Anyone know what type a certain Californian online nursery sells? Mine is doing fine outside in the sun I have for it, but the temperatures' still ramping up...
Now I'm confused. Which one is the one that dies if you sneeze too loudly around it?
(Costal's the easier one to raise, right? The one that's not expecting 50 degree roots all the time?)
Nope, you have it backwards. Mountain is the easier one.
That's somewhat of a bold statement to make. From what gets passed around on the boards it appears the mountain populations are more tolerant of temperature extremes and are more vigorous growers. It is altogether possible that the mountain populations have a colder dormancy requirement and in the long run (4-5 years+) may be more difficult to grow if you cannot provide them with cold enough winters. Barry Rice acknowledges this even though there are no known studies in this reqards.
If you aree unable to provide root cooling or a significant nightly temperature drop and a cold dormancy you are probably going to find it difficult to grow any Darlingtonia.
My worry is over the next 3 months, as daytime temperatures hit 95-105, coming home to see a rapidly declining Darlingtonia on my porch...
I keep them in deep saucers topped off (although I do try to let them dry out between waterings to avoid root rot) and have the Darlingtonia in pure LFS, so... we'll see.
I keep my Darlingtonia in unglazed terracotta pots and in constantly-flooded trays -- and never allow them to dry out between watering. I would suggest the same watering method, considering the high Summer Tbs . . .