- Breeder
- Mike Wang
- First described
- 2012
- Type
- individual clone named select from seed batch
Origin
A Mike-bred F1 hybrid: leucophylla 'Burgundy' (pod) × minor okefenokeensis Giant (pollen). The seed batch produced mostly typical S. × excellens-colored offspring; only ONE seedling expressed the pink color from the Burgundy mother. This entry covers that single individual.
Mike (post #47, 2019) candidly admits he was "debating tossing this clone" more than a decade earlier — it has since become one of his most-distributed and most-praised hybrids.
History
- Pre-2012 (~2008-2010 [VERIFY]): cross made; pink segregant selected from seed batch.
- 2012-11-21 (post #1): first forum documentation, with the pink-vs-typical-excellens segregation pattern explained.
- 2013-2018: Mike's annual updates; widening distribution to basedrifter, rmeyer, gotsarrs, boarderlib and others.
- 2018-10 (rmeyer, post #45): rot near-loss + recovery via drier culture.
- 2019-10 (post #47): Mike's "almost tossed it" retrospective.
- 2020-08 (posts #54-55): peak neon-pink documentation.
- 2023-01 (steelyphil): cold-tolerance demonstrated in NC.
- 2025-06 & 2025-10: continued strong performance.
Standout traits
- Lone pink segregant from seed batch — rare phenotype.
- Neon pink fall color (variable across conditions).
- Olive-green background + pink areoles under specific conditions.
- Cold-tolerant in NC overwinter.
- Almost-tossed-then-hit development trajectory.
Cultivation notes
Drier-leaning culture is safer (rmeyer rot recovery). Pink color is environment-dependent — peak neon expression seems to require late-summer / fall conditions with bright sun. Tolerates cold winters in NC.
Photos
30 representative photos from the 60-post thread — Mike's photos plus key contributions from basedrifter and others.
Standout traits
- Single pink-color segregant from a seed batch otherwise expressing typical excellens coloration
- Neon-pink fall traps — Mike (post #54, 2020): 'pink color is ridiculously vibrant/neon when seen in person'
- Pink areoles on olive-green background under certain conditions (sarahxena, post #48, 2019)
- hcarlton (post #6, 2013): 'looks like a Daina's Delight in excellens form'
- Performs well across many growers' conditions — basedrifter (CA), boarderlib, rmeyer (FL), gotsarrs, steelyphil (NC), amhudd, mahlon all report success
- Mike (post #47, 2019): 'crazy to think probably more than 10 years ago, I was debating tossing this clone' — almost discarded as juvenile, became one of his hits
Cultivation
- Watering: rmeyer (post #45, 2018) had rot issues earlier on; switched to drier culture and the clone recovered.
- Pink color expression: environment-dependent (Mike, 2019); ranges from neon-pink to pink-areole-on-olive depending on conditions.
- Cold tolerance: steelyphil (NC, post #57, 2023): "best looking, longest lasting pitchers I have on my taller plants this winter. Not bad for January here in NC!"
- Vigor: variable in first season after acquisition (small pitchers post-shipping), but ramps up reliably.
Photos (30)
Naming
"Pink clone" — Mike's working label for the lone pink-color segregant from the seed batch. Not a registered cultivar as of 2019 (Mike, post #50): "this clone and probably a few dozen others are overdue to be registered." Status as of 2025 unclear.