Hello. I am in California Zone 8. I have been growing carnivorous plants since January, 2010. I have recently been banned from another CP website because someone spammed my thread while I was away and I couldn't stop it (yes, the blame was on me). I hope that doesn't give you all a bad first impression. I have a ceph, a bog, some sarrs, some neps, some pings, some sundews, and I'm going to get an utric.
Originally, I learned about carnivorous plants at a bookstore. I saw the "Grow Your Own Venus Flytrap" Scam box. I was around 4 at that time, and the seeds wouldn't germinate (probably because there were no). We couldn't find any at the shops nearby. Finally, my mom got me another box that said something like "Grow Your Own Fly-Eating Bell Plant" which I now know is Nepenthes. Once again, the "seeds" failed to germinate. I was always fascinated by even the thought of such a thing. Eventually, though, I forgot about it. When my dog died last year, I was extremely depressed. We got a new dog, and I started keeping my TV on Animal Planet. On the show, "The Most Extreme", I heard something about flies and pitcher. I quickly looked, but it was too late. The episode was finished, there were no traces and I had no information. Desperate, I called up about 20 stores until my father finally just said, "Look it up online!" That was what I tried to avoid because I didn't trust plants being shipped at that time. I thought these plants were all freaky and exotic and couldn't move or they'll shrivel up and die (again, didn't know). I looked up some keywords, but no results came up. Finally, I thought, "If an online store carries Venus Fly Traps, they must be carrying some others." I looked up Venus Fly Trap and came across a site called-...well, I came across a site that contained just what I needed. It showed the highland and lowland Nepenthes as a tab, and I knew that was it. I got my first one, Nepenthes Ventricosa, and my collection literally started to grow from there. Currently, I'm making a Sarracenia bog. I got all the materials, and I'm very excited.
Originally, I learned about carnivorous plants at a bookstore. I saw the "Grow Your Own Venus Flytrap" Scam box. I was around 4 at that time, and the seeds wouldn't germinate (probably because there were no). We couldn't find any at the shops nearby. Finally, my mom got me another box that said something like "Grow Your Own Fly-Eating Bell Plant" which I now know is Nepenthes. Once again, the "seeds" failed to germinate. I was always fascinated by even the thought of such a thing. Eventually, though, I forgot about it. When my dog died last year, I was extremely depressed. We got a new dog, and I started keeping my TV on Animal Planet. On the show, "The Most Extreme", I heard something about flies and pitcher. I quickly looked, but it was too late. The episode was finished, there were no traces and I had no information. Desperate, I called up about 20 stores until my father finally just said, "Look it up online!" That was what I tried to avoid because I didn't trust plants being shipped at that time. I thought these plants were all freaky and exotic and couldn't move or they'll shrivel up and die (again, didn't know). I looked up some keywords, but no results came up. Finally, I thought, "If an online store carries Venus Fly Traps, they must be carrying some others." I looked up Venus Fly Trap and came across a site called-...well, I came across a site that contained just what I needed. It showed the highland and lowland Nepenthes as a tab, and I knew that was it. I got my first one, Nepenthes Ventricosa, and my collection literally started to grow from there. Currently, I'm making a Sarracenia bog. I got all the materials, and I'm very excited.
Last edited: