(Sorry about this form letter format)
You recently responded to my query in Rec.gardens or the ORCHID
group. Well, here's some information that you might find valuable.
Also, you might want to chat on the email lines with other CPers.
The first three people on the email addresses below are for myself
(Barry) and for two other "Old Hands" (Michael C. and Rob M.)
Don is a new arrival to our group. We would love to chat CPs wi/you.
You should feel free to contact any of us to chat, ask questions,
tell us answers, etc. We do not have a formalized network or bulletin
board set up, and as such just use email to communicate.
dunwich@solpl.as.arizona.edu (Barry Meyers-Rice), Tucson AZ USA
asmjc@asuacad.bitnet (Michael Chamberland), Tempe AZ USA .
maharaj@mcmaster.bitnet (Rob Maharajh), Hamilton Ont CANADA
al423@cleveland.freenet.edu (Don Burden), New Albany, IN USA
If any of you can't seem to get through at the above addresses, you
can probably always reach me at barry@astro.as.arizona.edu.
Anyway, I think that if you are at all interested in CPs, you should join a
CP society near you. Certainly the most global is the International
CP society (ICPS), but there are other smaller ones for Brits,
Ozzies, etc. The ICPS newsletter (CPN) is published 4 times a year,
averages about 30---60 colour glossy pages each, and is a
non-refereed journal with articles submitted by readers. At $10/year
(U.S.A./CANADA) and $15/year (Foreign) it is a good deal. The
only problem with it is that right now it is about 6 months behind
schedule, but that is a problem which is getting fixed very rapidly.
The address to subscribe to is listed below. I would suggest that you
also buy some back issues (see below for charges). This is valuable
because CP growing is still in some stages of experimentation, as new
plants are being discovered and introduced to cultivation, and the
back issues can get you up to date. Of particular value is the 1989
volume, because it contains the membership list (or at least the names
of those members who didn't mind appearing in such a list). This list
is invaluable in "networking" with other growers. Since many of the
CPs are endangered, it is obviously better to get plants from other
growers than to tear them out of the ground (my sentiments).
In addition to its other virtues, CPN contains good book/literature
reviews (so you can get new literature about the Australian pygmy and
tuberous sundews), and lists/addresses of commercial CP nurseries
(so you can GET the pygmy and tuberous Droseras), and MUCH MUCH MORE!!
No, I don't get a percentage for new members! :-)
If you are interested in joining our growing (!) discussion group, maybe
you might want to send out a note about yourself, and tell us what
you're interested in, what you're growing, and what you're killing.:-)
As the list of people interested in this discussion increases, I'll
distribute the new addresses.
To start the ball rolling, Let's talk about me, shall we? :-)
I'm an astronomy grad student at the U. of Arizona, got my
Undergrad training in Physics. I tip the scale at an old
27 years (was that noise my back, or my chair?).
I've been growing CPs for several years, not including the times
that I was a kid and killed my fair share of Venus Fly Traps (VFTs).
Based in the Arizona lowland desert, I can grow nothing outdoors
year round (although Michael C. might debate this). So, I either
grow plants in terraria or in my homemade hobby greenhouse. At last
look at my CP trading list, I see that I grow about 100 spp., or
about 150 types of plants if you include subspecies, colour variants,
etc. I don't really have a favourite group of plants. I'm keen on
the North American Pitcher plants (Sarracenia), all sundews (Drosera,
Byblis, Drosophyllum), Bladderworts (Utricularia), and Butterworts
(Pinguicula). I also grow the obligatory VFTs, and about half a dozen
different tropical pitcher plants (Nepenthes). I have never grown a
Cobra lily (Darlingtonia) for more than 1 year, as I've always let
them get too hot (conventional wisdom says that they need cool water
constantly running over their roots----a REAL pain to grow in the
desert!). Lately I have been getting pretty involved in understanding
the taxonomy of Utrics, and enjoy hunting the plants that live in my
area (yes, there's more than cacti and whirlwinds in AZ).
I have dabbled only *slightly* in orchids, and am mostly kept from
getting more involved in them by the fact that I suffer pretty high
temperatures in Tucson. I am just idly learning about them for a while,
to try to find out if I should get more involved.
Your turn....