Michael wrote:
>>Are you saying that these plants are better preserved in private collections
>>than in the wild?
Not at all. I am a realist. I have seen what is happening down South and I
have seen the power and clout that the pulp industry has. Every square inch
of available land that can grow a pine tree, has been drained and planted.
The simple truth is that there is reatively little habitat left in which cp
can survive. What is left is being drained. The paper companies are
destroying the land and nobody really gives a damn. I would love to be able
to walk among entire savanahs of sarriacenia but the almighty dollar is
sculpting the land into something that is not conductive to the growth of CP.
>>But we have not been talking about conservation programs, and
>hobby/commercial >growing is not conservation.
It is better than letting the plants get killed by the encroaching asphalt
and pine plantations. As I said, call me a pessimist/realist, but I have
seen what is happening down there....
>>Not likely to be rapidly evolving in nature. Better results can be obtained
>>by irradiating tissue culture callus.
I'll let you handle that one. I don't want to voluntarily mess with
radiation.
>>Well, If the plants don't enter a conservation program geared for
>>reintroduction
I agree, but the nature conservancy isn't that well funded and
reconditioning habitat is no cheap prospect. Few people see any point in
returning the land to it's original state(swamp/bog). If we don't educate
the masses or CP habitat will continue to disappear.
>> then I'm not so sure they are "saved". More like "not wasted"
>>in my opinion.
If that is the way you must look at it...... The truth is that we all can
spend countless hours arguing about who has a better attitude and still get
nowhere. Let's ***not*** do that.
Everyone should just do a little something for the greater good of the hobby
- try to educate others in particular. If the masses begin to view CP as
something worth having and seeing in nature, entrepreneurs will find ways to
preserve areas.
I personally plant seed everywhere (of indigenous plants only) when I am on
my trips. One shining note I have to report on: The first vft seed I
planted in costal NC has since developed into many mature plants. This is
on private property and is quite spectacular. The landowner has invited me
back over and over to teach him more about the plants native to his land.
There are vft's,
D. intermedia, D. capilaris, D. brevifolia, S. purpurea, S. flava, S.
catesbaei, P. pumila on the same acre. Quite amazing. I love it there and
prefer to see the plants in the wild. I am doing my little part to save
them and keep them where they belong. I have tried to do the same thing
with other landowners but unfortunately people who care about the native
plants are few and far between.
>>If a plant is not profitable it won't continue to be propagated by
>>nurseries,
How true! As I said, everything always comes down to money.
>>and will only be disseminated slowly from grower to grower...
Better to be distributed among growers, than not at all.
>>I don't suggest the plants are impossible to grow, but rather that hobby
>>collections are not a safe habitat for the plants.
I am not suggesting that hobby growing is infalable either. Nobody is
immune to power outages, pests etc.
>>More importantly, if you were to die, or become incapacitated, what would
>>happen to your entire plant collection? How many growers on this list
>have a >contingency plan to protect their collection if this happens?
How True! I have many good friends who would gladly adopt my plants in the
(hopefully distant) event that I couldn't take care of them any longer.
Specifically, My good friend Dave Evans and I have agreed to help each other
if either one of us has any problems. One must prepare for everything.
Forgive my previous messy sig file. Hopefully that is fixed now.
Take care & keep on growing,
-Tom-
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