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By TrapsAndDews
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Posts:  1808
Joined:  Sun Nov 14, 2021 2:20 am
#396006
I'm thinking of getting a nepenthes in the spring (when the weather won't be very extreme for shipping), but I keep seeing the different sizes of plants going out of stock. So I'm hoping the plant I want won't disappear before spring.
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By Apollyon
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Joined:  Tue May 05, 2020 2:49 am
#396011
TrapsAndDews wrote:I'm thinking of getting a nepenthes in the spring (when the weather won't be very extreme for shipping), but I keep seeing the different sizes of plants going out of stock. So I'm hoping the plant I want won't disappear before spring.
Perhaps nurseries up their stock of Nepenthes in spring just based off buying trends but they're tropical and dormancy isn't so much a factor there. You can usually get those year round. True story, subscribing to a site's notifications will help you get a plant you want that is currently out of stock. I've picked up some neat species from carnivero before they got blitzed by doing that.

If you want an overall better experience and better value, I definitele suggest buying from someone who isn't part a nursery. There are some good ones but a nursery is going to be more concerned with banging out "sellable" plants rather than quality ones.

Another option is importing but thats a whole different monster. Consider checking out sales on here and on facebook from reputable people.
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By TrapsAndDews
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Joined:  Sun Nov 14, 2021 2:20 am
#396019
Apollyon wrote:Perhaps nurseries up their stock of Nepenthes in spring just based off buying trends
How do they do that? Doesn't it take time to propagate plants?

I'm thinking of getting a Nepenthes from Carnivero.
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By MaxVft
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Joined:  Sat May 08, 2021 4:17 am
#396022
TrapsAndDews wrote: Wed Dec 29, 2021 2:18 am So nurseries always have plants even when it says they're out of stock? If so, then why do they show them as out of stock?
Because they always need time to clone cps, e.g. they wouldn't sell their entire greenhouse worth of one flytrap cultivar, they would keep at least a few plants to themselves and sell only the divisions and TC batches.
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By Apollyon
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Joined:  Tue May 05, 2020 2:49 am
#396025
TrapsAndDews wrote:
Apollyon wrote:Perhaps nurseries up their stock of Nepenthes in spring just based off buying trends
How do they do that? Doesn't it take time to propagate plants?

I'm thinking of getting a Nepenthes from Carnivero.
They're right. Some have locked into TC for Nepenthes like pearl river (I'm not a personal fan of them but they don't have bad quality). Nurseries will probably take cuttings around the beginning of fall to have plants by the time spring picks up in March. Some probably have several that they take cuttings from. Nepenthes can get a number of growth points if you let them grow. They can take months to really root and a while to grow so they would need to plan ahead. I'm going to wager most propagate whenever the opportunity presents itself and sell them in the same way. Keep an eye out and you'll see them randomly.
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By DragonsEye
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Joined:  Sat Oct 01, 2016 1:22 pm
#396046
Nurseries will declare plants "out of stock" if all they have are plants not of sellable size, not yet rooted, or only their stock plants (the mature "mother" plants they take cuttings or tissue samples from.)
Apollyon wrote:Perhaps nurseries up their stock of Nepenthes in spring just based off buying trends
That is, indeed, a common practice for any nursery -- no matter what type of plant they sell. It makes no sense to stock up on plants that won't sell well or have too low of a profit margin. Always a bit of a gamble. Choose poorly and a nursery may find it hard to stay afloat. If you stock up on a plant that "everybody" is selling, you may have to practically "give the plant away" just to get rid of them.
TrapsAndDews wrote:How do they do that? Doesn't it take time to propagate plants?
It certainly does. As Apollyon mentioned, "Nurseries will probably take cuttings around the beginning of fall to have plants by the time spring picks up in March.". Again, very common practice in any kind of nursery. Then too, keep in mind that many nurseries do not propagate the plants they sell. Some buy plugs/very young plants and grow them up to a sellable size (whatever they determine that to be). Some buy plants of sellable size cheaply in lots, then mark the plants up and flip them. Some do a combination of all of these strategies.

The type of plant can also make a difference. I know you said you were looking at neps, but if you had been considering sarrs, for example, you wouldn't likely find much available until spring as they are dormant right now. (And particularly folks who live in the colder zones won't be planting anything outside anytime soon.) I would imagine that this time of year would be a very bad time to ship heat loving plants like some of the petiolaris Drosera.
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