Well the title says it all. Over the weekend, now that school is out, there have been a lot of restless individuals in the neighborhood where a friend of mine lives. This friend of mine permits me to keep a small garden of temperate CPs on his back porch knowing that I am in between residences. For a couple months now the little CP garden has been waking up and adjusting to outdoor life again with little incidence. Usually this time of year a rogue jay or other wildlife will remind me that plants such as these are too enticing to leave be. This year, however, some wildlife with about a dozen more digits and opposable thumbs decided that these plants were too enticing to leave be.
Of all the plants out there the only thing stolen was a pot totaling about 65$ worth of VFTs and crockery. Had it been any of the Sarrs I would be devastated since as of this year I have nearly completed my want list of American pitcher plants including some very neat NoID crosses that were sent via trade this spring. Had I lost my first S. minor or catesbaei I think I would be far more irate.
So here is my deal. I have been living in Iowa for most of my life and aside from the occasional VFT in the box stores CPs are very foreign to Iowans. When I was 12 or 13 and living on the farm, I spotted a CP "collection" for sale in a Bailey's seed catalogue that included one sundew, a VFT, and one S. purpurea. Based on the instructions included I potted them up in the finest richest soil mix I could buy. Two weeks later: no survivors. I was disappointed and chalked it up to "some plants are too hard to grow".
Since my first experience as a child, I had never given up hope on CP's and continued to grow and learn hort principles with all the common riff-raff available here in Iowa. I had certainly received my two green thumbs by a couple years ago when I found D. capensis on one of the local garden center shelves. It had all but its petioles dried up but still I was fascinated. Luckily for me and that first D. capensis I found TerraForums. If it weren't for the dedicated folks who utilize this forum and generously help any who ask, it would have been impossible for me to break into this hobby.
I am dying to share this hobby and the things I have learned with others in my area, but after a year or two now of looking for anyone interested I have come up with only a bunch of blank stares from the locals. With this recent theft, I know that someone is interested. Now how do I connect with people and save them the trouble of stealing when I would have been happy to give anyone, who is interested and willing to learn, free plants to spark their interest and start their collection?
What a bummer!
Of all the plants out there the only thing stolen was a pot totaling about 65$ worth of VFTs and crockery. Had it been any of the Sarrs I would be devastated since as of this year I have nearly completed my want list of American pitcher plants including some very neat NoID crosses that were sent via trade this spring. Had I lost my first S. minor or catesbaei I think I would be far more irate.
So here is my deal. I have been living in Iowa for most of my life and aside from the occasional VFT in the box stores CPs are very foreign to Iowans. When I was 12 or 13 and living on the farm, I spotted a CP "collection" for sale in a Bailey's seed catalogue that included one sundew, a VFT, and one S. purpurea. Based on the instructions included I potted them up in the finest richest soil mix I could buy. Two weeks later: no survivors. I was disappointed and chalked it up to "some plants are too hard to grow".
Since my first experience as a child, I had never given up hope on CP's and continued to grow and learn hort principles with all the common riff-raff available here in Iowa. I had certainly received my two green thumbs by a couple years ago when I found D. capensis on one of the local garden center shelves. It had all but its petioles dried up but still I was fascinated. Luckily for me and that first D. capensis I found TerraForums. If it weren't for the dedicated folks who utilize this forum and generously help any who ask, it would have been impossible for me to break into this hobby.
I am dying to share this hobby and the things I have learned with others in my area, but after a year or two now of looking for anyone interested I have come up with only a bunch of blank stares from the locals. With this recent theft, I know that someone is interested. Now how do I connect with people and save them the trouble of stealing when I would have been happy to give anyone, who is interested and willing to learn, free plants to spark their interest and start their collection?
What a bummer!
