We were able to visit California Carnivores in Sebastopol yesterday..a two-hour drive, but truly worth the visit!
Some photos we took while there:


A table display of carnivores


This is an intesting plant arrangement, the one in the middle looks like a Euphorbia


And more carnivore selections! I love seeing how the plants are set-up in standing water as needed.


I love Pinguiculas, they are easy to grow indoors, and they make nice blooms too.






Venus fly traps

Non-succulent plants on display:
A huge staghorn:

A nice assortment of bromeliads and tillandsias too:


I wish I can get more, but my growing area is not ideal for it, so I just got these two: Nepenthes and Pinguicula can grow in my area as long as I keep them indoors. I would have gotten Sarracenias too but they are still winter dormant right now.
Nepenthes petiolata x veichii


Pinguicula primuliflora


And some tilly's:
Tillandsia butzii


Tillandsia ionantha fuego


Tillandsia flexuosa viva parva - feels like a young Aloe

You should have come over, Tarev. That place is within walking distance of my house. I've never bought anything but Pings there, though. It's so humid inside that I just run in, grab a Pinguicula, pay for it, and run right back out.

That looks like a very interesting place to visit!

You are lucky to have something like that within (easy) driving distance, Tarev. It looks like they grow lots of plant families. I do not see orchids through. Do you know what variety of staghorn fern that is? It is not the bifurcatum.

tarev,
Thanks for sharing the experience.

Oh, I will bear that in mind next time Zuzu!

Ken, well, not really easy driving distance, it is 2 hours of drive with 2 bottlenecks to get there. Considering it was a Sunday, made no difference. For the love of carnivores, we will endure it It is a carnivore nursery foremost so there is not much orchids, I did see some Den kingianums, bromeliads, some succulents, staghorn fern - I did not see the tag, anyways, my priority there is their carnivores. It was fun they had tilly's and with labels!

Happy to share the fun Greene and Sandy!

Yep, should have let us know, I am 2 miles away, could have met you there and had you stop by here too! It is a cool place!

Lone Pine Gardens is walking distance from me but only open Thurs-Sat.

Aww...I was not sure my driver was willing to go, since we were already at Annies Annuals and Cactus Jungle the previous day, he might have enough of garden nurseries
Next time I will give a holler!

I wish I could have been there I'm in MN nothing too interesting over here

Thanks for the pictures!

If you were able to drive to it, then your climate can support several CP (carnivorous plant) varieties. People all across America grow many kinds of CPs. And if they didn't have a local store to go to (local being relative), they would order from online and then grow that plant possibly 1000s of miles away from the store they bought it from.

I know many CP lovers don't like the Lowes CP plants, but for a beginner who wants to start on it or begin to learn from them, or just get something inexpensive in case it dies, then Lowes has a regular supply of CPs. Different stores in same or different region will also have different varieties soemtimes, though the Venus fly trap is the most common in all stores.

Hi I live in Oregon. I have been leaving my carnivores outside on my deck facing east all year around. Twice a year there is a hard freeze. Most of the time just rain. The Venus fly trap loses leaves and looks dormant in winter and summer it start growing new leaves. I was wondering if that's normal the other carnivores with pitcher leaves don't do that

Hello Alisa! I do not grow Venus Fly Traps but I have read they do undergo winter dormancy http://littleshopofhorrors.co....

I guess similar to my Sarracenia pitcher plants, they need to undergo winter dormancy. Just have to be patient for the plants to perk up again when warmer conditions return.

I only have my single pitcher, so don't know the answer to that question about dormancy.

I throught the Venus was died! Last year I had large leaves! If Venus comes out of dormancy it will be 3 years old!

Some butterwort photos had leaves pink or white, are these albino? Being they eat insects can they be albino and live? Can they be grown indoors or outdoors?

Hi Keith! I only have the green leafed variety of Pinguiculas or butterwort. There are different varieties tropical and temperate ones, I have some in the photos in the earlier post I made. From my experience growing them, the mexican types, it does not like our onerous dry heat so I have to grow them indoors. Thankfully they ably survive even by a north facing window. Just got to provide access to their yummy insects which in our case were the fungus gnats. I find Pings easier to grow indoors, but you still have to give them access to bright light, after all those leaves still photosynthesize while waiting for their insects delight, and I keep them in some standing water too, I think for my area, it compensates for our much drier conditions. Just be aware that they go on non-succulent mode during the colder months.

For sure you can grow them outdoors but in part shade., you may have better humidity than I do here. If you will get some of them, observe how the light affects the leaves, it is rather easy to burn and dry them out, seeing their leaves and growing habit in a moist set-up you will have to protect them from snails and slugs.

HOLY. Wow Tarev!

1. I am so jealous on how they can get moss to grow in the planters with the carns!
2. Those Purpurea are soooo pretty out of all of my pitchers, that one is growing like it's on a mission. Soo pretty man!
3. I'm not a staghorn fern owner, but assuming that's what those are, how old you suppose they are?
Look like they got seniority!
4. My primuflora is nowhere near that size, wonder why. Even the flowers were smaller.

I lost all of them for whatever reason, but one has survived!
It's practically being guarded haha.

What picture(s) are you referring to @bhart90, when you mention staghorn fern?

18 pictures down. Right above the air plants

I see it now. That's not the standard, P. bifurcatum plant. I don't recognize the variety but it surely is a very old plant.