The first CP I ever had was, surprise, surprise, a Venus flytrap. :-)
The poor thing struggled along for three years and even flowered every
Spring in the tiny 2 1/2 inch square plastic pot that I had bought it in
and placed in a sunny Southern window (lucky guess) over a radiator in
New York City. I top watered it with tap water when the soil felt dry!
It hurts even now when I think about it. Fortunately I only fed it
insects, not hamburger which was the suggested food of the store I got
it from, which probably is what led to its survival for so long.
When I moved to San Francisco, where I live now, I brought it with me.
For Christmas my grandmother gave me the book "Secrets of the Venus's
Fly Trap" by Jerome Wexler because she knew I had one of the plants.
Although this is a book aimed at children, the large closeup photos of
all aspects of the plant, the traps, the flowers, the seeds, and the
closeup photos showing how to pollinate the plant make it in my opinion
the best I've seen on VFTs even after all these years. The first thing
I did after reading the book was to repot that poor plant! Needless to
say all that was in the pot was a mass of roots, it really needed the
extra space. Following the book's instructions, I was also able to
pollinate the flowers. The plant produced seed, I sowed it on a second
pot, and there they were, little flytrap seedlings! It was thrilling to
say the least!
Years later I discovered the Adrian Slack books and the true dimensions
of just how many CPs there are in the world. After a very informative
phone call with Rick Walker in the fall of '94 I went to my first BACPS
meeting, I've been hooked ever since!
Let me be the first to wish everyone a prosperous and healthy 1996, both for
you and your families, and your plants, unless of course you consider your
plants part of your family thereby making the last part redundant...:-)
HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!
Regards,
Demetrios