Post by Kate on Feb 7, 2015 3:47:11 GMT -5
Hello again!
I will try very, very hard not to fall off the internet again. It has been an interesting couple of years in which my last attempts to start over ran headlong into some not so fun health issues (is all good! I am not in a wheelchair yet!). Things have settled down to routine, so, here I am to try again. I have been reading - a lot actually - about all of the ways to build a collection, on a tight budget, in our sadly deficient Canadian market (Oh, how spoiled I was in Florida where almost anything I was looking for was an SAE or easy trade away! I did not realize how good I had it.) Interestingly that deficient market seems to have lead to those in the hobby being far more passionate about their plants. I love that about this board. I have browsed off and on over the years and am always astounded by the level of dedication, investment of resources and just sheer joy in the plants everyone has. It is rare to see anyone who doesn't appreciate each and every plant in their collection - even if they are not all that fond of the specimen.
My current (it will grow) wish list starts with Neps and continues to feature them heavily all the way along. In the reading I have been doing over the past few weeks I have come across several growers who stress (sometimes at length) the virtues and benefits of seed grown Nepenthes. They make some strong arguments from a genetic diversity stand point if nothing else and there in lies my dilemma. I have the time, patience and intestinal fortitude (should I end up loosing most if not all of the seed to the usual seed casualties) to start my Nep collection over from seed and have located a few possible sources. I am not sure I trust many of them, (viability, sustainability, accuracy, etc) but that is a topic for further research. Seed also appeals to the previously mentioned very tight budget. On the other hand, a collection based entirely on seed grown plants I started myself is going to take a VERY long time to build and purchasing plants has a sort of instant (comparatively) gratification aspect to it. Purchased plants also take out the uncertainty and risk that always comes with starting delicate plants from seed.
I am torn. So here is my question:
If you were starting over again with a primary interest in Nepenthes and a budget of say $50 per month (I am not actually sure what my budget will be so that is a VERY conservative estimate) for plants and shipping (all other supplies are not figuring into this, thus the uncertainty of the budget. Holy wow! Do lights and grow racks add up fast!) which way would you go? Would you take the easier route of plants and saving up for the more expensive purchases or would you take the chance on the seeds? Some of both?
I will try very, very hard not to fall off the internet again. It has been an interesting couple of years in which my last attempts to start over ran headlong into some not so fun health issues (is all good! I am not in a wheelchair yet!). Things have settled down to routine, so, here I am to try again. I have been reading - a lot actually - about all of the ways to build a collection, on a tight budget, in our sadly deficient Canadian market (Oh, how spoiled I was in Florida where almost anything I was looking for was an SAE or easy trade away! I did not realize how good I had it.) Interestingly that deficient market seems to have lead to those in the hobby being far more passionate about their plants. I love that about this board. I have browsed off and on over the years and am always astounded by the level of dedication, investment of resources and just sheer joy in the plants everyone has. It is rare to see anyone who doesn't appreciate each and every plant in their collection - even if they are not all that fond of the specimen.
My current (it will grow) wish list starts with Neps and continues to feature them heavily all the way along. In the reading I have been doing over the past few weeks I have come across several growers who stress (sometimes at length) the virtues and benefits of seed grown Nepenthes. They make some strong arguments from a genetic diversity stand point if nothing else and there in lies my dilemma. I have the time, patience and intestinal fortitude (should I end up loosing most if not all of the seed to the usual seed casualties) to start my Nep collection over from seed and have located a few possible sources. I am not sure I trust many of them, (viability, sustainability, accuracy, etc) but that is a topic for further research. Seed also appeals to the previously mentioned very tight budget. On the other hand, a collection based entirely on seed grown plants I started myself is going to take a VERY long time to build and purchasing plants has a sort of instant (comparatively) gratification aspect to it. Purchased plants also take out the uncertainty and risk that always comes with starting delicate plants from seed.
I am torn. So here is my question:
If you were starting over again with a primary interest in Nepenthes and a budget of say $50 per month (I am not actually sure what my budget will be so that is a VERY conservative estimate) for plants and shipping (all other supplies are not figuring into this, thus the uncertainty of the budget. Holy wow! Do lights and grow racks add up fast!) which way would you go? Would you take the easier route of plants and saving up for the more expensive purchases or would you take the chance on the seeds? Some of both?