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Why? Are N. rajah SO expensive?
- Thread starter lithopsman
- Start date
I'm afraid that I don't agree with your observation at all. N. rajah can now be found very
cheaply; I've seen it available for as little as twenty dollars.
Moreover, if this seems expensive to you, please keep in mind the fact that only
15 years ago, prior to the advent of tissue culture techniques, N. rajah was extremely
expensive, if you could find it at all. It was not unheard of for plants to sell for as much as
several hundred dollars.
cheaply; I've seen it available for as little as twenty dollars.
Moreover, if this seems expensive to you, please keep in mind the fact that only
15 years ago, prior to the advent of tissue culture techniques, N. rajah was extremely
expensive, if you could find it at all. It was not unheard of for plants to sell for as much as
several hundred dollars.
nepenthes gracilis
Nepenthes Specialist
Rajah is NOT expensive. It may be a bit pricey. But that depends what expensive is to you. Expensive IMO is Aregentii 160 dollars and up. That's an expensive plant. Rajah runs for around 25-100 dollars at the highest I have ever seen one. I paid $40.00 in grand total for my Rajah. Not expensive if you ask me. The reason you may see Rajah as "expensive" is becasue of it's demand and rarity. Lots of people demand this plant and the suppliers put a reasonable price on thier plants and make a good profit whilst making the customer happy.
N. rajah is similar priced to most other slow growing highland Nepenthes, so I also won't call it expensive. There is not such a big market for those freak plants like Nepenthes and the effort to produce them is high and therefore prices are not as low as for mass market plants. Expensive are plants where only one nursery is able to supply them like N. campanulata and N. argentii (well there is a second very small source for N. argentii, where plants are much cheaper). They may ask extreme high prices from the first collectors wanting this special species, but therer are not that much people willing to pay those prices. After very few years prices drop considerably. N. campanulata price dropped from 80$ to 40$ few weeks ago and when I do remeber correct they were in the 120$ range last year...
Joachim
P.S.: The first four sterile clones of N. rajah in TC, which are still around here in Germany, where not send by mail from the UK to Germany - two enthusiasts travelled there to get them personally, not risking anything that time...
Joachim
P.S.: The first four sterile clones of N. rajah in TC, which are still around here in Germany, where not send by mail from the UK to Germany - two enthusiasts travelled there to get them personally, not risking anything that time...
Rajah is quite cheaper than I figured it would be onsidering it's legendary status but if grown well it appearently makes many offshoots-starting at a young age. Mine is just 4" across (not including pitchers) and it's got 2 strongly growing side shoots/new plants! So that takes the price and divides it by 1/3 as I now have 3 rajahs! I won't seperate them for some time of course but it's a neat self propagating plant. Just make sure you can give it a dramatic drop in temp at night (down to 50-55*F) or you can loose it!
I am anxious for the time when I can buy a cutting from a mature rajah at an affordable price...!
I am anxious for the time when I can buy a cutting from a mature rajah at an affordable price...!
G
Guest
Guest
I seem to recall a professor from a university (in Wisconsin?) - I think Gibson was his name... writing an article in CPN showing his small rajah plants. A couple years later, I also seem to recall him asking thousands of dollars for the same plant/s, which were quite larger. I hope that if they were sold the proceeds went to the university!! Then, I think the same person had Heliamphora tatei, or was it neblinae?
Anyway, the point I was going to make was that there was once a time, not so long ago, when N rajah and other rare plants were not available everywhere and were a lot more expensive than they are now, if you could even find them!
Heck, $5000 in the 80s could have bought you all of Mt.Kinabalu! (That was a joke)
Matt
Anyway, the point I was going to make was that there was once a time, not so long ago, when N rajah and other rare plants were not available everywhere and were a lot more expensive than they are now, if you could even find them!
Heck, $5000 in the 80s could have bought you all of Mt.Kinabalu! (That was a joke)
Matt
n. rajahs are quite cheap , back then they used to be very rare and very expensive but now u can find them for about 25 bucks . But even if this deisred plant is easily found for sale and is cheap its a tough plant to grow if you don't have the right conditions . I believe it lives in ultrahighland conditions but I don't grow this plant so i dont know .
G
Guest
Guest
My small plants are happy with somewhat warmer conditions than I would expect. Maybe up to 85 or 90 during the day? There is however a significant drop of nighttime temperature to ~60 since Ive gotten them.
I have heard that smaller plants are more tolerant of high temperatures. Since I only wanted 1 but was received more, I plan on parting with most and keeping only one. Since I don't have another space for it, I sure hope it withstands these temps when it gets bigger!
I have heard that smaller plants are more tolerant of high temperatures. Since I only wanted 1 but was received more, I plan on parting with most and keeping only one. Since I don't have another space for it, I sure hope it withstands these temps when it gets bigger!
nepenthes gracilis
Nepenthes Specialist
Matt, N. rajah is more tolerant than people think. Matt Sopher in England (Arie can you help out here) ahas a mature rajah the size of a small bush and it gets about 65F at night. He grows it more of an intermediate than more of an Ultrahighland. Personally my plant responds best in my basment overnight at a temp of 50F and sometimes lower like 48F if the outside temps are very very cold. If the plants grow and pitcher then conditions for them must be suitable. I think mine are boycotting me...maybe since they know the evaporative cooler arrived yesterday they want that setup in the greenhouse now.
G
Guest
Guest
Hi Phil,
Consider it this way. Once a plant is in tissue culture, it's often really easy to make another.
But the cost (in time and money) of getting the plant in there in the first place can sometimes be significant, as could have more likely been the initial cost of the material. A lot of people undervalue plants. I don't think that $20 is too much to ask for any rare plant when you consider that you can blow $20 on a nice dinner and it's entirely gone the next day!
Matt
Consider it this way. Once a plant is in tissue culture, it's often really easy to make another.
But the cost (in time and money) of getting the plant in there in the first place can sometimes be significant, as could have more likely been the initial cost of the material. A lot of people undervalue plants. I don't think that $20 is too much to ask for any rare plant when you consider that you can blow $20 on a nice dinner and it's entirely gone the next day!
Matt
nepenthes gracilis
Nepenthes Specialist
