I've been lurking for a while, reading all this good stuff on CP and thought
I'd introduce myself. My name is Harris and I've been growing CP on a very
modest scale on and off since 1981 or so. I have especially enjoyed peoples'
field CP reports and reports on good displays.
Since I move often I've been focused on terrarium growing under artificial
light (2x4 ft.tubes 1 is GROLUX the other white) I would like to report that
Cephalotus seem to grow very fast under these conditions (16 hr. photoperiod
in summer).
I might be moving to Hawaii next year and would like to hear from CP growers
there. Can I ship any of my CP (or mailorder) or is there a bureacratic
quarantine obstacle course to contend with? What are the local sources of CP
on Oahu? I've heard I can grow Nepenthes outdoors there; which Nepenthes grow
best and where can I get them?
There are some really good people out there who are working on public bog
displays, educating the public, species and habitat conservation etc. but I
can't count myself among them yet. I think the more people know about CP and
how to grow them the less chance there is that wild collecting will destroy
wild populations. Buying "captive bred" plants will eventually be cheaper and
easier for the average "consumer", won't it?. It would be great if we could
start a CP fad among houseboat dwellers here in Seattle. I saw one house
boat with a floating bog suspended between two telephone pole sections tied
next to the South side of the house. This bog had no CP, but how easy, a
low maintenance, self watering, no chemicals in the lake bog! This technique
could also work for anyone with a dock. I'm sure that the "endangered
habitat" and "organic pest control" angles would play well with the gardeners
here and the houseboat angle would be the extra glamour to make a splash . I
think a couple of newspaper articles with good color pictures and a TV
magazine spot would be all it would take to further our education "mission"
and create a market for CP that would provide jobs for more growers and some
pocket money for the "CP habits" of the rest of us. The articles would be
sure to cover that anyone can grow CP almost anywhere and list a few sources.
Just a thought what do you think?
- Harris