So with a slow day at work, I thought I'd do a random bit of research about Cobra Lilies. I wouldn't mind picking one up to grow alongside my Sarracenias, someday, anyway.
While it's not really possible to find one right now for sale (so out of season it's not even funny), I can find plenty of Darlingtonia seed for sale.
While I'm hesitant to try growing a CP from seed (I've never done so intentionally), I did notice a few things when searching the forums:
Is this really a 10 year project I'm getting myself into?
I just sprinkle them on top of the LFS, right? Do I need to put a humidity dome on top, too? It seems pretty self explanatory. For the most part, anyway...
They need stratification, so should I just plop them in my planned growing container (with dead LFS) and put them in the fridge for a month? I imagine putting them outside (40F days, 20F-ish nights) is probably too cold?
After I get them sprouted, I should use normal water and not "baby" them, so they'll grow up used to less than ideal conditions? Because apparently there are 2 forms of Darlingtonia, one of which is the infamously temperamental one, the other grows about as easily as a Sarracenia -- and which one you get depends on how they're treated when seedlings?
Assuming I do get them growing, I should probably expect to keep them outside, as they do require a dormancy... But there's a chance I could just ignore that, if the seedlings are used to it?
So if I was planning on growing them outside year round, should I get seed now and stratify immediately, or should I wait till spring to germinate them?
While it's not really possible to find one right now for sale (so out of season it's not even funny), I can find plenty of Darlingtonia seed for sale.
While I'm hesitant to try growing a CP from seed (I've never done so intentionally), I did notice a few things when searching the forums:
Is this really a 10 year project I'm getting myself into?
I just sprinkle them on top of the LFS, right? Do I need to put a humidity dome on top, too? It seems pretty self explanatory. For the most part, anyway...
They need stratification, so should I just plop them in my planned growing container (with dead LFS) and put them in the fridge for a month? I imagine putting them outside (40F days, 20F-ish nights) is probably too cold?
After I get them sprouted, I should use normal water and not "baby" them, so they'll grow up used to less than ideal conditions? Because apparently there are 2 forms of Darlingtonia, one of which is the infamously temperamental one, the other grows about as easily as a Sarracenia -- and which one you get depends on how they're treated when seedlings?
Assuming I do get them growing, I should probably expect to keep them outside, as they do require a dormancy... But there's a chance I could just ignore that, if the seedlings are used to it?
So if I was planning on growing them outside year round, should I get seed now and stratify immediately, or should I wait till spring to germinate them?