Warsaw man turns plant passion into business

WARSAW — You never know when a small gesture can spark big inspiration. That’s what happened to Lyndon McCall of Warsaw.

When McCall was eight years old, growing up in the mountain town of Brevard, N.C., an 80-year-old lady named Galloway gave him a small cactus. That gift created a life-long passion for plants.

Moving to southeastern North Carolina to attend the University of North Carolina at Wilmington, McCall began growing orchids. He went on to earn a Bachelor of Science degree in biology. Most of his studies naturally centered on plants.

After graduating from UNC-W, McCall returned to Brevard and took a job with an orchid grower for a couple of years. He met his now wife, Sarah.

“I got married and began a family,” McCall said. “I had to get a real job.”

He took a job in contract sales. Eventually, his work landed him and his family in Oak Island, near Southport. He began to notice what scientists call Dionaea muscipula, commonly known as Venus flytrap, growing in the wild. His lifelong interest in plants kicked in, and he started researching what is involved in growing carnivorous plants. McCall admits his interest in plants is not for what most people plant in their gardens.

“I guess you can say I grow ‘weird’ plants,” he said. “I don’t try to grow the common stuff too much.”

After retiring, McCall and his wife decided they wanted to move to the area where Sarah had grown up — Warsaw. That’s where Nahunga Creek Tropicals, an exotic plant farm, was born.

Southeastern North Carolina and a small area of northern South Carolina are the only places on the planet where the Venus flytrap grows in the wild. As a result, it is considered a protected species. Therefore, it is illegal to dig them up from their natural habitat. However, independent growers can produce the plants with restrictions.

The North Carolina Department of Agriculture requires a certificate of origin for anyone selling Venus flytraps.

“The Department of Agriculture keeps track of how many plants you have,” McCall said. “As you replicate the vines, they come at least once a year to look at the inventory so they can calibrate your certificate of origin to match the volume of plants.”

Venus flytraps fall into the category of temper carnivorous plants, meaning they have adapted well to the change of seasons in the area. They go dormant in the winter and that’s when McCall can take baby plants from existing flytraps that have been through a season of growing. They can be grown in unheated areas because of their adaptation to the area’s environment.

“In my operation, I provide some cover just for the rain, but it’s not a heated section of the greenhouse,” McCall explained. “If it gets super cold, I do drop the curtains. I usually don’t have to do that but once or twice a year. They do go dormant in the winter months, but in the spring, they’re like a daffodil and all comeback.”

McCall also grows another type of carnivorous plant known as the pitcher plant. These plants thrive in tropical climates and naturally grow in countries like Brazil. As a result, they are housed in a section of the greenhouse that is heated during the winter months.

To heat the greenhouse, McCall uses used motor oil that he collects from local auto service stations, which set the oil aside for him to pick up. His greenhouse furnace is designed specifically to burn this used oil. His system is a win-win for his operation and the area service stations. Since McCall picks up the oil, the stations do not have to pay the fees required for disposing of used motor oil.

McCall’s interest in carnivorous plants did not end his interest in orchids. His Nahunga Creek Tropicals greenhouse contains impressive orchids he has grown.

The way McCall sells his plant products depends on the plant. They each have unique fans. Because of the Venus flytrap’s popularity in the Wilmington area, he makes a weekly trip to regular customers, stores and shops to deliver his flytraps wholesale. The plants are very popular with tourists.

Since orchids have different fans, he sells them wholesale to various retailers and also sells them on Wednesdays at the Poplar Grove Farmers Market in Wilmington. McCall usually has plenty of inventory of Venus flytraps because they thrive so well in his greenhouse. Orchids are a different matter.

“I don’t have enough orchids to supply the demand by any means,” McCall said.

Nahunga Creek Tropicals welcomes visitors to the greenhouses by appointment. He has had orchid society groups and school field trips tour his operation.

McCall and his wife run the operation as a business, but it’s one he enjoys because of his lifetime love of plants.

“This is retirement fun, not retirement work,” McCall said.