FlyTrapCare Forums

Anyone know where I can buy the Venus' Fly Traps internationally? I am looking for a specific kind, The kind that you find in the wilds. All the Canadian ones here only sell unnamed typicals and I don't want that. I have done some research but to no prevail and I am getting frustrated. I have phoned Home Depot and stuff and they don't have them anymore. I have checked local nurseries and still nothing & many of the U.S sites don't ship to Canada.

Unnamed typical are the closest to "wild" vfts that you'll find. I do believe it's illegal to take them from the wild, so if you're finding ones labeled as wild-harvested, they're probably poached.

If you're looking for named cultivars however, there are definitely online Canadian suppliers, or you can go through the international section of the FTS, though there are certain formalities you have to go through for importing them.

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All vfts come from an area around Wilmington, north Carolina

I'll just add, all venus flytraps are "from the wild" originally, and if you did collect one from the wild it would be called an unnamed typical. Named clones are just flytraps which were bred for specific characteristics or have interesting mutations, and therefore got named.

Yeah, I am not looking for ones that have been poached, what I meant to say was I want a VFT with the same form as found in the wild. As for specific characteristics in the wild and I have said this before but I cannot picture things like "Wacky Traps" being found in the wild. I have found no documentation in regards to this which brings my point up further. I don't want a Flytrap that has a TC induced mutation is what I am trying to say. I want one that is as close to the wild form gene as possible without the effect of TC bringing out a certain characteristic. Because TC induced ones are well man made to bring out a characteristic.

Your best bet would be a "BZ 1955". Here's the discription on the flytrapstore website "BZ 1955 is a colorful, vigorous and historical Venus Flytrap, the very first Venus Flytrap bought by well-known United States carnivorous plant grower and expert Bob Ziemer in 1955 from the Woolworth Five and Dime store on Shattuck Avenue in Berkeley, California. This Venus Flytrap has been in continuous cultivation since 1955 and shared by division and more recently by tissue culture propagation." In 1955 all of the plants sold in stores were harvested from the wild or were offspring from plants that were harvested from the wild, so it's the closest thing that you will find.

Thanks! I will take a look around.

Cross pollinate a few varieties and the seed grown ones will be the typical varieties as most of the cultivated traits are recessive and will not be exhibited in the pants from those seeds.

I actually just got the extremely unique opportunity to harvest 3 different flytraps from the Rehder Garden when I was out in Wilmington, NC. I chose 3 plants that were colorful and extremely large. I'll post photos soon, when I post photos of the entire trip.

All three of these plants were actually dug out of the ground by me and came back with me to Ashland, Oregon to live in my greenhouses where they will be cloned in tissue culture and propagated for distribution in the United States and around the world for preservation purposes. Additionally, many plants will be sent back to Dan Sheret and the Rehder Garden to repopulate these 3 amazing plants!

These plants will be the closest to "wild flytraps" that I know of in cultivation, though as markus mentioned, "BZ 1955" is probably also a plant that was harvested from the wild.

Matt wrote:I actually just got the extremely unique opportunity to harvest 3 different flytraps from the Rehder Garden when I was out in Wilmington, NC. I chose 3 plants that were colorful and extremely large. I'll post photos soon, when I post photos of the entire trip.

All three of these plants were actually dug out of the ground by me and came back with me to Ashland, Oregon to live in my greenhouses where they will be cloned in tissue culture and propagated for distribution in the United States and around the world for preservation purposes. Additionally, many plants will be sent back to Dan Sheret and the Rehder Garden to repopulate these 3 amazing plants!

These plants will be the closest to "wild flytraps" that I know of in cultivation, though as markus mentioned, "BZ 1955" is probably also a plant that was harvested from the wild.

This is so cool! I wish I could have gone! So what you are saying is they actually harvested wild flytraps and then replanted them in the garden for display? You also mentioned that they will be for distribution around the U.S for preservation purposes but will you be selling any anytime soon? and where about's on this forum will you post pictures of these?

That is amazing! Did you take a soil sample? Can't wait for the pictures! I'm sure I speak for everyone when I say that it's long over due for you of all people to be visiting and collecting for this purpose!!

Matt wrote:I actually just got the extremely unique opportunity to harvest 3 different flytraps from the Rehder Garden when I was out in Wilmington, NC. I chose 3 plants that were colorful and extremely large. I'll post photos soon, when I post photos of the entire trip.

All three of these plants were actually dug out of the ground by me and came back with me to Ashland, Oregon to live in my greenhouses where they will be cloned in tissue culture and propagated for distribution in the United States and around the world for preservation purposes. Additionally, many plants will be sent back to Dan Sheret and the Rehder Garden to repopulate these 3 amazing plants!

These plants will be the closest to "wild flytraps" that I know of in cultivation, though as markus mentioned, "BZ 1955" is probably also a plant that was harvested from the wild.

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Jonathan_ wrote:So what you are saying is they actually harvested wild flytraps and then replanted them in the garden for display?

That's correct. Although the garden did have some flytraps in it that were natively growing there, I think most of them had been poached at some point. Some of them living in the garden today could be original plants that were growing there natively. I don't know for sure, but Dan (danielfivetoes here on the FTC forums) might know better. But he did tell me that the vast majority of the plants in the garden were harvested from the wild somewhere near Boiling Springs, North Carolina and relocated to the Rehder Garden for display. The three plants I selected were likely from Boiling Springs.

Adam wrote:That is amazing! Did you take a soil sample?

When I dug them up, I got a very good look at the soil. It was mostly blackish peat with small grain sand and pine needles mixed in.

Adam wrote:I'm sure I speak for everyone when I say that it's long over due for you of all people to be visiting and collecting for this purpose!!

Thanks Adam!

Ah. Was so curious about the dirt.. maybe next time someone goes they can bring the plant back with the soil too.

Great to hear that you got to do this.

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Hi I found this!

"Not all are from the wild (at least perhaps not). BZ 1955 was either the first or one of the first plants that notable carnivorous-plant person Bob Ziemer bought, in 1955, from a department store or somewhere (not collected from the wild; at least not by Bob Ziemer).

Venus Flytrap clone 1979 was the first or one of the first Venus Flytraps bought by Mike King of the UK, and which he took good care of, became impressed with, and shared with other growers who shared his enthusiasm for the plant (I wish I had one; maybe some day).

The SECC clones (there are two of them, the Green Swamp Clone and Becky Westbrooks (which they are considering renaming to Green Swamp Giant (I think they should call it "Swamp Thing" (after the famous horror B-movie of the 50s)), but they didn't ask me) are indeed clones of Venus Flytraps gathered from their native territory in the Green Swamp, North Carolina, US, and for that reason I was very interested in them and have one each of both of them. Smile

The WIP clones all grew originally in natural soil, although they are I believe from seed sown on the private property (Bob Hanrahan's carnivorous plantation in southern Alabama) or transplants of seedlings, or from self- or cross-pollination of Venus Flytraps previously planted on the property.

So the only two Venus Flytraps that are available that I am sure were clones from wild plants are the two SECC (Southeastern Community College, in North Carolina) clones, which makes them very interesting (to me and I'm sure to some others)."

Please understand I have a reading comprehension issue with vast amounts of info and sorry for being so anal but correct me if I am wrong. Is the above stating that the BZ1955 is NOT a clone of the plants from the wild? If someone could clear it up for me that would be appreciated!

Jonathan_ wrote:Is the above stating that the BZ1955 is NOT a clone of the plants from the wild?

In the sense that Bob Ziemer didn't collect it from the wild, this is true. But in all likelihood, whoever was supplying the plants to Woolworth's (where Bob purchased the flytrap in 1955) almost certainly harvested the plant from the wild.