Kirk’s Favorite Sarracenia Vendors & Tips for Buying Online

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While we at ACG would love to be able to fulfill every request we receive, it has been our policy that if we can’t satisfy your request we will happily refer you to some of our favorite vendors with whom we have had good experiences in the past. Fortunately, the Carnivorous Plant community online is robust and vendors’ reputations can be very valuable, so it’s rare that we’ve had a bad experience but we wanted to share some of our experiences from years of ordering Sarracenia online.

Kirk’s Tips

Here are a few things to keep in mind when purchasing online. We’ve purchased and traded carnivorous plants online now for over 15 years so these are just a few of the things we’ve picked up, but we’d love to hear if you have any others!

  1. Your selection of plants will immediately improve dramatically: While everyone loves purchasing a plant locally and being able to hold the plant in your hands before purchase, shopping the internet allows you to be much more selective and select from a huge variety of plants. We understand not everyone is 100% comfortable purchasing online, but it really is often the only way to get a specific plant you are looking for and generally we’ve had good experiences.
Sometimes you know exactly what you want, like this S. flava ‘Improved Black Veins’, unfortunately your only option for obtaining a specific plant like this is often online. We would never have been able to acquire such variety locally.
  1. Many of the best outlets are not regular websites/stores: It’s always nice if you can visit a nicely-organized store, view a wide selection and purchase the exact plant you’d like. Unfortunately many plants these days are still sold in auction format as they become available via a seller’s list, or just by reaching out directly to a grower to see if they’ve got a spare. It can be extremely frustrating to find out an auction or listing for the plant you’ve been looking for over a long time sold before you got a chance to bid, so be sure to set alerts directly to your phone to not miss out. Additionally, if you’ve got a relationship with a grower, sometimes reaching out directly to be put on their waitlist can reserve your spot in line. Be careful not to overdo it however, experienced growers are contacted frequently and it can be frustrating having people reach out repeatedly, so try to be respectful and not pester them too much.
  2. When possible, purchase plants with photos of the exact plant for sale: As vendors of carnivorous plants ourselves we understand sometimes it is the easiest thing to do to display a photo representative of what is for sale, however for many growers it can be upsetting and frustrating to receive a plant that is smaller, not as healthy or just different than the photo of the plant you thought you were purchasing. This is where eBay and Facebook can be a lifesaver. Many listings are for the exact plant pictured, and explicitly state if otherwise in order to avoid negative feedback. Many growers are also happy to also snap pictures of the plant you are purchasing if contacted directly, so don’t be shy.
  1. Well-packed plants can be surprisingly resilient in the mail: While we are all eager to receive our newest plant goodies as soon as they are shipped, I’ve had plants that were stuck in the mail for 2+ weeks during the Georgia summer that arrived in perfect shape. Additionally, even though we have milder winters, I’ve had tropical plants shipped during sub-freezing temperatures in Atlanta that arrived with no damage. This is why an experienced, trustworthy vendor is so important. A vendor who ships hundreds of plants a year will have a system for packaging plants that allows them to arrive in great shape regardless of the USPS or weather. And if something does go wrong many of these vendors are happy to resolve the problem directly.
A recent shipment from Calen Hall – Plants packed like this can survive weeks in the postal system!

Kirk’s Favorite Places to Shop

  • Ebay: Our favorite vendors are listed below, many of whom have an eBay seller profile. Great for purchasing exact plants, and ease of payment and shipping. Additionally, due to eBay’s policies, buyers are very protected in the event of something going wrong.
  • The Sarracenia Forums Sales Page: Since these forums are specific to Sarracenia growers, many of the most experienced breeders maintain a sales list here. As a close-knit forum, vendors are trusted by experienced growers.
  • Facebook USA Auctions Page: There are many pages like this one on Facebook, so take a look around but we believe this one is the largest. Another great place to set alerts because rare plants often go quick!
  • Carnivorous Plant Resource Sales Page: A relatively new site, this is an amazing resource for growers both for information and sales! If you’re new to CP growing, this is also a great way to establish relationships with some of the largest growers and vendors who do not maintain full-time nurseries.
  • Direct Channel: Some of our favorite sites are listed below, but if the vendor you are purchasing from has a full time nursery and website, chances are they are pretty reliable!

Meet the Vendors

So without any further adieu, here are our favorite vendors!

  • Calen Hall – Portland, Oregon
    • I placed my first order with Calen in 2018 and he has been one of my very favorite vendors ever since. He has a robust selection, beautiful crosses and plants and his plants always arrive even larger and healthier than I expected. Calen is also personable and loves to talk Sarracenia! He’s always answered all my questions in a very timely manner and made some awesome recommendations when I couldn’t decide between 2 plants. His prices are also extremely reasonable with a wide range of affordable plants all the way up to some of the rarer clones. Because his plants are so healthy, they establish quickly and many of our best specimens are from him!
    • Our Favorites: For Sarracenia Calen rivals nearly any vendor out there. In particular, some of our heaviest-veined and most colorful plants have come straight from him and do equally well in our Southern heat as his Portland backyard! We are especially fond of his hybrids and hybrid seedlings, however we have unofficially dubbed him the “king of cats” – if you love ornate Catesbaeis – Calen is the best! His ornate flavas are also second to none, but realistically you can’t go wrong – everything is top notch!
    • Price range: $-$$$
    • Social Media: Instagram
    • Where to buy: Check out Calen’s awesome sales list here!
  • One of Calen’s awesome specimen-sized plants
  • Look at all that beauty!
  • Calen’s AMAZING collection in Portland, Oregon – a sea of color!
  • Jeremiah Harris – Colorado Springs, CO
    • I was lucky enough to experience Jeremiah’s collection in person during my ‘first go round’ when I got into Carnivorous Plants in grade school. I can say from experience that his collection is not only one of the best in the USA, but the entire world. Featuring a growlist that stretches all the way to the floor, Jeremiah is an expert that has been growing plants for as long as the hobby has been around. Seriously – if you want to see what a world class collection looks like go check him out. His instagram is also consistently filled with all the amazing photos of his collection and CP’s in the wild that you can imagine. He’s also personable and responsive, always willing to help out and features a great selection of many genuses through his CP resource shop and eBay listings! Always high quality.
    • Our Favorites: Let’s put it this way – we have NEVER received a plant from Jeremiah that did not completely exceed expectations. While the majority of our plants from him are Sarracenia, Drosera or Flytraps he is also one of the few vendors that consistently offers up rare species and hybrids of Heliamphora, Nepenthes, Pinguicula and pretty much every other type of carnivorous plant you can think of. His packing is always well-done and he ships super fast – one of our favorite vendors for sure!
    • Price range: $-$$$
    • Social Media: Instagram, FaceBook
    • Where to buy: CP Resource Store – Always up, eBay listings – be sure to monitor
  • Jeremiah is also one of the most accomplished Nepenthes growers in the hobby!
  • Sarracenia for Days!
  • Jeremiah boasts one of the most extensive flytrap collections in the U.S.
  • Phil Faulisi – Morgan Hill, CA
    • If you are a Sarracenia hoarder like us, you’ve no doubt heard of the famous and rare cultivars to come from his breeding program such as ‘Saurus’. ‘Vintner’s Treasure’, ‘Hot Lips’, ‘Sword Swallower’, ‘Mega Mouth’ and many, many more. As a Sarracenia breeder, Phil is the best of the best and his eBay listings usually are very competitive, and worth every penny! We are lucky enough to grow several Phil cultivars in our collection and the quality is some of the highest we’ve ever seen. Additionally, Phil performs many crosses each Spring, and since every plant in his collection is top quality to begin with, come fall he offers up some extremely high-quality seed and with a little patience, you can have a whole crop of Faulisi originals!
    • Our Favorites: We may be biased because our first crop of seed is beginning to mature, but going forward we expect Phil’s seed to constitute >50% of the seed we start in the fall. Phil is a master breeder and understands how to make crosses where the result is better than both the parents, a skill that takes years to develop. If one of his high-demand plants is out of your budget, seeds offer an affordable way to grow many top-notch plants with some patience. When you are investing 2+ years for seeds to reach maturity, it only makes sense to start with the top quality. His cultivars are every bit as amazing as everyone says and every large collection should have a few. Thus far our favorites are ‘Hot Lips’, ‘Vintner’s Treasure’ and ‘Super Heavy Veins’ but take a look for yourself and see which ones you’re dying to have!
    • Price Range: $-$$$$
    • Social Media: Instagram
    • Where to buy: eBay listings
  • The famed Sarracenia ‘Saurus’ – a gargantuan Sarracenia!
  • Sarracenia ‘Super Heavy Veins’ growing in our collection
  • S. ‘Vintner’s Treasure’ – another Faulisi hybrid
  • Mark Reinke, Marble Branch Farms – Wahalla, SC
    • Mark Reinke owns and operates Marble Branch Farms, a wonderful orchid nursery located in the remote base of the Blue Ridge mountains in the Carolinas. Having visited, I can say that Mark’s greenhouse is always packed with tons and tons of orchids blooming throughout the year and a true botanical wonder. Besides orchids, Mark is an experienced horticulturalist who is also fascinated with carnivorous plants! His property is home to the most impressive outdoor display of carnivorous plants I’ve ever seen – a gigantic, spring-fed bog filled with hundreds of Sarracenia, drosera, flytraps and other amazing species. His bog is a living example of the message we repeat here – that carnivorous plants are beautiful and easy!
    • Our Favorites: If you’ve got an appetite for orchids, Mark’s are truly spectacular! For carnivores, Mark has many location-specific clones with which he breeds many crosses, offering up lots of clones and divisions locally at the Greenville Farmer’s Market, if you’re lucky enough to be in the area. We’ve received many awesome seedlings from Mark over the years and his bog is a ‘must visit’ for us every year.
    • Price Range: $-$$
    • Where to buy: Website
  • Mark’s orchid greenhouse is full of colorful treasures
  • The spring-fed bog also has shallow pools filled with water lilies & wildlife
  • Mark’s spring-fed bog is truly a magical display of a naturalized looking Sarracenia collection. And the plants love it!
  • Dean Cook, Cook’s Carnivorous Plants – Eugene, OR
    • Dean is one of the few vendors in the U.S. who has been around now for 20+ years. Because he’s been around so long, his stock remains exceptionally consistent from year to year, so you don’t have to worry as much about the dreaded ‘out of stock’ labels you see some other places (including our own site). In addition, Cook’s has some of the most reasonable prices of any vendor on this list, making plants more affordable so you can buy more! Many of our plants have been accumulated over the years through Cooks’ weekly eBay listings, and some have been downright steals! Dean always ships the following Tuesday after payment, so plants are nearly always to your door before the end of the week.
    • Our Favorites: As always, we’re partial to the Sarracenia! Dean offers the best value for your money on younger plants and hybrids, in addition to a wide variety of species – many of which you can only purchase from Dean due to his collection of clones originating from the U.K.’s infamous Mike King of Shropshire Sarracenia. Dean also has a wide selection of flytraps and sundews in addition to offering Nepenthes, Bladderworts, Heliamphora and occasionally Darlingtonia. A great value for the CP grower!
    • Price Range: $-$$
    • Where to buy: Website eBay listings – updated weekly
  • Carson Trexler – Portland, OR
    • Carson is an experienced grower of many CP genuses, however like many other growers, he does not have a large, outdoor full-sun space to grow out hundreds of Sarracenia. Due to this, Carson has developed a system for growing high-quality Sarracenia from seed indoors under LED’s, and we have in-fact modeled our seed starting operation in many ways after what he started! He only starts very high quality Sarracenia crosses, so you know the seedlings you purchase from him have an exceptional pedigree, and due to his high-powered LED lights you can usually see what a fully-colored plant growing in optimal conditions will look like at maturity despite being a seedling! Many of his listings are featured on Facebook, so keep an eye out there, but he also sells directly.
    • Our Favorites: For juvenile Sarracenia seedlings, Carson sells some of the highest-quality, most nicely colored clones out there. He also sells many varieties of Sundews and some other genuses, so keep an eye out!
    • Price Range: $-$$$
    • Where to buy: Instagram profile Facebook Auctions page
  • Carson raises some of the most colorful Sarracenia seedlings out there! Many of our breeding techniques are thanks to him.
  • FlyTrap King – Near Asheville, NC
    • Don’t let the name fool you on this one! Although they do sell an assortment of flytraps (as well as sundews), they offer a wide variety of some very high quality Sarracenia. Additionally, in the fall, they sell some very unique and nice crosses of seeds at very affordable prices. When we’ve ordered from Josh, plants were expertly packed and seeds germinated quickly, producing very colorful offspring!
    • Our Favorites: Make sure to stock up on high quality seed in the fall! Every plant we’ve received from FTK has been of mature size and quickly adapted to our growing conditions thanks to being one of the few vendors on this list located in the Southeast!
    • Price Range: $-$$$
    • Where to buy: Website eBay sellers page
  • Josh raises some of the prettiest Sarracenia around at his nursery!

Mike Wang – Northern California

  • If you want the true ‘kid in a candy store’ feeling of shopping for Sarracenia, go ahead, do yourself a favor and just take a look through Mike’s sales list. Offering a selection that is unrivaled anywhere else, Mike has been breeding Sarracenia for years. We’ve ordered from Mike many times and always been pleased, and many times Mike is the only place to purchase the plants we’ve been looking for. He goes out of his way to answer any questions you might have, and frequently posts pictures of different plants in his collection so you can start getting an idea what to buy next!
  • Our Favorites: RARE Sarracenia and species! With such an extensive list, if there is something rare on your list, there’s a good chance Mike might be the only one with an extra to sell! If you’re not sure the specifics but have an idea, give Mike an email and chances are he can point you to something you’ll love.
  • Price Range: $-$$$$
  • Where to buy: Mike’s GIGANTIC list

Other Reputable Vendors

The following are other reputable vendors we only have limited experiences with. We’ve had extremely positive experiences with each and every one of them, and they come highly recommended from many other growers in the community!

  • Red Leaf Exotics – Morrison, TN
    • AWESOME vendor for tropical CP’s, especially Nepenthes. We love the Heliamphora Tatei specimen we ordered from them a few years ago! They also have an amazing instagram page full of CP goodness! Website here
  • California Carnivores – Sebastopol, CA
    • Viewed by many, ourselves included, as a mecca for Carnivorous plants in the U.S. We were lucky to visit in 2017 and take home a few goodies! We haven’t ordered extensively online from them, but when we do they do an amazing job carefully packaging plants and are one of the few vendors willing to ship potted plants, a huge plus! Check out their website today!
  • Pearl River Exotics – Georgia, USA
    • Specializing in Nepenthes and Tropical CPs, Pearl River Exotics is another amazing Georgia vendor! Although I fear they are relocating away from our home state of Georgia, they feature a wide variety of Nepenthes and other CP’s and offer $5 shipping on all orders. Be sure to look over their website!
  • Sarracenia Northwest – Eagle Creek, OR
    • One of the most highly regarded CP nurseries in the U.S., Sarracenia Northwest boasts an amazing website full of great content for CP growers. While we have yet to order from them (unfortunately), other growers have nothing but awesome things to say about them and we look forward to in the future.