Grow Carnivorous Plants! Volume 3: A No-Nonsense Approach to Growing Tropical Pitcher Plants

I will never forget my first encounter with a Nepenthes pitcher plant. It was part of an article in either Ranger Rick or National Geographic World when I was very young. It was a two-page spread of what I later found out was a photo of Nepenthes ampullaria. I was fascinated with the many peristomes which looked like sensual, human lips. Even the famous Venus Flytrap paled in comparison in my mind. Many years later, was re-introduced to Nepenthes when I took a course in Plant Biology in college. At that time, a local garden center was selling what was then the definitive work on the subject of carnivorous plants "Carnivorous Plants of the World" by the Pietropaolos. The guy who sold me the book also said he could get me a Nepenthes to try to grow in my bedroom.That first plant turned out to be Nepenthes anamensis and it did extremely well - just a it had for the Pietropaolos. It lived, pitchered and flowered for two years before I killed it in the process of repotting.Thanks to this video, not only do I know what I did wrong, but I learned that there have been many advances in the understanding of the cultivation of these magnifiscent and exotic plants. Essentially, this video (and the others as well) are possibly the best overall reference one could have for the successful culture of carnivorous plants. I am currently making my fifth attempt to grow Nepenthes and am having much better success than with attempts 2,3 and 4. And the fact that these guys really do love their subject comes across loud and clear, as does the fact that they both have a great sense of humor. The instructions couldn't be clearer or easier to understand and they give you an overview of LOTS of potential plants to grow. Also this video gave me the courage to buy a tissue-cultured Nepenthes truncata "Queen of Hearts"x"King of Spades" which is doing very nicely!I can also recommend their website, cobraplant.com, which has plenty of nice carnivorous plants of all kinds to choose from. Though my N.truncata came from another company, I did buy my two others from Sarracenia Northwest.Bottom line, if you want to learn how to grow Nepenthes, forget the books, this is THE DVD to buy!

A wonderfully engaging video series that is very informative! It gives practical instructions for keeping carnivorous plants and has a magnificent overview of many species available in the hobby! I ended up purchasing all 3 Volumes and have thoroughly enjoyed each. When I re-potted my Nepenthes and took cuttings for propagation I re-watched portions of Volume 3 several times. I could re-watch the species overviews many many times as they are so well done and do a great job of showing the diversity. A must watch for anyone interested in keeping carnivorous plants!

I had delved into Venus Flytraps, but was hesitant to get into Nepenthes... was I ever surprised that I could grow them in my home with a few very simple rules. If you are afraid to grow Asian Pitchers, don't be. If you can grow any houseplant, there's probably a Nepenthes species or hybrid you can grow. Jeff and Jacob give very clear and easy to follow instructions. As of this writing, I have 5 Nepenthes; N. ventricosa, N. sanguinea, (2) N. ventrata's and a N. "Miranda".

Excellent video, full of great information for every carnivorous plant lover and grower!

A great one and only DVD for anyone wanting a complete instruction or step by step on how to take care or cultivate any carnivorous plant.

This DVD is a must for any carnivorous plant enthusiasts.

Good book for carnivorous plant enthusiasts

I'll gradually buy the rest of the DVDs in this series, since they seem to have more valuable information in them than most books on insectivorous plants. Great price for what you get.