The term "very cool" is praise in my book, thank you. It is a term that I often use.
Many people do not keep these plants as a hobby. There are many people who grow exotic, ornamental plants, but very few who grow carnivorous plants such as these. The ratio of orchid growers to carnivorous plant growers might by 200:1.
This particular plant was legally imported from a tissue-culture laboratroy in Germany. You need special import permits to import these plants from overseas so that they are not destroyed during customs due to parasite risks.
Collecting from the wild is discouraged for these plants as many are rare and endangered.
I first started growing plants with my grandmother when I was young. I have always been fascinated by plant propagation. My path to these plants was generic houseplants to hibiscus plants to bonsai trees to orchids to these plants. I was once told that I could not grow nepenthes because of their special needs and that only a botanical garden could truly handle it. I find the challenge helps fuel my hobby. I am also in a club with other growers of these plants which helps me to expand my collection and to share knowledge.
Yes, I have had luck propagating some nepenthes plants. The one pictured in this thread is especially difficult. It is very rare to get these to produce seed. They flower after many years, and the plants are specifically male or female. You need to have a male plant in flower for pollen to fertilize another female plant in flower a the same time. The most common way to propagate these plants is through cuttings.
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