FlytrapCare Carnivorous Plant Forums

Hi guys! You can call me SinJin.
SinJin is actually my middle name (technically spelled "St. John" and pronounced "SinJin", after St. John Smith from James Bond!). I'm mostly a lurker here on the forums, but since a lot has happened recently CP-wise, I thought I'd make my first post in five years.

Starting from the beginning!
I gained interest in carnivorous plants in 2004/05 when I was living in Florida.
I was growing general flytraps and pitcher plants until a hurricane wiped out my collection (Some Lowes rescues and a massive Ventricosa).

After that, my priorities changed and I didn't join the community/grow CP's again until about 2013. A tad older then, I got my first greenhouse, followed by a 50gal highland terrarium cooled by a peltier with massive fans and a PC power supply.
Guess what? I lost nearly everything again in a move from Florida to Colorado about 1.5 years ago(At that point, I'd say I have grown my collection to about 40-50 plants as well). I attribute it to a combination of the stress, failure to provide a more gradual acclimation, and the fact that some were simply too large/costly to keep warm in the winter. What remained of my collection was later sold or donated.


Some more about myself:
I was born in Denver, Colorado, and moved to Florida in 2002. A good bit of my childhood was spent watching nature shows, and playing with lego/knex/erector kits. Honestly, my childhood as a whole was weird.
I left High School at 17 to get my GED and join the workforce. I spent a lot of time working until my father got a job offer in Colorado, whom I quickly followed. My decision to move may have cost me my collection, but it was worth it I think.
I am now 22 years old, employed as a Sales Floor Lead/Lower Management in the Medical+Retail Cannabis industry. I've gained my financial freedom, and now share a spacious apartment with a woman that I love dearly, who also shares a similar passion for ornate plants and eccentric hobbies.


Now here we are, 2018 and I've propagated my new outdoor collection from 4 to 8 plants, with 7 Nepenthes to arrive this week. I've successfully acclimated my Dionaea, Sarracenia, Pinguicula, and Drosera to the Colorado weather. And to top it off, I have just completed my two-tier, water cooled, 14 cubic-foot highland cabinet to house the 7 plants I am expecting.(You can expect to see a post regarding such cabinet soon)

Here's some pics that I could find of a few species I was growing a while back:

Glad your're back, that's some expert level Sphagnum you grew and what great examples of the CP realm you chose to grow! I hope your new collection exceeds the last. Colorado though, might be tough. Best of luck!!

Matt Byers