Date: Wed, 12 Apr 2000 01:34:06 +0800 From: David <dwkwong@pc.jaring.my> To: cp@opus.hpl.hp.com Message-Id: <aabcdefg1101$foo@default> Subject: Seed banks
I am a carnivorous plant grower from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; and have
been lurking for sometime in this mailing list.
Although Peninsula Malaysia boasts of 11 Nepenthes species of which 3
species are endemic(eg. N. Sanguinea), and the Eastern Malaysian
states of Sabah and Sarawak (aka Borneo) have 32 species of which 24
are endemic(such as the N. Raja) - pitcher plants are rarely found in
the run-of-the-mill nurseries and home gardens. Neps. are quite
frequently encountered on the way up Malaysian mountain/hill resorts
or in national parks. One would have to be somewhat of an Indiana
Jones to be able to collect the complete set of Malaysian Neps.
Obviously, the Malaysian Nep. grower has a home grown advantage in
terms of climate - rain, temperature, light & humidity is naturally
well taken care of. Thus far, all my plants (N. Gracilis,
N.Ampullaria, N.Rafflesiana, etc) have even thrived on soil simply dug
up from my home garden. The bad thing is that - since Neps. are
fairly commonly found in our rural flora, and are not much of a
challenge to cultivate - they are seldom in demand by the Malaysian
public, therefore are rarely stocked in nurseries. I personally had
to really go out of the way to purchase, or to collect cuttings and
seeds from the wild. As I do not travel extensively through jungles,
swamps and mountains, therefore my collection of Neps. has expanded
ever so slowly over the years.
Currently, I am thinking of buying seeds over the Internet.
Ironically, I probably would have to purchase some Malaysian varieties
from overseas!
Has anyone in this mailing list bought seeds on-line from carnivorous
plant societies or private nurseries? So far, I have not dared to
disclose my credit card details on the Internet - for fear of fraud,
etc. Can anybody share their experience of purchasing from Internet
seed banks? If so, where from? Any pleasant or bad personal
observations? I really need to know of any pitfalls before I take the
plunge!
Thanks for any feedback.
-- Regards, ____________________________ \244DAVID\244dwkwong@pc.jaring.my\244 \257\257\257\257\257\257\257\257\257\257\257\257\257\257\257\257\257\257\257\257\257\257\257\257\257\257\257\257
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