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Langeveld - legit trilliums?

susanargus
18 years ago

What do you think - are these safe to buy? I saw them in my local (non-chain) garden store. I'm so paranoid about trillium at this point!

http://www.langeveld.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=plants.plantDetail&plant_id=186

"Trillium erectum / Red Trillium / Perennials

This native woodland plant gives you wooded area some beautiful color early in the spring.

Interesting Notes

All plants grown from cultivated stock ( no plants are harvested from the wild)"

Comments (6)

  • waplummer
    18 years ago

    What's the meaning of "is"? What do they mean by harvested?
    What do they mean "grown from cultivated stock"? They don't say grown from seed which makes me suspicious. Do they cut the rhizome ala Don Jacobs to get more plants?

  • kwoods
    18 years ago

    The wording makes me think they are plants propagated by division from "captive" plants. In other words the initial/original plant was probably wild collected (perhaps looong ago perhaps not) and the ones they are selling are divisions propagated from that. The other less likely scenario is that they are divisions from an original/initial plant that was propagated from seed. I say unlikely because if that were true they would probably say it. Not sure if that qualifies them as "unethical" plants. Does buying them perpetuate wild collection? Or, does having these types of plants on the market stop people from wild collecting them? Dunno.

    My Trillium erectum is a division from a friend who got it from her mother. There is no way to know if it is any more "legit" than the ones they are offering. If I gave a division of it to someone else (they have spread like mad), would that be unethical?

  • sam_md
    18 years ago

    Many of us who posted at GardenWeb over the years know that this is an issue that comes up every Spring. Whenever we see cheap, bareroot trilliums, orchids, native lilies, and ferns for sale we should be asking some questions. Wild-collected plants are offered by both family-owned businesses as well as big box stores. Wording such as "Grown from Cultivated Stock" and "No Plants Harvested from the Wild" are meaningless. It looks to me like Langeveld is a Dutch bulb broker, the plants have passed through several hands by the time they come back to US. Such brokers deal with VERY large numbers of plants. If a poster got an orchid/trillium from Aunt Molly, that has no bearing on this issue.
    A few years ago, Better Homes & Gardens was putting their stamp of approval on wildflowers being sold to Big Boxes via a Dutch broker. I personally contacted the CITES official in Raleigh and after an investigation, BH&G dropped the line of plants.
    Below link is a press release from Fish & Wildlife about wild-collected plants being shipped to a Dutch broker. The N.Carolina man was found guilty and served time. Unbelieveably this same man is still in business and still dealing with wild-collected plants out of NC. One display in local Big Box is called "Botanical Wonders".
    When wild-collected plants change hands several times, there is really little if any follow-up on the part of the state's Dept of Ag or the USDA, this is especially true if it is unclear whether or not a law has been violated.
    For many decades the collection of wildflowers has been a cottage industry in NC, WV, Tenn as well as other states.
    Think about it logically, what genuine propagator and grower of eastern wildflowers is going to market his plants through a big box? Cheap, bareroot, pre-packaged plants native to eastern US such as ginseng, hepatica, trout lily,
    all violets, Mertensia, ferns, trilliums/orchids are wild-collected.
    It should be stated that while there are a few small, domestic growers who do legitimately propagate wildflowers, they take pains to document that fact and their plants are not cheap.

    Here is a link that might be useful: U.S. Fish & Wildlife News Release

  • ahughes798
    18 years ago

    From what I am told, the stuff sold as "Botanical Wonders" in the big box stores are sometimes carnivorous plants, and the company that sells them is a legitimate nursery that uses nursery grown stock from plants and seeds obtained legally. Venus flytraps are easy to grow from seed, so there's really no need to poach.

    The sad thing is that VFT's are native to one place on earth only, about a hundred mile radius around Wilmington, NC. I wonder what Minton's punishment was?

  • elkima_mindspring_com
    16 years ago

    I am very concerned about the illegal collection of plant species from the wild and it distresses me to think that I may have unwittingly supported that activity through the puchase of exotic plants. I have developed an interest in Carnivorous plants and have puchased/rescued a number of them from various "big box" stores ony to get them home and discover that the labeling is sorely lacking in information regarding the species. Botanical Wonders routinely labels using only the Genus. Unless you are already familiar with the plant, this is nearly useless information given that many Genus are comprised of literally hundreds of Species, may of which have widely varied care requirements. Also missing from their label is any address information or other contact information for the company. The big box stores can't tell me anything about them either. This makes me suspicious. Are they irresponsible or they are doing something less than legitimate??? If anyone has information about a way to contact this company I would appreciate an e-mail to elkima@mindspring.com. Please HELP !!!

  • razorback33
    16 years ago

    The label name "Botanical Wonders" probably has no nursery affiliation. It could be someone working from their garage or backyard toolshed.
    I would not be too concerned about VFT's, Pitcher Plants or other Carnivorous Plants, since there is a TC lab in FL that turns them out by the millions.
    The one's from the box stores very likely originated at a TC lab, has been packaged and is being sold individually.
    Most are cheap in wholesale quanities: VFT, Drosera, Pinguicula-53¢-75¢ea., Sarracenia-95¢-$1.05, Nepenthes-$1.25-$1.50.
    Trilliums & Orchids, especially Lady-slipper's are a different concern. There are TC labs that propagate both, but to grow them into flowering size requires time and in some cases, tedious care. Therefore, the prices aren't going to be cheap.
    The term; "from cultivated stock". could mean almost anything, since it does not identify the source of the plants. Since most sources of wild collected plants do not identify the various species contained in their bulk shipments, the nursery may "cultivate" them until they bloom, so that some sort of identification can be determined.
    IMHO, if they are cheap, they are very likely to be from wild collections. I know one chap from an European country that came to TN-NC each year to purchase 1000's of Trillium and LS's. He only stopped when his home country began confiscating the shipments for alleged CITES violations.
    As much as we may abhor the practice, it is perfectly legal for anyone to "harvest" and sell any plant that grows on their private property, or with permission, any other private property. It is a cottage industry in many parts of Southern Appalachia and often the only source of one's household income.
    Endangered and other Protected Species require only shipping permits, either Federal, State or both, depending upon the listing.(For Domestic shipments)
    Rb

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