What's new
TerraForums Venus Flytrap, Nepenthes, Drosera and more talk

Register a free account today to become a member! Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members through your own private inbox!

Darlingtonia Tips?

ErrorEN

Your Real Mom
Hello TF :),
I'm getting a new Darlingtonia in a few days so I just wanted to prepare for its arrival with a few questions...

1) What soil mix does best for you? I plan on just putting it in 100% live sphagnum moss. But I was told by the seller that I should pot it in the standard peat:perlite mix and use the sphagnum moss as a top dressing.

2) Any clever ideas on how to keep the roots cool?

3) How do you grow your Darlingtonia?

Thanks guys!
~Eric_N
 
Live sphagnum and volcanic pumice is my favorite compost; and a large unglazed terracotta pot will go a long way toward keeping the roots cool. It insulates and the porous nature of the clay allows for a high rate of air exchange . . .
 
Two years ago I purchased a Darlingtonia on e-bay. The plant I received was young but extremely healthy and robust. I overwintered it in the fridge and in the spring I planted it in a large unglazed terracotta pot with a 1/1/1 mix of peat/perlite/fir bark chips. I watered twice a day with cool water and additionally used ice cubes on the hottest days. The plant struggled most of the spring and all summer. In fact, it only put up one pitcher until things cooled off in the fall, and then managed only a couple more pitchers until dormancy later in the year. This previous spring I potted the plant in the same pot, changed the mix by adding some APS and covered the mix entirely with white aquarium gravel. Continued the watering as above. Big improvement in health and growth. The number of traps the plant produced almost tripled and slow growth continued all summer, even during several long hot spells with several weeks in the high 90s. The plant still isn't anywhere near as nice as it was when I first got it, so I think next year I will try live sphagnum and see if I can get further improvement.
 
Perlite, pumice, sand, and peat with live moss surrounding it. They like a more arid soil mixture and I think the standard mixture does not give good enough drainage/aeration unless you go with 2 parts perlite/1 part peat. I top water twice a day, morning and late afternoon, during the hottest time of summer and once a day the rest of the growing season (cool water). The mixture BigBella mentioned above in a terracotta pot I think would be an excellent mix also.

I have been growing one in a bog with the above soil mixture for 2 years and I have a few more in a setup using my pond pump to circulate a constant flow of water through the roots. These are growing in moss with roots on top of pea gravel at water level The ones in the pond setup grow faster than the one in the bog and have better color, but the bog one seems to be happy and healthy. Good luck with your Darlingtonia!
 
I forget exactly what I planted mine in, but I think it was a mixture of sand, peat, perlite, and LFS. I have a rig set up that uses a small solar-powered water pump to flush water over the roots constantly, so I don't have to worry about watering it. It's even less maintenance than my sarrs. The plant has handled daytime temps of 100 degrees just fine, even though the root temperature can get into the 90s. I think the most important things with this species are keeping water moving around the roots (either by watering every day or a small pump like I did) and low nighttime temperatures. Apparently, Darlingtonia really, really, really hates warm nights - in their native habitat in the Sierras, for example, nighttime temperatures will drop into the 40s/50s even in the summer.
 
I forget exactly what I planted mine in, but I think it was a mixture of sand, peat, perlite, and LFS. I have a rig set up that uses a small solar-powered water pump to flush water over the roots constantly, so I don't have to worry about watering it. It's even less maintenance than my sarrs. The plant has handled daytime temps of 100 degrees just fine, even though the root temperature can get into the 90s. I think the most important things with this species are keeping water moving around the roots (either by watering every day or a small pump like I did) and low nighttime temperatures. Apparently, Darlingtonia really, really, really hates warm nights - in their native habitat in the Sierras, for example, nighttime temperatures will drop into the 40s/50s even in the summer.

I would like to see your setup, do you have pictures? Raccoons and opossums really have a taste for my Darlingtonia as well as the fish and I had to set up an electric fence around the pond, which the other night they tore down, so I would like to set something up closer to the house and looking for ideas.
 
Here's what it looks like (no water flowing because the sun had already set):



Originally I had the pot with the plant at floor level, but I raised it up so that the water level in the pot would be a lot lower and the water would have to flow through the entire root system to drain (which is what I think is more natural for the plant) instead of having the roots constantly sit in water. Also, the wood gets to be like 130-140 degrees when the sun is beating down on it, so that was another reason to raise it.

The pot (actually two - a plastic pot inside a ceramic one) under the step holds more water and the solar-powered water pump. The more water in the system the better, since a larger volume of water takes longer to heat up during the day. In hindsight I wish I had gone with an even larger reservoir for the system, since even as I have it set up now the water temperature (and hence the plant's root temperature) would go up to 95 degrees on the hottest days. Seems fine though as long as it cools off at night!

I can't really say if this system makes the plant grow better or worse since it's the first Darlingtonia I've had, but it has been putting pitchers out on a steady basis since I got it, so I assume it's happy. If the raccoons are messing with your plant it might be worth a try, especially if they're now tearing down electric fences to get to your plant! :0o:

Here's two month's growth on my plant, which I think is pretty good considering their reputation as slow growers:



 
Thanx. Looks like a good setup and easy to do. I bet a pot they use for aquatic plants that have holes all the way around would work really well with allowing water to flow freely and with aeration. Your plants look very happy, look like the ones in my pond setup. I think the constant water flow makes a big difference. The one in my bog looks good, but not as robust in growth. I think a deeper reservoir would keep the water cooler, but hey, if it ain't broke, don't fix it. My pond is 250 gallons and 18" deep, so water does not get hot, but not cold either. Looking at your plants they are no different than mine, so maybe it does not matter the water temperature, just the constant flow and cool down at night.

Do you change out the water in the reservoir regularly? If so, how often?
 
I grow my Darlingtonia in a bog garden and in a large 12" x 12" pot. The media is just peat moss, nothing else. They have been growing well for over 5 years now. Of course, I live in Oregon so our climate is more optimal for them.

Not sure if soil matters all that much. Mine grow great in straight peat, other growers have them in sphagnum and i just visited a friend who had them growing in straight serpentine (the heavy metal containing rock that many populations are found growing in).

Experiment and see what works well for you. My number one recommendation is: use a wide pot/container.

Best of luck!

Sam
 
  • #10
Have you got a sarracenia?

Treat the darlingtonia in exactly the same way.

Forget keeping the roots cool. Complete myth IMO.
 
  • #11
Wow Natalie!
 
  • #12
Thanx. Looks like a good setup and easy to do. I bet a pot they use for aquatic plants that have holes all the way around would work really well with allowing water to flow freely and with aeration. Your plants look very happy, look like the ones in my pond setup. I think the constant water flow makes a big difference. The one in my bog looks good, but not as robust in growth. I think a deeper reservoir would keep the water cooler, but hey, if it ain't broke, don't fix it. My pond is 250 gallons and 18" deep, so water does not get hot, but not cold either. Looking at your plants they are no different than mine, so maybe it does not matter the water temperature, just the constant flow and cool down at night.

Do you change out the water in the reservoir regularly? If so, how often?
I just changed the water for the first time yesterday, after a couple months or so of it running. However, the system sort of replenishes itself when the water evaporates and I add more distilled water or it rains. The main reason I changed it yesterday was because there were some dead bugs in it (ew) and algae growing in the tubes, which I tried to clean. The plant seemed to be growing fine in the old water, but I was worried about too many nutrients building up in it from the dead bugs.

Have you got a sarracenia?

Treat the darlingtonia in exactly the same way.

Forget keeping the roots cool. Complete myth IMO.
Yes but keep in mind that since you're growing these plants in a cold climate to begin with, what works for you might not work for others. In fact, I think someone attempting to grow Darlingtonia in the same way as Sarracenia would be a disaster in the subtropical climates that prevail in much of the US. On the west coast we are a bit lucky in the sense that we generally have cool nights even the in the summer, however, in far southern California the heat still might be an issue. In Anaheim for example, where the OP is from, the average nighttime low in summer is almost as warm as your daytime high in the summer - 17°C vs 20°C. That combined with the 30°C daytime temperatures in Anaheim (that's average too, it often gets much hotter) might mean trouble for Darlingtonia if it's sitting in a stagnant pool of warm, hypoxic water.
 
  • #13
In fact, I think someone attempting to grow Darlingtonia in the same way as Sarracenia would be a disaster in the subtropical climates that prevail in much of the US.
I don't think that it's a coincidence that all the respondents so far are from the left coast. I know many on the east coast have attempted to grow cobra's but successes are few .... ???
 
  • #14
I have my Darlingtonia outside on the benches with my Sarracenia. So far growing nicely in a tray. However media very different from that I use with the sarrs. Lava rock/pumice large chunks and live sphagnum. Testing terracotta pot and plastic side by side. not fair comparison in that pots are not the same size...... Need more testing but so far they are doing well. Although I am in the subtropics, conditions where I live are not unlike zone 9-10 ......
 
  • #15
Do you have to do anything special for dormancy, kulamauiman? Looking at the climate for your area, it seems like you get daily highs in the 60s/70s and nightly lows in the 50s year-round - that seems like it would be perfect for Darlingtonia unless they require lower temperatures for dormancy. Although I think you've mentioned your Sarracenia stop putting out pitchers in the winter? I guess even though you're technically in the tropics, the combination of slightly shorter days and your highland climate might be enough to make the plants go dormant.
 
  • #16
actually sub tropics. The sarracenia all have started going dormant already. New pitcher production slowing down and I suspect, in addition to temperature dropping , day length may be a partial trigger. Also, seeing good evidence to suggest that reducing water might help promote dormancy. I see leaf scales forming around the growing points. Will probably need to simulate a frost in the sarracenia by heavy pruning of the pitchers. This will be first winter for the darlingtonia. Need to watch them this year. It looks like they are already slowing down like the sarrs....
 
  • #17
I grow my cobras outside in full sun, in pots of peat/sand/granite chips with a live LFS topdressing...so far I've done this for nearly a year with success.
 
  • #18
Yes but keep in mind that since you're growing these plants in a cold climate to begin with, what works for you might not work for others. In fact, I think someone attempting to grow Darlingtonia in the same way as Sarracenia would be a disaster in the subtropical climates that prevail in much of the US. On the west coast we are a bit lucky in the sense that we generally have cool nights even the in the summer, however, in far southern California the heat still might be an issue. In Anaheim for example, where the OP is from, the average nighttime low in summer is almost as warm as your daytime high in the summer - 17°C vs 20°C. That combined with the 30°C daytime temperatures in Anaheim (that's average too, it often gets much hotter) might mean trouble for Darlingtonia if it's sitting in a stagnant pool of warm, hypoxic water.

Mine grow in a greenhouse in full sun. Temperatures can peak at 36C in the height of summer and the water gets pretty warm too. Lows might be 25C. I've even repotted in late afternoon and the sphagnum media actually steamed when I removed it from the pot.

I'm not saying every situation and plant is the same, but I would say the notion that 'darlingtonia must have cool roots at all times and they will keel over if they get too warm' is a myth - in my experience.

I don't know of any greenhouse growers in the UK that treat them particularly specially; ice cubes etc.
 
Back
Top