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Starter CPs

  • Thread starter Morpheus
  • Start date

Morpheus

CP Newbie
I've been trying for a few months to get some info together on what kinds of CPs would be good for a beginner like me to start with. So far all the info I've managed to dig up has pointed me in varying directions. I was hoping that you guys might be able to help me figure out some great plants for someone with no experience in CPs to start with.
 
Drsoera Capensis Typical alba and Red. Drosera Multifida Extrema, Pinguicula Sethos those are your best bets.. all very hardy and quick growers too
 
it will be pretty safe to say that most cps found in home depot to carnivorous plant vendors are a fair starters for CPs. almost everything they have is beginner friendly--a good way to gauge the difficulty of a plant is most likely attached to it's price tag. more expensive plants are often (but not always) rarer and more difficult to grow than others.
 
Excdept for Venus Fly Traps.. IMO they are some of the hardest plants to grow.. They also need a dormancy which will kill off most of them f you are a beginner and do it wrong which almsot everyone does a couple times lol. Unless you live in a place you can keep them outside to go dormant safely without turning to ice cubes and dying.. I would stray away from temperates (needing dormancy) and stick to african dews prob..
 
I find sarracenia easiest to grow. Sarracenia purpurea would be a good beginner plant.
 
D. capensis for sure is a good starter. So far, as a noob myself, I have had little trouble with most of the sundews that are cheap and readily available. There are also a few Nepenthes that seem to be easy for a beginner if pitcher plants do anything for you. I have a very easy one that I will be making cuttings on and giving away this spring to a few lucky noobs. This is a great site with knowledgeable folks willing to help us noobs out, so you're in the right place.
 
ummmm indoor or out?
artificial light or sun?
low maint?
 
Thanks for the replies guys! Sadly to my misfortune none of the major plant distributors in my area sell carnivorous plants. I did recently get ahold of some S. Purpurea seeds from eBay and I have them stratifying in the fridge right now, they've been in for almost a week. It seems my only bet to recieve the beginner plants that you guys have mentioned is to order them from an online marketer. Do you guys reccomend buyin the live plants online or trying to find seed?
 
Plants will be easier than seed for sure.
 
  • #10
Av8tor1, most likely outdoors. I live in a zone six area and it gets very humid in the summer, plus I don't have a setup for growing indoors yet.
 
  • #11
container mini bog with sarracenia and vft, drag it indoors when temps drop to low 20's

lots of good threads on various techniques.... very low maintenance and lot of bang for buck

Im very familiar with ky climate ;)
 
  • #12
On my experience N. ventricosa or N. sanguinea make good begginer plants. Can grow them outside in the summer and bring them inside when the temp goes below around 50 degrees ferenheit. They also make great windowsill plants in the winter.

good luck with whatever you decide to start out with :)
 
  • #14
The Savage Garden is defiantly a great investment for beginners...I should know
this reminds me of the ICPS 2012 international show, I actually met the author, Peter D'Amato-really cool experience
 
  • #15
I'll break it down by genus for you,

Dionaea: muscipula (much hardier than you'd expect. Mine have frozen several times before and survived.)
Drosera: Tropical- capensis, adelae, spatulata, aliciae, venusta, binata
Temperate- intermedia, capillaris
Nepenthes: x ventrata, ventricosa, Miranda, smilesii, aristolochioides x thorelii
Sarracenia: purpurea, flava
Pinguicula: primuliflora, moranensis
Utricularia: gibba, livida, bisquimata, sandersonii

A note on the Sarracenia I recommended, they can handle temperatures much colder than most would expect. The last remaining S. flava site in Virginia may be very close to the NC border, but it's one of the coldest spot in VA during the winter. Nights regularly dip below freezing by quite a bit. I talking below 0 F!
 
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