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Cobra lily - my nemesis

  • #21
[b said:
Quote[/b] (goldtrap2690 @ July 30 2005,1:05)]I don't know how they are able to survive but my setup is one darlingtonia in partial shade in a 5 inch plastic container that's always waterlogged and filled to the brim . It's potted in lfs , perlite and pumice , and some orchid bark . I have an aquarium air pump pumping air in it's root 24/7 in it's water lgoged conditions .
I think you figured out the trick right there. People say it's keeping the roots cool that keeps them alive, but from what I've been reading I think keeping them oxygenated is at least that important. In the wild when the roots are practically in a stream, yes the water is keeping them cool, but it's also bringing them oxygen constantly, which isn't happening in a pot.

I've been thinking of trying the aquarium pump thing too.
 
  • #22
[b said:
Quote[/b] (goldtrap2690 @ July 30 2005,1:05)]Uhm , I use to have a bunch of problems growing darlingtonia and i tried everything that seemed to help but was'nt . I live in the San fernando valley in southern california and it's pretty much hot dry desert conditions here , especially now during the summer but i have 2 darlingtonia's outside and there doing just fine . they weather even get's up to more then 106 and they do fine sitting outside in the dry ehat . I don't know how they are able to survive but my setup is one darlingtonia in partial shade in a 5 inch plastic container that's always waterlogged and filled to the brim . It's potted in lfs , perlite and pumice , and some orchid bark . I have an aquarium air pump pumping air in it's root 24/7 in it's water lgoged conditions . But i don' think that it's the waterlogged aerated conditions that keep it alive because like i said , i broguth 2 darlingtonia and i wanted to experimen with them . The other darlingtonia was in it's original 3 inch pot with lfs and it's grow on a water tray in partial shade as well . the only physical difference between the plants is that the waterlogged aerated plant grew taller then the one grown like in normal conditions , the water logged plant also flowered twice , actually three times . So i don't know what it is that keeps them alive but maybe trying to ahrd to keep them alive is why darlingtonia is so hard to achieve satisfaction from
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I remember your topic from way back when and I was doing a search for it. But I couldn't find it. All I could find was Darcie's reptile ornament set up. Could you bring it to the surface again?
 
  • #23
Sorry Jim , I don't know what topic your talking about but i do remmeber talking about the way i grow my darlingtonia in other post though .
 
  • #24
Travis, I have a mental image of a fish tank, with an airstone or being pumped underneath the plant. I remembering right?
 
  • #25
I just grow mine with the other Nepenthes (intermediate/highland).  Potted in all LFS.  No saucer no nothing.  It gets watered every morning like everything else.

I think you guys are really making things way more difficult than it needs to be.  Starting with a plant from one of them cubes from the hardware store is probably half the problem.  Most of the time they are on their way out already, even if they don't necessarily look all that bad in the store.

I would plant them in a large clay (unglazed) pot (8" or so) with nothing but New Zealand/Chilean LFS.  Then stick that on a saucer capable of holding a couple inches of water.  Keep some water in the saucer at all times and water LIBERALLY daily from overhead allowing the water to overflow the saucer.  The rest of the day the unglazed clay pot will wick water and evaporate off the surface of the clay, helping to keep the sphagnum cooler.  

Tony
 
  • #26
I can do that! Thanks. I'll buy another and try it that way. I will leave the other right where it is. I know what you mean by being on the way out, even though they appear to be okay.
 
  • #27
Sorry to bust in but I've been interested in purchasing one of these plants to feed my CP addiction. Tony - you had mentioned using an unglazed pot. Won't the clay contain minerals and other substances that will kill CPs? Other than that I like that approach. Would the AM hours be the best time to water and would it do better indoors or out? Thanks.  
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  • #28
A regular clay pot should pose no problem for cps. Not with the amount of water that will be needed on a daily basis! Much more important will be high quality water very low in dissolved minerals. The evaporation off the outside of the pot will very quickly build up minerals if it is not flushed heavily from above every day.

Tony
 
  • #29
aslong as you buy a brand new unglazed pot you will never have a problem with mineral build up even in a normal tray situation as long as you use RO water. ive been growing U. sandersonii in and on an unglazed pot sitting in a tray of water. i get some algae build up but never mineral build up. using one s Tony suggests will never cause a problem
 
  • #30
[b said:
Quote[/b] (elgecko @ July 24 2005,2:59)]Oh Scott, just grow your Cobra Lily indoors. Away from the raging stream and blazing summertime heat. Mine enjoys the safe windowsill location in the airconditioned house.

133cobra-med.jpg
Here's a recently updated pic of the infamous stream.

s_Wed_106.thumb.jpg


In the meantime, I just bought another cobra lily and have it re-potted and residing at the front desk at the lab. So far so good. The one in the stream is still in shock.
 
  • #31
Scott,
Where's the 50 lbs pot of rocks?
Such a quite little stream.
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  • #32
That picture was taken in April, by a co-worker, along with others. The disk just came back last week. It pre-dates my latest experiment. That pic would make a good avatar, I think.
 
  • #33
Okay, I just tossed the cobra lily from the 50 lbs of rocks set up. We never did a significant rain this summer, so the set up never got tested.

However, the cobra lily I bought from Lowes and placed, like a hanging basket set up at the lab's front desk - is doing wonderfully well. Combining the best of Elgecko & Tony Paroubek's advice, the plant has thrived.
 
  • #34
I have a small cobra from seed growing well and I am in sunny Miami Florida... about 100 germinated only one survived the 90F heat! But it is and has been doing VERY well! possibly a strain more resistant to heat?? ;)

In any case it is indoors in the garage with some other CP's under compat flouros and looking nice
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-Jc
 
  • #35
Was yours from a collector? I'm confident that mine are typical tissue culture, and not as hardy. But a lot of the problem with these Lowes cubes is that by the time one gets a plant, it has long since been neglected, making acclimation a challenge.

The one in the lab is doing well, happily producing new pitchers. It seems to like being treated as if it were a Nep in a hanging basket.

No more experiments... for now. *and the entire Darlingtonia community breathes a collective sigh of relief*
 
  • #36
Yes, we do! LOL Just kidding. Honestly I am amazed at how different experiences with a single species can be. The Darlintonia I bought from Lowes this spring was one of my first CPs, and it is doing fine. Artifical lights, 50/50 LFS and peat, and RO water kept in the fridge just for it. Watering top down. It's growing amazingly well. It may get repotted into a larger pot next spring (it's in a 7" pot now).

On the other hand, I've killed the 'weed' capensis I tried to grow that others swear is impossible to get rid of. *shrug*
 
  • #37
Update, I just noticed this morning that my Darlingtonia is sending up a little baby runner at the edge of the pot... This late in the year? Oh well...
 
  • #38
i'm happy to report my stream setup is doing great! only one out of three survived, but the one that's left has a strong root system and grew about 5-7 new traps. smaller than the original ones but it's alive! the water stays about 3 inches from the rim of the pot.
 
  • #39
Clint, I'm sure it's written down somewhere, but could you provide us with more detail or a picture? Not that I am planing to re-visit this approach...

Anoxos: Congratulations on the new growth! So now you have a new plant for next year.
 
  • #40
We just had 9" of rain on Saturday, remnants of T.S. Tammy, and there was a lot of flooding - but we weren't affected. Today, I noticed that the former cobra lily set up, for the one that ultimately died, was still in its place, unaffected by the infamous stream. There was no plant in the pot, so I'll never know if the torrents would have been uprooted. In the meantime, the back up cobra lily is doing just fine, sending up new leaves. I will bringing that one home to ease it into dormancy - away from that steam!
 
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