Welcome to the blog!
Hello, and welcome to my blog!
I've been growing plants for most of my life. I started out like most did, with a few cactus and random house plants in a windowsill but everything changed when I discovered orchids. They were my first true hobby, and my collection quickly expanded to almost 100 plants by age 12.
I had already succumbed to the sickness that many of us plant addicts have.
My orchid collection continued to expand, until literally every available spot of shelf space in my bedroom was covered with plants. Due to some unfortunate circumstances, my family was forced to move up to the Pittsburgh area several years ago and in the process, many of my precious plants were lost. It was disheartening for me at the time, but it provided me with a fresh start and really changed my plant related interests in the long run.
I don't remember exactly when or why it happened, but this was when I became a CP addict. I had grown some CP's early in my plant hobby days, I was lucky to have two nurseries near by that regularly carried various Sarracenia and the occasional Sundew or Flytrap so of course I had a small bog garden outside with a few plants in it.
I suppose it was stumbling onto Nepenthes that truly got me addicted. They seemed so alien and captivating, the different shapes, colors and sizes from the diminutive argentii to mouse eating monsters like truncata or rajah. My collection quickly became Nepenthes focused, and I bought more and more exotic varieties, though, I was still a novice keeper and was barely (and many times, not) able to keep many of the difficult highland species alive in my bedroom windowsill. At this point I was a teenager in high school and periodically lost interest in plants altogether, as I'd sell most of my collection then several months later start buying new ones again. This cycle continued through high school and by my senior year, my collection was down to less than 20 plants (CP's and orchids combined). I missed the hobby but life was rather busy at that point and I had various reptiles and fish tanks to take care of in my already limited time.
Last summer, I officially made my return to the hobby. I acquired orchids and Nepenthes through eBay and other online retailers to rebuild my collection. But this time was different than all my past attempts, I invested in a climate controlled setup that I will detail in another post, and though it did take several iterations to perfect, this made all the difference as I was finally able to keep the rare, expensive highland plants in proper conditions. My collection is looking better than ever and I will use this blog to detail the progression of my plants, as well as offer care tips, setup information and anything else plant realted I want to share!
Good growing everyone!
-Mike
I've been growing plants for most of my life. I started out like most did, with a few cactus and random house plants in a windowsill but everything changed when I discovered orchids. They were my first true hobby, and my collection quickly expanded to almost 100 plants by age 12.
I had already succumbed to the sickness that many of us plant addicts have.
My orchid collection continued to expand, until literally every available spot of shelf space in my bedroom was covered with plants. Due to some unfortunate circumstances, my family was forced to move up to the Pittsburgh area several years ago and in the process, many of my precious plants were lost. It was disheartening for me at the time, but it provided me with a fresh start and really changed my plant related interests in the long run.
I don't remember exactly when or why it happened, but this was when I became a CP addict. I had grown some CP's early in my plant hobby days, I was lucky to have two nurseries near by that regularly carried various Sarracenia and the occasional Sundew or Flytrap so of course I had a small bog garden outside with a few plants in it.
I suppose it was stumbling onto Nepenthes that truly got me addicted. They seemed so alien and captivating, the different shapes, colors and sizes from the diminutive argentii to mouse eating monsters like truncata or rajah. My collection quickly became Nepenthes focused, and I bought more and more exotic varieties, though, I was still a novice keeper and was barely (and many times, not) able to keep many of the difficult highland species alive in my bedroom windowsill. At this point I was a teenager in high school and periodically lost interest in plants altogether, as I'd sell most of my collection then several months later start buying new ones again. This cycle continued through high school and by my senior year, my collection was down to less than 20 plants (CP's and orchids combined). I missed the hobby but life was rather busy at that point and I had various reptiles and fish tanks to take care of in my already limited time.
Last summer, I officially made my return to the hobby. I acquired orchids and Nepenthes through eBay and other online retailers to rebuild my collection. But this time was different than all my past attempts, I invested in a climate controlled setup that I will detail in another post, and though it did take several iterations to perfect, this made all the difference as I was finally able to keep the rare, expensive highland plants in proper conditions. My collection is looking better than ever and I will use this blog to detail the progression of my plants, as well as offer care tips, setup information and anything else plant realted I want to share!
Good growing everyone!
-Mike
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