FlytrapCare Carnivorous Plant Forums

As hard as I may try, I can't seem to stop buying carnivorous plants even though space is running low. The most recent order has been a cobra lily! I have no experience with them and know they're supposed to be tricky, but the challenge should be fun.

Plan so far is to plant it in LFS with a handful of perlite, likely with a top dressing of live sphagnum. I'm leaning towards growing it outside as I'm in norcal and get a decent temperature drop at night. The caveat is that my outdoor growing space only gets 3 or 4 hours of direct sun (the rest of the day is bright indirect light). Is that sufficient? The alternative is to place it indoors with the rest of my plants (temperatures are from 70 to 80 F during the day and 65-70 at night) under a growlight with a 12+ hour photoperiod (which can't be adjusted because of the other plants).

I ordered a small plant so I expect the pitchers to be a few inches tall. Any recommendation on what container size to use?

Last question: I think I can build a set up in which a solar powered pump recirculates water stored in a small box to the cobra lily's container (based on some youtube guides I recently stumbled upon). Is it worth the extra effort?

mcgrumpers wrote:The caveat is that my outdoor growing space only gets 3 or 4 hours of direct sun (the rest of the day is bright indirect light). Is that sufficient?

Probably, depending on if it's closer to 4 hrs or 3 hrs and how "bright" the shade is.

mcgrumpers wrote:Any recommendation on what container size to use?

I think 4 to 6 inch pot is good. Upgrade as necessary. I like smallish pots for smaller cobras but I'm sure lots of people will disagree.

mcgrumpers wrote:Last question: I think I can build a set up in which a solar powered pump recirculates water stored in a small box to the cobra lily's container (based on some youtube guides I recently stumbled upon). Is it worth the extra effort?

If it doesn't get much above 80 - 85 Fahrenheit in the daytime. and you get a nice 20 to 25+ degree temp drop at night, then don't waste your time on the pump. Otherwise go ahead and give it a try, it couldn't hurt.

Thanks!

What do cobras that aren't getting enough light look like?

Green, long, stringy and they don't seem to grow as fast.