
2020-04 — flower documentation
2020-08 — atro-like expression with unusual late-summer trap flush
2021-08-15 — Mike concedes "the line between atropurpurea and cuprea is blurry at best"
2023-06-06 — specimen-sized division
2024-05-09 — Mike: "looking 100% like an atropurpurea this season"
2025-01-28 — specimen-size plant in large soil volume — "as impressive as what you'd see in the wild"

Standout traits

Cuprea-dominant breeding pattern
Environment-dependent atro vs cuprea expression
Specimen-grade size potential

Cultivation notes

Outdoor Northern California. "Repotted for Jesus" protocol (no disturbance). Big soil volume reveals true potential.

Standout traits

Cuprea-dominant in offspring breeding tests

Body can turn reddish under certain environmental conditions, even into full atropurpurea-like expression

Atro-purpurea-ey 2020 phenotype — 2 pots produced abundant LATE SUMMER traps (Mike, post #13, 2020-08-07: 'never seen that before with this clone')

Highly sought-after — Mike (post #13, 2020): 'this highly sought after clone'

Specimen-sized expression at 2025 with adequate soil volume — looks 'as impressive as what you'd see in the wild'

Mouth + column interior pattern shared with other Carolina flavas — kiwiearl (post #17, 2023): 'almost identical to Waccamaw in that respect'

Cultivation

Outdoor Northern California. Mike's 2018 repotting protocol (post #10): "repotted for Jesus" — dormant leaves left intact, roots not disturbed, plant not divided. Result: full-cuprea expression that year.

Late-summer-trap production unusual; happened once in 2020 in 2 pots only.

Specimen growing: 2025 large-pot trial produced "as impressive as what you'd see in the wild" specimen-sized plant (Mike, post #19, 2025-01-28).

Photos (27)