Darlingtonia "Mountain Form"

[RyanG]

First off, excellent plants!

I know the mountain form is exposed to and quite tolerant of high heat, however they still experience a quite a night time drop in temps. On an average day in July, they can experience heat in the upper 70s and then watch it drop to the mid 50's at night! (https://weatherspark.com/averages/31713/Grants-Pass-Oregon-United-States) I know most growers say that a night time drop is essential, but through searching this and other forums I've found that a decent number say it doesn't matter so much. Any thoughts ? I'm considering buying this form of Darlintonia, but I'm not sure if it will succeed outside even with frequent watering with cold water since my area stays in the 80's and 70's with high humidity during the summer.

 

[hcarlton]

Temperature drops are not necessary, nor are particularly cool temperatures. Darlingtonia rely on soil aeration more than anything else, which is why they grow in seeps and exposed places, both in the hot mountain regions and the cool coastal regions. This said, any of the actual coastal forms are far more picky, and do require overall cool temperatures as well as aeration.

 

[fredg]

Sorry hc but I have to ask about this aeration. Where is it coming from if the plants are sitting in waterlogged soil? ( Look at Barry Rice's videos to see that plants on meadow terraces are in soil with surface water.) Do you actually mean well oxygenated water? My own plants, as you are well aware, sit in flooded trays and they do quite well.

 

[hcarlton]

Aerobic refers to the presence of oxygen, be it in water or air, so aeration can technically be seen as the presence of high oxygen levels in either situation, despite how it's often used....

 

[fredg]

aer·ate (âr′āt)
tr.v. aer·at·ed, aer·at·ing, aer·ates
1. To supply with air or expose to the circulation of air: aerate soil.

aeration
Mechanical loosening of the soil surface to allow air to penetrate deeply. Spiking of lawns to achieve the same result.

Noun - aeration - the process of exposing to air (so as to purify)
aeration - the process of exposing to air (so as to purify); "the aeration of the soil"

Perhaps this shows why I find your usage of the term misleading?