Commercial sundews

[jimscott]

I've been to a few places that sell CP's - Lowes, Home Depot, and a local nursery - and have purchased a sampling of each plant available: VFT, P. primuliflora, D. adelae, D. spatulata, S. purpurea, S. rubra, N. ventricosa(?), and a Cobra Lily. That's all that I see out there. With all the species of sundews, butterworts, and pitcher plants (Oh my!), why are only a small handfull available? How can I get more variety? I'm like a person who walks into Home Depot's Tool Corral and says: "Gimme one of everything."

 

[homer]

Try ordering online.  Local nurseries in my area don't carry a wide selection either.  Why should they? - sarcasm. If they make money on VFT's and a few of the easier to grow species, they have no reason to expand their selection.  For example, I bought a H. heterodoxa x minor earlier this year and the sales lady called it a "flytrap thingy".  Obviously I wouldn't expect the staff to care about the rarer varieties.  

Try purchasing plants online, then once you have a wider selection you can trade.  It'll be easier on your wallet that way.

happy growing,

Homer

 

[SnowyFalcon]

Mostly the local stores buy the TCed by the million plants. Which ones are those? The ones that grow the easiest and are the cheapest. That's why you only see a certain variety. By making a small purchase in the beginning, you can trade up to a huge growlist fairly quickly because many are propogated so easily.

SF

 

[Tamlin Dawnstar]

Grow from seed! It's the best way to increase your collection.

 

[IceDragon]

homer, you brought a H. heterodoxa x minor at a regular nursery! Was at some home depo type store?

 

[homer]

IceDragon,

A CP nursery/supplier here in Washington State supplies the CP stock of a local nursery near my house.  I don't go there too often, but now that its winter the stock is not getting replenished, so it looks pretty poor at the moment, not to mention high prices  

  Anyway, sometimes they get some good plants during the spring/summer months, such as the H. heterodoxa x minor.  

-Homer

 

[jimscott]

Besides Lowes and Home Depot I've visited a several other local nurseries. Those that still have CP's kicking around have the typical Little Pot of Horrors specimens - and they were the same old same old - VFT, Drosera spatulata, Pinguicula primuliflora, and Sarracenia rubra - although one looked like it might be S. leucophylla. So it looks like I'l eventually try the seed bank and trading post. Although I can't imagine anybody wanting to trade their gourmet CP's for my run-of-the-mill store bought ones that even a novice (me) can keep going. It's like trading one's feeder guppies for Discus.

 

[wickedthistle]

The generosity of the people on these forums always astounds me. When I first started I didn't have much cp stuff to trade either, so I was trading with other plants, computer advice, and IOU's. Remember, a garden plant you consider normal in your area may be rare for another person! Just keep your eyes peeled, play nice, and I'm sure seeds and plants will start arriving at your doorstep!

 

[Tamlin Dawnstar]

Once I finish with the gemmae distribution and the Phill Mann video offer I will begin to work on getting out seeds. Hang in there!

 

[jimscott]

Thanks for the encouragement.