Vendors and Retailers

Many vendors buy their plants from the same growers. For example, Borneo Exotics, MalesianaTropicals, Exotica Plants, and The Nepenthes Nursery to name a few. That's why many of the exact same Nepenthes are available at the same time from many different vendors. Some vendors will hold onto their Nepenthes for several months to see how the plants adjust from being shipped to them before offering these plants for resale. This minimizes the stress for the Nepenthes and allows the plants to readjust and become more viable. Other vendors may simply receive the plants, and then ship them directly to you, the buyer. This is ONE reason why prices may fluctuate from vendor to vendor. Some Nepenthes adjust fine, while others go into severe stress and die. I prefer to find a vendor who I can talk to personally about the plants I'm buying. This way I can ask questions about their growing conditions, hardiness, etc. Below are vendors whom I've personally purchased plants from. I highly recommend visiting their sites when looking for Nepenthes or other carnivorous plants as well. Developing a good relationship with your vendor is a key factor for ensuring your growing success with Nepenthes!
 

Retail

Par O Bek Orchids / Exotic Plants Plus (last update 06/29/09)
Tony Paroubek operates this retail site from New York. He grows and sells primarily Nepenthes, but has other carnivorous plants like Utricularia, Cephalotus, and flytraps as well. He ships his Nepenthes bare root in sphagnum moss. The plants are bundled with plenty of sphagnum moss around the roots inside zip-lock baggies so any damage is greatly reduced. He hardens off his plants for several months before he makes them available for sale to ensure quality. His Nepenthes are some of the best I've ever received! He's one of the few vendors that offers well established plants from Borneo Exotics, Exotica Plants, Malesiana Tropicals, and the Nepenthes Nursery. Tony is available for questions and ships weekly weather permitting. Tony has one of the widest selection of Nepenthes available and his Nepenthes are very reasonably priced as well. They have recently started taking reservations for Nepenthes that aren't quite available yet. Tony responds to email very quickly.

The CP Jungle Nursery (last update 06/30/09)
Michael Catalani has restarted his carnivorous plant nursery again in earnest. His website is live now with all kinds of options. He is importing from Borneo Exotics, Exotica Plants, and Malesiana Tropicals. Nepenthes can be pre-ordered for future arrival which includes many of the rarer Nepenthes Borneo Exotics offers as well as limited releases from Exotica Plants. Michael offers many different sizes of Nepenthes from smalls to rooted cuttings. He also has added a "sniping" list that allows a person to get a Nepenthes ahead of someone else if it should become available. Nepenthes are shipped bare-root in baggies with sphagnum moss covering the rootball. Plants arrive quickly and shipping is modest. Michael does reply to emails quickly.

Sunbelle Exotics
Located in South Florida, Sunbelle Exotics is a small specialty nursery offering mainly Nepenthes, Sarracenias, orchids, and other exotic plants. They have a private collection they periodically take cuttings from. They update their site when they receive new plants and / or have cuttings available so inquiry for their latest catalogue list if you're looking for certain plants. Michelle and Trent respond quickly to email. The plants I've purchased from them are shipped in baggies with the soil surrounding the rootball. They are great folks that take great pride in their plants. Often, they have plants available but not listed. So don't hesitate to email them. Trent and Michelle are some of the best people you'll ever deal with when talking or ordering Nepenthes. I can't say enough how valuable and kind they've been to me.

Cook's Carnivorous Plants (last update 6/24/09)
Dean Cook operates his site out of Oregon. Dean offers a wide variety of ALL types of carnivorous plants. Sarracenias, Drosera, Pinguiculas, Fly Traps, and more! The Nepenthes I buy from Dean are shipped in taped up zip-lock baggies bare root in moss or pots. He gives you a choice. Cook's has a  wide variety of Nepenthes available and often has the latest hybrids and species on the market. I like that Dean keeps an active inventory of plants on his website so you can see current availability. He often has photos on his webpage of the plants you're purchasing so you can get an idea of what they will look like in adulthood. This is especially helpful when purchasing Sarracenia and Nepenthes hybrids. Plants always arrive quickly, within a week, and are in great condition. He responds quickly to email which is great! I have called him personally, and he's answered all of my questions personally.

Leilani Hapu'u Nursery
Located in Hawaii this nursery is beginning to produce their own hybrids that are very exciting. They used to sell mainly rooted cuttings of Nepenthes but have turned to more of a wholesale nursery for their hybrids. Nepenthes will be available from Leilani's distributors that sell their Nepenthes. Any of Leilani's distributors will also be on this page as a retailer of Nepenthes. If you're looking to purchase Nepenthes directly from the nursery, then you'll have to email them directly. My guess is that small individual plant orders will be directed to the distributors for the Leilani Nursery. Larger orders would be best directed to the nursery itself. Leilani's Nepenthes are very high quality and good size upon arrival. They acclimate well and are very vigorous.

Tristan's Carnivorous Plants
Kim and Barbara Magnuson operate their nursery out of Hawaii. The have a variety of Nepenthes, Sarracenias (American pitcher plants), and Droseras (sundews) that are available for sale. It appears that most of their Nepenthes are available from cuttings or extra plants. They have also started their own hybridizing and are developing some new seedlings that may be available sometime in the future. They provide a list of the Nepenthes they're growing and then you email them about what plants you're interested in. Lately they have had their offerings on Ebay of the cuttings for sale. Most of the cuttings for sale are large well established plants that are worth collecting. Some of them have been from Exotica hybrids no longer available. The plants I purchased were shipped in plastic bags with the rootball wrapped in foil. It looks like they use a peat / perlite mix for the Nepenthes. Their plants are very reasonably priced and shipped quickly. They've  responded to my emails right away and provided photos of the plants upon request. Really nice folks! Another one of my favorite nurseries to deal with! 

Hortus Botanicus (last update 6/24/09)
Located in Northern California this nursery offers Nepenthes, carnivorous plants, and other horticultural plants for sale. The plants I've purchased from Robert have been some of the best received. He packages them extremely carefully so virtually no damage can occur during shipping. The Nepenthes I bought were shipped in pots and they were just incredible! It's obvious that Hortus Botanicus takes great care to ship high quality Nepenthes at a very reasonable price as well. Most of the plants available are from Borneo Exotics but he does have rooted cuttings from personal stock available from time to time. Robert responds to email promptly and ships regularly weather permitting. Definitely worth a visit! 

California Carnivores(last update 06/17/09)
Peter D'Amato is the grower and he operates his nursery out of Sebastopol just north of San Francisco. His retail nursery is open yearround for anyone that wants to visit. Peter is a legend in the carnivorous plant community with years of growing experience. I think I can personally blame California Carnivores for getting me addicted to Nepenthes! They have a great selection of just about every genus of carnivorous plants. Especially Sarracenias, Sundews, Ping's, and of course Venus Fly Traps. They are always willing to answer any questions. Peter's book "The Savage Garden" is must read for any CP enthusiast. They ship their plants in pots or bare root that are well protected with tape, lots of it, and cup covers to minimize damage and ship weekly as well. Some plants may not be listed on the website but available at their retail nursery. So ask for species availability if you are looking for something special.

The Nepenthes Nursery (last update 07/01/09)
Andreas Wistuba runs this nursery from Germany. He has an unbelievable selection of Nepenthes and Heliamphora and is well regarded as a leader of introducing new Nepenthes into tissue culture. I believe almost all of his plants are from tissue culture and distributed from Georgia when available. If  I remember correctly, orders usually arrive in springtime (April-ish) and fall (October-ish). Delivery may take months or longer depending on the availability. Nepenthes are small, size 2 or 3 but seem to adapt well. Also, some species of Nepenthes are only available through his website. The only downside is that the Nepenthes are usually small (fresh from tissue culture) and delivery can take months or longer. At times what you order is not what you're going to receive. Some Nepenthes, especially newly introduced species, can be back ordered. So it may be a year before you get that plant. But the plants you receive will be correctly identified and guaranteed to be what you're ordering.

Black Jungle (last update 05/13/09)
Located in Massachusetts this website offers Nepenthes, carnivorous plants, terrarium supplies, and much, much, more. They are a distributor for Borneo Exotics and others. They have a phone number on the website for ordering information. I have never spoken to the owners personally about growing techniques and / or questions. They do respond to email however. Plants are shipped in pots with their own soil mix which is currently a cedar mulch. Orders are quickly processed and shipped immediately.  I have only recently bought a few plants from them, but they arrived quickly and in good shape. If you order from Equilibrio, expect the identical plants, soil mix, and packaging. I believe Black Jungle and Equilibrio are under the same ownership. Prices were very reasonable but shipping was slightly higher than other vendors.

Lee's Botanical Gardens
Bruce Lee Bednar operates this nursery out of Florida. He sells a variety of carnivorous plants as well as Nepenthes. I've heard that he has released many cultivars / hybrids of Nepenthes commonly available all over the place. There's a list of hybrids and species available for sale that are mostly derived from cuttings. Most of the plants lean toward lowland to intermediate temperatures. Bruce responded to my emails and questions quickly and usually shipped out plants within a week or so.

Cascade Carnivores (last update 04/09/09)
Located in Washington, they have Nepenthes as well as many other varieties of carnivorous plants. It appears that they sell Nepenthes from Borneo Exotics primarily. Most of the Nepenthes are the small to medium offerings imported from Borneo Exotics. However, the plants may be bigger than what's listed on the website. The Nepenthes I purchased from Ron were well hardened and packed very well for shipping. He ships bare root with plenty of moist sphagnum to protect the roots during shipping. Ron responds quickly to emails and ships within the week of ordering.

Sarracenia Northwest or "Cobraplant.com"(last update 11/16/08)
Located in Oregon, they have Nepenthes as well as many other varieties of carnivorous plants. It appears that they sell Nepenthes from Borneo Exotics and some exclusive offerings from the Leilani Hapu'u Nursery in Hawaii. I have only purchased a few plants from them. The plants arrived quickly, healthy, and very well packed. They also responded quickly to my emails as well. 

 A and C Tropicals (last update 06/21/09)
 Located in Southern California Glenn is starting out a new business offering Sarracenia, Drosera, Pinguiculas, and Nepenthes primarily from the Leilani Hapu'u Nursery in Hawaii. Future offerings will include Nepenthes from Borneo Exotics and Exotica Plants. I haven't purchased any Nepenthes yet from A and C Tropicals so I don't know how his plants are shipped. In time A and C Tropicals will expand their inventory and selection but currently they're just starting out so inventory is limited.

 

Wholesale / Retail
Exotica Plants (last update 07/01/09)
Located in Australia, many retailers buy their plants for retail from them in quantity. They produce some of the best hybrids on the market. Exotica also has a good selection of species variation available from cuttings at times that are difficult to find elsewhere. You can buy your plants retail from their site, but they are mostly "wholesalers" that sell in quantity. Their site is also an excellent source of Nepenthes photos and information. I readily visit the site for the latest hybrids that are available through the retail vendors.

Malesiana Tropicals (last update 06/11/09)
Located in Malesiana, this distributor is mainly a wholesale operation. I believe you need to buy in quantity to receive the Nepenthes. Malesiana Tropicals often introduces newly undescribed species and is a leader in this area. What you see from their website is often what the retailers are selling to you. They also have nice photos and information about caring for Nepenthes.

Borneo Exotics (last update 06/29/09)
Rob Cantley operates this business out of Borneo. His plants are some of the best available to his distributors worldwide. Borneo Exotics is generally a wholesaler that sells Nepenthes in bulk and has a minimum order amount. They are a leader of seed grown plants of new species. A majority of newly released species into cultivation originate from Borneo Exotics. They also have great photos and other Nepenthes related information.

 

Other Vendors
(These are sites I have visited that deal with Nepenthes.  I have  little to no experience purchasing any of their plants.)

Southern Carnivores
Phill Mann runs this site from Australia. He is mainly a hobbyist but has a great selection of Nepenthes. I have never bought any plants from him so I don't know how long it takes to receive orders and how the plants are shipped. I do know that other hobbyists and retailers buy Nepenthes from this site. There are also excellent photos of Nepenthes as well.

Captive Exotics
Rod Kruger operates this nursery out of Australia. He has a nice selection of Nepenthes for retail. Only recently is he shipping to the US. He responds to email quickly as well. I use his site as a resource for photos and information. I haven't personally bought any plants from him yet.

Triffid Park
Located in Australia they have Nepenthes and a lot of Venus Fly Traps, Sarracenias, Sundews, Pinguiculas, and other carnivorous plants as well. They distribute to the US provided the buyer has appropriate import permits. I have never purchased any of their plants. Tony Paroubek (Exotic Plants Plus) and some other vendors buy and sell Triffid Park plants.

Orchids Limited
Located in Minnesota Orchids Limited is a distributor for Borneo Exotics. I have bought a few plants from them. They were shipped in pots and arrived quickly and in good shape. They primarily deal in orchids but do carry some Nepenthes. They don't seem to update their lists too often with new offerings. However they do respond to email and are helpful.

Dangerous Plants
Tom Hayes run this website and is a distributor for Borneo Exotics as well. I have never purchased any Nepenthes from him so I have no experience about his plants. His page does have a testimonial segment and an email link.

Carnivorsandmore.de or "Christian Klein"

Located in Europe, Christian Klein produces very nice hybrids and has Nepenthes unavailable in the U.S. I have never purchased or grown any of his Nepenthes but his plants do show up in the Nepenthes forums and are really nice. I don't know if he ships to the U.S. and what permits are necessary IF he does.

Equilibrio Carnivorous Plants
Located in Massachussetts, they ship plants that are from Borneo Exotics. They use the same packaging as Black Jungle when they ship. Heard that they bought out Black Jungle but I don't know that for sure. If you order from either Equilibrio or Black Jungle the plants will look identical to each other. Both places ship quickly and the plants arrive healthy. They're starting to use a cedar mulch for their Nepenthes rather than sphagnum. 

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