I had an amazing time at the Mid Atlantic Carnivorous Plant Society’s inaugural 2025 carnivorous plant show at Haverford College in Lancaster, PA!
This was the first time I tabled as a vendor, and the first time I went to a carnivorous plant show. I had a wonderful experience and I am extremely grateful to MACPS for coordinating and hosting this event. There were about 300 people attending, enough for consistent engagement at my table but not overwhelming.
I was one of about a dozen vendors there. Most had some kind of carnivorous plant, but a few had orchids and one even had bonsai trees. Sarracenia, or American pitcher plants, were very popular, as were Nepenthes, or tropical pitcher plants. Pinguicula were a small but distinct presence at many booths, and the star of the show at a few, counting myself.
About a month and a half before the show, a household cat got into my inventory and destroyed the majority of it. This sent me scrambling to put together arrangements to sell with extras from my surviving collection. I decided to sell ping soil and small, non-draining containers I thrifted, since pings can grow in those. I also had three Echinopsis cactus cuttings for sale, two of which were a complex hybrid from Prickocereus with monstrose growth forms.
In addition to items for sale, I presented several display items. The one I am most proud of is a small bonbon dish with three seed grown in-house hybrids (bottom image of next gallery). The plants in the dish are: P. moranensis ‘Kewensis’ x P. ‘Seductora,’ P. laueana x P. ibarre, and P. laueana “Red” x P. ehlersiae “Mighty Mouse.”
The following gallery is of my table, my items for sale, and my items on display.
To my surprise, my best selling item was my ping soil. It is just turface, perlite, and some vermiculite. Most carnivorous plants prefer peat perlite mix, but tropical pings are lithophytes, or plants that grow on rocks. They much prefer sandy, rocky soil.
I also sold a few containers, one small ping arrangement, and one cactus cutting. Overall, I think I did well. I will definitely come back!
The next gallery is of plants at the carnivorous plant show display tables.
