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How do you grow darlingtonia?

I have heard much controvercy about growing darlingtonia about large pots, small pots, aluminum pots,and so on. I want to know if it is possible to grow darlingtonia in Stockton, California outside
please answer quickly. Also some baasic guidelines will be treasured. Any advice would be much appreciated. Come on there are many skilled growers out there. Please help!!
 
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I grow them in an ordinary planter, on my porch - sand/peat/LFS.
 
I grow mine in large terracotta pots in a compost of live sphagnum moss and pumice, placed in trays of water. The clay is insulating and can prevent overheating -- even in Stockton. Friends in Austin, Texas grow them very successfully in direct sun -- even in August, when not even the dogs venture outside . . .
 
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Nice, Jimscott! Looks like it produced a healthy stolon too! :)
 
Yeah.... and that was part of the disastrous winter dormancy. Everything in that planter died... and most have been replaced.
 
Same as David (BigBella) except with perlite (to be replaced with pumice) and top watered at least once daily. They do not stand in trays of water except on very hot days and only the amount of water that will last a day.
 
Awesome plants!!!! More advice please!!!!
 
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  • #10
Please don't smiley spam.........

Adnedarn (admin) already edited your first post on this thread for having an unnecessary amount of smileys.... So why put more in this post?
 
  • #11
I grow my darlingtonia in a bog in straight peat moss. Before i had the bog, i would use plastic rectangular containers without holes in the bottom and fill them with water each morning in the summer. That worked well too. Darlingtonia dont seem to be so picky about soil, just make sure the roots never dry out or over heat.
 
  • #12
They sound quite complicated. Also they are quite expensive.
 
  • #13
sam you should not have any problems what so ever growing Darlingtonia, given your location...
i live up in WA, and in the same climate as Darlingtonia grow in the wild....i do nothing special for them...
i dont advise using peat/perlite for these plants, as cold water, draining past the roots when i water them seems to mimic the natural conditions they grow in...if you use peat. it just gets all waterlogged and compacted....
i grow mine in lfs/perlite...the LFS is living LFS, the stuff works wonders for darlingtonia, i swear. lol.
i have a plant from the mountain locations, and not the coastal...it is a bit of a slow grower compared to the coastal location plants i had...but is still a favorite...and like my sarras, is considerably smaller this year compared to last...its rather depressing.

im a firm believer than Darlingtonia require more oxygen to the roots as opposed to the other North American pitchers....its definitely no beginner plant, but it is also not the most difficult thing to grow either...i have more problems with an N. xMiranda than i do with darlingtonia...and i am more of a nep person than anything...
 
  • #14
There's a good chance mine are indeed the coastal variety so I'm a little more careful with them.

Mine grow in one of those clay african violet pots with a single large hole drilled on the bottom of the inside pot. They're in dead LFS and perlite, and they are always sitting in a small amount of water. We're having an extremely warm summer this year so this summer mine are growing in the basement in a west window 24/7. Once the temps start dropping for the fall they will go outside until they go dormant, and then to the heated garage (40F) with the rest of the temperate plants for the winter.

Last summer was a cool summer for us so they were primarily outside. If the temps got over 80F I would put a few ice cubes on top of the soil, and check to make sure the inside pot wasn't getting warm to the touch. If it was the plants came inside until the temp dropped for the day. They did over heat once on a hot day when I wasn't paying them much attention, and the water level dropped below the pot. I noticed them extremely wilty and immediately watered them with cold water and brought them in the house and put them in front of the AC vent. They perked back up and were fine within an hour or so.

I believe in a very airy mix, clay pots, and cool temps. Other than that, just like a Sarracenia.
 
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