FlytrapCare Carnivorous Plant Forums

I live in Georgia and looking for anyone selling Nephenthes seeds of species good for beginners. I also would like to buy seeds of Venus Flytraps.

If you're new to the hobby, I would recommend not starting with seeds. Although growing carnivorous plants from seed is fun and rewarding, many carnivorous plants--especially the ones you've listed--take many years to get to an appreciable size from seed. You would probably be better off starting with a full grown plant, getting some experience with its needs, and then trying some of the easier carnivorous plants (e.g. Drosera capensis) from seed to get a feel for the process. You can get high-quality venus flytraps from the FlyTrapCare store, run by Matt, the forum admin. I've never personally bought plants from them (I'm more of a sundew geek myself ) but I have only heard great reviews. For nepenthes, plenty of places have great ones but I would recommend Predatory Plants.

Good luck and good growing!

I agree with 'mo', a nice starter nepethese like n. ventricosa would be the way to go. Hybrids typically are going to be stronger plants and easier to grow, but not always the case.

I understand that nepenthes are hard so maybe I'll just forget about those but does anyone have Venus Flytrap seeds as those seem easier to grow and honestly I much more enjoy growing plants from seed and seeing them grow and thrive and find that much more rewarding so are venus flytraps just as hard.

Also, how are nepenthes cutting are they hard to keep and does anyone have them.

KasraK wrote:I understand that nepenthes are hard so maybe I'll just forget about those but does anyone have Venus Flytrap seeds as those seem easier to grow and honestly I much more enjoy growing plants from seed and seeing them grow and thrive and find that much more rewarding so are venus flytraps just as hard.

Venus flytraps aren't just as hard, but they take years to get to the size that you could get from any store and there are many more things that could go wrong. Imagine it like a baby--babies are much more fragile than adults, and baby flytraps are no exception. They are susceptible to damping off, mold, disease, being eaten by birds or dug up by squirrels, and are more finicky than the adult plants. If you really want to grow flytraps from seed, get the seeds AND an adult plant so you get experience with how to care for it.

KasraK wrote:Also, how are nepenthes cutting are they hard to keep and does anyone have them.

I've never tried nepenthes cuttings, but they don't seem too hard to root if you give them the right conditions--again, it would be better to start with an established nepenthes and learn the ropes before moving on to other propagation methods. Any and every method of propagation has a chance for failure, much more so than getting a high-quality plant from a good nursery.

If you're new to carnivores, and are set on growing one from seed, let me recommend Drosera. Drosera capensis or natalensis especially. These will be easier/quicker to germinate than any nep/flytrap, AND they will grow to maturity much much faster.

Plus their seeds will likely be cheaper than flytrap/nep seeds.

Ok I'm looking at buying a mature Nepenthes plant is Nepenthes alata a good beginner species to start off with.

Yes. Nepenthes alata, Nepenthes ventricosa, Nepenthes ventrata (a hybrid between the two previous species), and Nepenthes sanguinea are all good nepenthes to start out with, although there are many other hybrids and some other species that could work as well.

Ok thanks I just ordered it. Hope it turns out good.

KasraK wrote:and honestly I much more enjoy growing plants from seed and seeing them grow and thrive and find that much more rewarding so are venus flytraps just as hard.

I used to feel the same way about carnivorous plants. If you would rather want to raise a plant rather than buy a mature plant, and if you get a little experience in the future, I would recommend buying a small plant. It won't be as fragile as a seedling but it will still be growing and developing. However, there's not exactly an easy place to get a really small Venus Flytrap. You could look around and maybe a nursery will sell smaller plants, or you could look around these forums and find someone who will be willing to sell you a small plant.

Thanks, everyone for the great feedback hope to get my new plants will be sure to post pictures.