FlytrapCare Carnivorous Plant Forums

I have seen Black Miracles from regular people selling on the internet, but I’m just curious if it’s a scam or not? The picture characteristics usually add up, but they’re slightly off. Like…

-pitchers and leaves that look more deep red than black (although I’m wondering if that could be light related after reading some things on Reddit)

-inside of pitchers that don’t look green or really any different than the outside color

-leaves that are speckled black but don’t really look lime green where it’s not

Are these fake or possibly just a bit of variance that’s normal? I just have been looking around eBay and stuff, and I definitely am interested (even if it’s not really Black Miracle (ventricosa x ampullaria) a lot are still very pretty, but the prices also seem too low for it to be real. If it’s not as rare anymore then that would make sense.

I’d prefer to get a plant I love the look of over rarity, so I don’t care about that at all tbh. I would also like to maybe find another cross or something with dark outside and lime green inside or candy peristomes or something kinda like that that’s striking if anyone has any extra ideas.

You've stumbled into why people are sticklers for naming protocols, and the need to buy from reputable sellers due to the confusion easily created by just choosing a name.
You've likely read the multiple debates about VFT's, and how some will say "it looks like ABC, so imma calling it ABC, despite the fact that ABC is a registered cultivar". The same holds true with many other types of plants, not just carnivorous. Less than honest people abound that will not hesitate to say it's ABC because of some similarities, knowing that it isn't. Then we quickly (slower with Neps) have 20 different looking plants, all with growers claiming that it's ABC.
But, to answer your question, true N. ampullaria "Black Miracle" aren't rare, but are still relatively uncommon.

optique wrote: ↑Sun Aug 11, 2024 12:18 am Black Miracle is mass produced now days $20 on esty

Really? I don't peruse Etsy too much (too many opportunities for mislabeled items), so I missed its rise in availability.

Yeah there were two I was looking at from there, but I don’t usually buy there either. Both had some of the above problems. I’m having trouble figuring out if the red is possibly an environmental thing (like I know it’s possible for a little color difference I’m guessing especially when they’re younger but also due to light and/or humidity?)

They both have a striped peristome as well, but in a couple pics from the one seller it doesn’t seem brown and green, but there’s a picture that shows that too. They’re also the red ones.

The other one has dark stripes on the peristome, but it does seem to have the correct color pitchers and leaves that seem to be the “test” for whether it’s really BM or not. At this point I’m not sure how I’d know for certain if either one was. They both have good seller ratings with one being a star seller, but I worry the people buying and giving 5 stars may just be rating the service and packaging and assuming they have the right one.

Do you know any reputable Etsy sellers for this or CPs in general @Optique?

optique wrote: ↑Sun Aug 11, 2024 1:02 am the one i was looking at for BM is
https://www.gulleygreenhouse.com/shop/n ... k-miracle/
the place on there i got my gaya from is from FL. It was great i got 2 for $20 and sold one local for $20 the next summer.


they offer over 1k plants so there green house is not perfect for neps just look at there sarr's they are color less from being in low light. If they were trying to scam they would have perfect photo's

also size plays a big factor this is the same plant

Oh cool thank you very very much. That type is Nepenthes mirabilis var. globosa x ampullaria, and I think the two that I mentioned were ventricosa x amp. That Carnivero site seems to have a picture of their ideal look.

Your red is a lot like one that is supposed to be the dark brown with lime green inside and green and dark brown peristomes. Yours also has the red splotches on the leaves that the Etsy seller has. Grr. Well so much for that store being a star seller lol. It may be Black Miracle, but it wasn’t quite the variety I was looking for.

I do really like the red one you posted though too. I’m trying to find a hybrid that I really like the look of that’s not a seedling. My seedling is putting out a new pitcher, but I’m still not 100% comfortable with Nepenthes or seedlings in general to be sure that I’m providing best conditions. I hoped for a slightly older Nepenthes to grow alongside it because that’s also the first seedling I’m trying to raise, and if I make mistakes I’m not sure if it’s a screwup due to how young it is or what a Nepenthes generally needs.

I mean I also just want a pretty new plant lol.

Careful. Unless you are certain you can provide the exact right growing environment you may want to wait on attempting to grow Neps. I killed 2 "Bill Bailey" Neps that were gorgeous because I failed to find out everything about them and figured out I could not give them what they need. Neps are funny because the growing environment for one does not always suit others. I decided I will keep my St. Gaya as my only Nep as it seems to thrive in the environment I have. Also, space was a concern of mine. Once my greenhouse is up I might try it again since I will have plenty of room. Cudos to those that have both the space and knowledge to take care of them as there are some really nice Neps out there.

andynorth wrote: ↑Sun Aug 11, 2024 5:53 pm Careful. Unless you are certain you can provide the exact right growing environment you may want to wait on attempting to grow Neps. I killed 2 "Bill Bailey" Neps that were gorgeous because I failed to find out everything about them and figured out I could not give them what they need. Neps are funny because the growing environment for one does not always suit others. I decided I will keep my St. Gaya as my only Nep as it seems to thrive in the environment I have. Also, space was a concern of mine. Once my greenhouse is up I might try it again since I will have plenty of room. Cudos to those that have both the space and knowledge to take care of them as there are some really nice Neps out there.

Yeah space would definitely be a challenge until I can get a good greenhouse too. But that’s not in the picture until probably sometime next year. I have to buckle down and make sure I’m prepared for the dormancy now that I have a plan, and I have a bar in my basement that I’m likely going to use for seedlings and any overflow that might need some extra light. And after that I’m thinking about starting to get a few things to try TC.

As far as the nep goes in general I have checked out the parents’ care, and I believe they should be hardy enough to have intermediate care. I do plan on giving them a humidifier soon. (In the plans before or with everything dormancy related which may be this month as my bday is almost here so I will probably have a tiny bit o cash to use). But so far the tiny itty bitty wee seedling I have is doing better I think since I stopped hounding it to try and get the exact perfect environment. It’s putting out a new little pitcher now, and so far since I stopped all that the other two pitchers look good. I’m just making sure it gets misted throughout the day because our house humidity is only between higher 30s to about 50%.

With that variation I check it regularly to make sure it doesn’t dry out, and I don’t mist if it’s damp already. Seems to like it thus far. Fingers crossed. The little one is what I wanted a slightly bigger one for. So I can feel a bit more comfortable about its care without thinking that my grubby little paws are going to somehow manhandle the wee one. And can figure out better spots in the house perhaps or like with a humidifier how much better if at all it does since I will be able to give the better fluctuations it needs from day to night with both humidity and temperature with a heating pad most likely. I have a pad already from Amazon and have a couple good looking ones from Temu on the way with those silly cheap plastic seedling planters that are all the rage. Figured they might work out ok for now.

Temu actually has a pretty good amount of stuff that Amazon has but a lot cheaper. I have two orders of plant stuff coming now lol.