Sorry I don't shop online, however, I can offer a couple of ideas. I've only gotten my less common Sans. from sharing & swapping w/ friends, but pls. try Laurays (I think they're in Connecticut).

I think you'll find pricey is inevitable, less common is going to cost more money. I'm guessing EBay would be among the more expensive options & also they're known to 'overuse' the term 'rare'.

I'd try some kind of search like "Nurseries selling Sansevierias" (unless of course, you already have tried this)& then look thru for selection & price. HTH

Hi Pirate Girl. Thanks so much for your response.

I was afraid you were going to say just that. :-) I think I may just have to bite the bullet and absorb the cost of adding to my sans collection. Maybe if I just treat myself once a month - during the months warm enough for shipping - it won't seem so bad.

I agree with you about Ebay. It's ridiculous. However, as long as people are willing to buy plants at ridiculous prices, there will always be someone willing to sell them.

Thanks again.

Back about '72 I found a commercial grower down south of Homestead Florida who had a dozen mutations in pots. He gave them away if they were too slow growing to be potentially profitable. My employment took me to remote Alaska in '94 and I had to dispose of the few remaining (Most did not grow new roots or shoots as they were, after all, mutations.) in a yard sale.

The other thing is, do you have any plant societies in your area you could join?

I might suggest the Exchange Page here, but this is a very slow Forum. Maybe given that, perhaps if you have anything to swap (not necessarily other Sans), you might state so here at the Discussion side of Sans, asking folks to join you at the Exchange Page.

Now that you mention it Pirate Girl, I vaguely remember coming across one online years ago. It might have been a local Yahoo group. I'll try that.

Bob Smoley's in Florida has decent prices and good selection....although your order can sometimes take a long time (or not, it varies). Trading is certainly a good bet, as Pirate Girl mentions, on this or other forums. A list of "Have's" and "Wants" posted may bring results. Your "Have's" may even be other, non-Sans, or even not even plants!! Note that those of use in colder areas may be hesitant to ship or receive Sans for another couple months!

I just remembered there was once a nursery in San Diego that occasionally sold uncommon Sanseveria. They would offer about one per quarter. The offer was mailed to arrive on Monday but the nursery was closed on Monday, an interesting minor annoyance that stuck in the dusty corners of my mind.

I should have mentioned one caution abt swapping Sans. They're very hard to ID, even by people who are knowledgeable. Part of it is that Sans. can look very different in juvenile form than when mature; it can be quite deceptive.

Most of mine in the last 2-3 yrs. are noID, so I really can't offer swaps anymore. I had been gifted w/ Ided ones or swapped them so I did have a few. But that CAN be a crapshoot. I had a bad swap a number of yrs. ago that was to be a green & white striped varieg. What came to me looked like ordinary no ID, yellow striped Sans (which I happen to hate); the person & I had words abt it, it did not end well.

So if I were swapping w/ strangers, I'm not sure how I'd feel about that or handle it. Just pls. be forewarned.

I have never been satisfied with a swap. Smoley has the best selection at fair prices. What is rare to you may be common to me. Be leary of the word
'Rare', to me it is a variegated S. rorida, which will mean nothing to you. It also sold for $3,000.00 on eBay. Mine took 15 yrs to grow, and I wouldn't sell it any
way. San. are hot at this time, so there are less of the so called
'Rare' ones, available. I have a rare one sitting on my desk right now, I'm trying to give it away. It came from the banks of
Victoria Falls in Africa, grown from seed ex: J. Gamesby ex Phillip of England via Len Newton from Portugal. Found in
Africa it looks like thick grass, nothing to look at, but I bet very few people have this one with this documentation. I am trying to give you an example. Put out a wish list and see what turns up for you. I paid for all of my plants. Don't be surprised at the prices, they are for the most part slow growing plants. Some come variegated and are sought out, and cost more, some revert to green, it's a crap shoot. The mutants don't grow slower than the others. Some species are slow however and not available. My green S. masoniana turned variegated because it came from variegated stock, then back to green again, now it is variegating again. I had it since 1996. I started growing Sansevieria in 1978. Norma

Norma- I would love to see your Sans collection someday. It sounds awesome!
Regarding trades.....I have had good, some exceptional, and some bad trades!! I never send something that I wouldn't be happy to receive. However, the biggest key in a trade is to spell out ahead of time exactly what you are trading....how big, how many leaves, rooted, etc. Even better, a digital photo with something for scale, showing the exact plant(s) that will be sent. Most plant enthusiasts are honest and generous, but there are a few bad eggs out there. My worst, surprisingly, was from a woman who runs a major Sans forum....I have been "waiting" for my half of the trade for 1.5 years. However, I have also gotten overly generous plants from others, so I guess it balances. However, I always spell out what I will be sending, and send it well packaged and promptly.

Grigsby, cactus garden or some such, was the name of the place in San Diego that had the rare one's years ago. It was out in the county somewhere, the address was not San Diego.

Thanks so much everyone.

Norma you're right about "rare" and "uncommon". I have been lucky enough to get some here and there are not rare, but uncommon for my neck of the woods. Like suspicata, dooneri (maybe parva), malawi and suffricata (sp?). Forgive my poor spellings. I once bought a golden hahnii at Home Depot or Lowes for $2. I had no idea at the time that they were so hard to come by.

It's not so much that I'm becoming a "specialized collector". I'm just really appreciating how different all the sans can look. I've never met one (in person or online) that I didn't like. :-)

I've never heard of Smoley. I'll be sure to take a gander. Thanks again!