A few months ago I placed an order with Barampung for the above neos. If you are living in the US and interested in placing an order with any plant vendor outside the US, you must read the various warnings included in the posts entitled “A few neos freshly repotted” and “English Translation of Site”.
There are many regulations involved in importing plants to prevent introduction of invasive insect pests into the country and prevention of the removal of endangered species from their native environment. If you violate these laws when importing, serious consequences can result including fines, imprisonment, and irreversible damage to our environment.
In general, when placing an order for plants from a foreign vendor, it is your responsibility to assure that all legal requirements are met for your location (whether it be the US or elsewhere) as any violations would subject you to severe penalties.
There was shipment damage to the Ryouga, but the Daisonishikis were unscathed. It is unclear whether the damage was from heat (on the tarmac or in the mail truck delivering my package) or freezing (in an improperly temperature regulated airline storage compartment since at high altitudes it is freezing outside the aircraft).
Above are pictures of the Ryouga from the website, once received showing damage to the leaf tips on one side of the plant, after surgery to prevent spread, and current status showing new leaf emerging indicating to me that the plant will survive, and then a picture focusing on a single leaf to highlight its variegation. The final picture is of the 2 Daisonishikis purchased and potted up approximately 1/2” to 5/8” in leaf spread.
Concerning the Ryouga or Ryoga:
I have wanted this variety ever since I saw it pictured about 5 years ago on SE's 40 page pamphlet and referred to as a “New Star of Fukiran”. One aspect of the variety (and I could be wrong due to highly limited access to pictures of it) is that its leaves tend to cripple. Fortunately the leaves on my plant that were damaged were on the crippled side. Perhaps in its wisdom, the plant realized to sacrifice those to save the plant, or perhaps the crippled leaves were just more vulnerable do to their condition. A few years ago, Satomi peddled a Ryouga basket case where all the leaves were crippled and as the consummate marketer said that if brought back to health, the purchaser would have something valuable. I have seen another picture from SE's auction of a Ryouga with Shima variegation which differed markedly from the pamphlet's enhanced mimizuri variegation. I prefer the variegation on mine to the others but that’s of course just personal.
Concerning the Daisonishiki or Daiso Nishiki:
I probably would have been better off selecting ones with more green to assist the plant in its growth. The selection was limited and some had so much green that it would have resulted in too little variegation. The plant on the bottom of the picture lost one leaf as pictured but six months later, two more leaves have grown on the plant.