Where to Buy or Trade Sundews
Many growers ask me where they can trade/purchase sundews or
seeds. I have a list on file of the seeds and prices that I'm
offering. If you're interested on being on my mailer list, please
contact me at dflocken@gmail.com or sundewman(at)yahoo.com.
Trading
Sundews
It surprises many growers that there are forums online where you
can trade sundews (and seeds) with people across the country!
These sites are full of people who are very active traders. This
is a great way to expand your collection on a tight budget
(especially if you have good propgation
skills)! I obtained most of my sundews by trading people on
the following sites:
www.terraforums.com
- Only trades allowed
Terraforums is a great online
community with a very active trading section, but has slowed down in
recent years. There are occasionally seed and plant giveaways
throughout the year (but never ask for free stuff or you will be
scolded ;)). No sales are allowed on this site, which the only
downside (but sales can be arranged via private messages on the
site).
www.cpukforum.com-
Sales and trades are allowed
Sales are more common on cpukforum than
trades, but a lot of trading does go on via personal messages.
Simply post an offer for the plant you're looking for. Note:
You need to register before you can gain access to the
trade/sales page.
www.flytrapcare.com-
Sales and trades allowed
Yet another option... The link I
provided is to the U.S. page, but the site also offers forums
for other countries, as well (as with all the other forums)
Also, these forums allow you to network with other growers.
Occasionally, there may be a carnivorous plant gathering near you,
where growers come together to exchange plants and growing
techniques. LACPS, BACPS,
and OHCPS.
Buying
Sundews
I will break down the most popular sites, as well as my favorite
vendors, which are up to date as of August 2012:
Note #1: With all sites,
unless specified, you should assume that temperate plants will be
in a dormant hibernacula bud, or with few leaves.] I'd recommend
purchasing them in the spring.
Note #2: You will likely
not be able to find every sundew you're looking for on the sites
below. For everything else you can't find, you'll either have to
trade or buy from the forums above or
acquire permits to trade and buy overseas [i.e. from
bestcarnivorousplants.net].
Disclaimer: I have only
purchased from a few of these sites, so most of my judgements are
based on the price or age/size of plants sold.
And finally, before I start, I first want to recommend calling
your local Lowes, Home Depot, or Wal-Mart if they carry
carnivorous plants. They frequently do!
www.flytraps.com
(Cook's Carnivores)
Pros:
Very affordable prices, wide selection of species.
Cons: Slightly lower
quality, but well worth the lower price! You can find their sales on
ebay, as well. Seeds are occasionally sold here, as well.
www.predatoryplants.com
Pros: A flat 5$ shipping which
includes pot to plant your mature sundew in and high quality
sphagnum, and great customer service. They offer common varieties,
but also occasionally have rarer or unique forms.
Cons: Lack very rare varieties.
www.pitcherplant.org
(Meadowiew)
Pros: Excellent prices for common to
moderately uncommon sundews.
Cons: Limited selection is available, rarer species may be
unaffordable.
www. cobraplant.com
(Sarracenia Northwest)
Pros: Decent selection of tropical
species, established, mature plants.
Cons: Relatively expensive compared to Cook's.
www.cascadecarnivores.com
Pros: Quite a nice variety of mature
plants at reasonable prices.
Cons: Out of stock of rarer varieties most of the year, and
moderately expensive for the rarer varieties.
ebay.com
Pros: Occasionally you can find rarer
sundew species offered, from reliable vendors. Generally speaking,
you should not have any problems.
Cons: It is hard to know exactly how reliable the sellers are. Be
sure to ask whether the pictures are of the actual
plant being sold if there is any discrepancy, and it's always
helpful to check that the plants weren't poached if you have any
suspicions.
Seed
Sales and Trades
While seeds can be a bit difficult to find online, I will try to make
your search a bit easier!
Seed
Sales
In addition to the list below, refer to the above
list for vendors that carry seeds.
ebay.com
You can find a range of
excellent deals to horrific prices when it comes to buying seeds on
ebay. I made my first seed purchases from
miacps
on ebay before (my first seed purhases). He offers very fresh,
viable seeds of D. filiformis "Florida All-Red", D. intermedia
'Cuba', D. burmannii (Beerwah) and others, usually at reasonable
prices.
On this Facebook page,
buyers and sellers deal at their own risk. Blatant scamming is
obviously not allowed, but you may be unhappy simply due to the open
rules of the page. The major pro is that there is a huge amount of
variety on the page, and usually plants/seeds are being sold at
competitive market-type prices.
www.triffidnurseries.co.uk
Pros: Possibly the
best variety of seeds I've come across online, at the most
reasonable prices I've ever seen.
Cons: Some seeds are inviable or mis-labeled. The seeds also are
sold from the United Kingdom in Europe, so it is technically
illegal. I did not have any problems with both of my orders
(although there is risk involved, since the contents are clearly
written on the outside of the package).
www.cpukforum.com
Pros: Excellent
variety and viability of seeds all for 7.50$ and shipping is free.
They even often offer pinguicula seeds.
Cons: Some rarer species come with very few seeds.
Seed Trades
or Giveaways:
These sites are reviewed above: