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By Super Hydro
Posts:  7
Joined:  Thu Aug 25, 2011 1:36 am
#118088
So I just got my 10 plant Mystery box, and I opened it with mixed emotions. I was excited to see that I got Czech Giants, and moderatly excited to get Cupped Traps, but was kinda sad that I only go those cultivars x5 each. I had read posts with people getting half a dozen cultivars in a 10 mystery, or getting 5 different cultivars from a 5 mystery box.

I know the Mystery Box is random, but I was hoping to quickly increase my collection, which I was hoping to put on display at the gardening shop I work at.

I'm going to work on getting my 10 babies to survive, and grow them up, but I really wanted some larger showpieces like Jaws, Pink Venus, Vigorous, really anything large and healthy, and from what I heard the cupped traps are fairly slow growing.

Am I going to have to break down and just order the cool cultivars, or should I give the Mystery Box another try?
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By Matt
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Posts:  22523
Joined:  Mon Apr 21, 2008 11:28 pm
#118095
The mystery boxes we ship may or may not contain a decent variety of plants (as stated in the product description) and are not intended for customers that want to rapidly expand their collection of Venus fly trap varieties, though it certainly could happen. We often ship a good variety of flytrap clones in mystery boxes, but it certainly isn't guaranteed.

If there are certain clones you're looking to add to your collection, I'd recommend ordering those clones instead of taking another chance with a mystery box.
By Super Hydro
Posts:  7
Joined:  Thu Aug 25, 2011 1:36 am
#118099
Yea, that's understandable, given the randomness of the Mystery Box, I had just read so many glowing reviews with a plethora of cultivars I assumed it was a freqent occorence.

I'm not so much concerned with specific clones, I'm just looking for an assortment of robust flytraps to try out in my hydroponic, automated drip system I made ( and tailored to VFTs), and hopefully have a display piece with some happy and healthy plants.

I was mostly interested in finding one or several cultivars that may be more receptive to hydroponics, and thought my odds might be increased by trying more strains.

I'll give the 2 strains I recieved a try, and hopefully they will like hydroponics.
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By Steve_D
Location: 
Posts:  3913
Joined:  Tue Nov 18, 2008 5:06 pm
#118107
Super Hydro wrote:Yea, that's understandable, given the randomness of the Mystery Box, I had just read so many glowing reviews with a plethora of cultivars I assumed it was a freqent occorence.
Thanks for expressing your disappointment about the Mystery Box here in the Forum, and please feel free to write a similar review of it at FlytrapStore.com. Both may help to lower customers' expectations about the Mystery Box products to a more reasonable level, which would help us (Matt and I and FlytrapStore.com) in the long run. If you think of anything you believe we should add to the description of the Mystery Box products, or should remove from the description, in order to make the product description more accurate, please let us know.

-Steve
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By Super Hydro
Posts:  7
Joined:  Thu Aug 25, 2011 1:36 am
#118166
The difference between the glowing reviews and my box was pretty stark, as I didn't see any cultivar clumps in any review, and didn't think getting 5x of a strain (let alone 2) was ever really an option (based on reviews, not description). I figured the mystery box was a way for you to piece out your extra stock little by little, I just thought it would be more "random" instead of a group of plants all of the same strain.

Only suggestion I would make would be to have more about "and you can get X different strains, or X of just one" because going from the reviews (and I read a lot) it looks more like a grab bag of various strains, and less like a complete mystery that can include multiple (5+) copies of the same strain.

On another note, my 5 cupped traps, while extremely small, were actually 9 baby traps, which might be worth noting on the mystery box description as well (that size and numbers may vary). Not a bad thing per se, just had to do some replanning on the potting of them (planted them in bunches of 3s). Now I'm just praying they survive.
By markus13
Posts:  483
Joined:  Sun Apr 24, 2011 12:50 am
#118193
I posted about my recent 5 plant mystery box and stated that I only got 2 types of plants. I got a sawtooth and a whole bunch of different sized seed growns(9-10).<---Thanks Matt! I'm not complaining at all. I got a bunch more plants then I expected and knew it could be just one type, two types, or all of them could be different from the description on the website. I also got a five plant mystery box later in that same week and the contents were 2 small Dentate, 1 med Fang, 2 small Pink Venus, 2 small seed grown, 1 medium Czech Giant, and 4 small Czech giants.<---Thanks Steve. Again I got a bunch more than 5 plants, which I don't expect with a 5 plant mystery box order, but certainly do appreciate. It's the luck of the draw, sometimes you may get just one type and the next time they may all be different, but at the price they charge for them I'm certainly not going to complain and will continue to be a mystery box fan. Oh yeah, on a side note Matt, I just love that Holland Red and Bohemian Garnet that you sent me, the color of them are just awesome. :D
Last edited by markus13 on Fri Aug 26, 2011 6:09 pm, edited 1 time in total.
By Super Hydro
Posts:  7
Joined:  Thu Aug 25, 2011 1:36 am
#118201
Wow, that sounds like a sweet box, getting 5 different cultivars in a Mystery 5.

Even getting 2 different types in a 5 box isn't bad, I got the same number of strains with twice the plants.

I want to like the Mystery Box, but after all the positive reviews and still getting a worse selection than either of your mystery 5's (I'd say a sawtooth and 2x your purchase number in seed growns isn't bad at all), I don't know if I have faith in the "randomness". Heck, I would think a Mystery 10 would "always" have a better selection than a Mystery 5, but that doesn't seem to be the case at all.
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By Steve_D
Location: 
Posts:  3913
Joined:  Tue Nov 18, 2008 5:06 pm
#118206
Super Hydro wrote:I would think a Mystery 10 would "always" have a better selection than a Mystery 5, but that doesn't seem to be the case at all.
Generally, when I'm filling orders for Mystery Boxes, the greater number of plants in the Mystery Box usually means a greater quantity of each indivual included clone, not a greater variety of clones. Even in a 20-plant Mystery Box, if shipped by me (Steve) here in New Mexico, there is likely to be only 2-5 distinct clones or plants.

In a 20-plant Mystery Box, each plant costs less than $1.50. To me, even if all 20 plants were the same clone, that's a great price for the plants. Even the 5-plant Mystery Box plants are cheap at about $2.00 per plant. The plants are often a little on the small side, but they are healthy (despite a possible blackened trap or two) and with good care can grow into mature adults as impressive as any of the more expensive plants sold at FlytrapStore.com.

I understand why some people would be disappointed, but the Mystery Box is a gamble. Sometimes the gamble pays off, and sometimes perhaps it doesn't in the mind of the recipient. That's the nature of the product and why it's so cheap. So a person may complain about the plants, but they certainly can't complain (in my opinion) about the price. :D
By Super Hydro
Posts:  7
Joined:  Thu Aug 25, 2011 1:36 am
#118216
Oh I agree about the price, my only disapointment was in not being able to experience more of the great looking product line you guys have grown.

I am curious though if the time of year or any particular growing conditions has an effect on the traps you choose. I thought perhaps since we are getting closer to fall/winter you might be starting to put your traps into dormancy, and not have as large of a pool to choose from or somthing. Or do you just throw darts at a dart board?
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By Steve_D
Location: 
Posts:  3913
Joined:  Tue Nov 18, 2008 5:06 pm
#118236
Super Hydro wrote:I am curious though if the time of year or any particular growing conditions has an effect on the traps you choose.
I'll comment from my point of view. Matt's might be different.

There are several things that influence me when I choose plants for a Mystery Box. The primary things are which plants we are overstocked with, and which may already be unpotted because of orders that have already been filled that day. That's why I usually wait to fill Mystery Boxes last. Another consideration is to include possibly a surprise, but on days that are extremely busy, the first two considerations predominate because I have little time to stop and consider.

But even our "worst" plants at the price per plant of those in a Mystery Box are a great bargain, so while I understand why some people would be disappointed, I personally don't feel as though we are taking advantage of people with regard to the Mystery Box products. To me it's a win-win situation regardless of which plants are included. (And I hasten to add that I'm not trying to put you on the defensive, even though it could seem like I am.) :)
By Shes Crofty
Posts:  872
Joined:  Fri Apr 08, 2011 11:06 pm
#118245
Super Hydro wrote:So I just got my 10 plant Mystery box, and I opened it with mixed emotions. I was excited to see that I got Czech Giants, and moderatly excited to get Cupped Traps, but was kinda sad that I only go those cultivars x5 each. I had read posts with people getting half a dozen cultivars in a 10 mystery, or getting 5 different cultivars from a 5 mystery box.

I know the Mystery Box is random, but I was hoping to quickly increase my collection, which I was hoping to put on display at the gardening shop I work at.

I'm going to work on getting my 10 babies to survive, and grow them up, but I really wanted some larger showpieces like Jaws, Pink Venus, Vigorous, really anything large and healthy, and from what I heard the cupped traps are fairly slow growing.

Am I going to have to break down and just order the cool cultivars, or should I give the Mystery Box another try?
Well, the description does say this:
The plants in a Mystery Box might be all the same clone or type, or might consist of various different plants.
But I wouldn't give up on it. The mystery box is pretty darn awesome, and I think that is kind of the point of it.. sometimes you get what you want, and sometimes you don't. And when you don't, try again. :) That's how I look at it anyways, and the only reason why I will get 5 plant mystery box. Not saying that would suck to get 10 or 20 of the same plant, cause you are still getting an INCREDIBLE deal, but I can much easier get another 5 plant box if I am ever unhappy with it.
By Super Hydro
Posts:  7
Joined:  Thu Aug 25, 2011 1:36 am
#118268
Here's a question, if I did opt to give the Mystery Box another try, what is to say I don't get 5 more cupped traps or czech giants? If they were overstocked on cupped and czechs, wouldn't odds be good that they still are, and are still shipping the same plants? That was the main reason for my curiosity regarding time of year and such, if I would have better odds at a different time.
By Dubstep13
Posts:  1165
Joined:  Sun May 22, 2011 9:15 pm
#118271
how about you stop being cheep :P ok so you got a M.box now get a Maroon Monster bundle and then come back to the forums when you receive your plants and tell us how Freaking stoked you are! cant afford maroon monsters ok NP go for a diff clone that you like, dont get me wrong ive had good luck with m.box but i put in my order when they probably werent that busy seeing as i did get good plants!
By markus13
Posts:  483
Joined:  Sun Apr 24, 2011 12:50 am
#118277
I've gotten quite a few 5 plant mystery boxes over the past three months and haven't gotten any cupped traps yet. I have gotten quite a few czech giants, fangs, and seed growns (I do love the seed growns), with a couple jaws, pink venus, dentate, and big mouths. I also did get a small maroon monster in one, but I think Steve tossed that one in there for my birthday as a surprise.<---Thanks Steve! Like I said before it is the luck of the draw so don't give up so quickly on the mystery boxes. You also did say that you ended up with 14 plants instead of 10, so that should help ease your disappointment. I'm pretty much done getting mystery boxes for this year due to lack of room for any more plants, but I'm putting up a green house in spring so I'll be right back at it next year.
By Super Hydro
Posts:  7
Joined:  Thu Aug 25, 2011 1:36 am
#118282
Dub, it wasn't so much me being cheap (which I am, I'll admit it), I put my 10 plants in a hydroponic mini drip table planted in PH adjusted rockwool cubes. I know these are unique growing conditions for any VFT, so I was hoping for a largeish number of cultivars to see if any took particularly well to it. Once I found a good cultivar or 2 I would be down for some strain bundles though, lol.
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