I managed to get a last minute booking for a two-bedroom suite at the Strawberry Park Resort, Cameron Highland for last Monday (29 Dec).
Now RULE #1 is NEVER NEVER go up Cameron Highlands during the weekends and public holidays and especially a long weekend. With the opening of the Simpang Pulai road, there are alot of day trippers. Travellers don't get car-sickness using this straighter road, as opposed to the old Tapah road.
And 29 Dec happened to be Awal Muharram, which is a public holiday. Like, when I was up here with David on the Hari Raya Haji weekend, there was traffic jam inching from Tanah Rata going to Trinkap. It is alright if you go the other way. When I was having lunch, the staff told me that the jam was so bad on Sunday that it lasted until 10pm! So much for relaxation in Cameron Highlands.
Okay so much for the small talk. The highlight of this trip was the visit of YG Park and in particular its CP nursery. I had to thanked my wife and children for being sooo patience during the hours we were at the nursery.
YG Park is a well known supplier of flowering and ornamental plants to the nurseries in Peninsular Malaysia and Singapore. In any nursery you visit, you are liable to find potted plants with their pots marked "YG PARK". And in the last 5 years, this establishment have brought in numerous CP plants to satisfy our hunger. Sarracenias, vfts, nepenthes, cephalotus and heliamphora. And their plants are affordable. Just a year ago, the only affordable source of cephalotus is from Cindy. The plants cost between S$40 to $70. YES in Singapore dollars. At YG retail outlet, Cactus Valley, you can get a 3-inch pot for only RM35 (USD10).
YG Park is big. I estimate the cp nursery to be the size of a football field.
Almost all the nepenthes species and hybrids are sourced from Malesiana Tropicals. Many are current MT offerrings. But many clones MT no longer produce (or offer). These plantlets are about 2-4 inch diameter. The sort of "S" size plants MT/BE would sell you. They are NOT FOR SALE. It would be another 2 years before these babies are for sale.
You will see this beautiful and exotic hybrid in the market. Some of these N. burbidegae x edwardsiana hybrid have 2 inch long pitchers.
In the short term, you will find alot of medium to large and some extra large veitchii (Bareo and Hose Mountain), x Cemerland, x Lebih, x Konak in the market. There are no more stock of sibuyanensis and chaniana (ex pilosa). Grab them if you can find them. They are big plants and you have to pay BIG US DOLLARS for them from MT/BE. In the pipeline are albomarginata from Kuching (adult plants) and Cameron Highlands (plantlets). Maybe in 2 years will will get spectablis clones, madagasriensis, diatas and some exotic species which MT no longer offers.
These are the last remaining pots of heliamphoras. They are reserved and not for sale. Next to the sun pitchers are cephalotus. Well folks, better grab them as there are not many pots left.
All the sarracenia clones come from Holland. And they don't have names.
And I had to buy this big baby. A leucophylla hybrid. Average pitcher height about 13 inch, mouth diameter 2 inch.
These plants: veitchii, x Cemerland, x Lebih, and truncata are ready for the market. These are large plants - between 20cm and 30 cm diameter.
How about this XXL bicalcarata. Didn't ask for the price.
Hope you will save up some money and go shopping in Cameron Highlands.
Choong