FlytrapCare Carnivorous Plant Forums

Just thought you guys would like to see a darlingtonia's natural habitat! . It was so beautiful! Enjoy, folks! Absorb the natural habitats beauty!!!

Thanks so much for sharing!! I would LOVE to see the Darlingtonia Wayside (as I think it used to be called) sometime. Have been enchanted by this plant since I was a young boy of about 10 or so... (I'm 52 now). I am currently trying to grow a few plants, but its tough in the south where I live (Louisiana). Will be a challenge. I have failed many times in the past, but, like they say, try try again. Here's a photo of my current attempts. Thanks again for your nice photos!

Sent from my XT1650 using Tapatalk

This was field research for me too! My cobra lilies always grow new pitchers but haven't gotten any taller in the months I've had them... it was very interesting to see them so tall when the weather was only 58° F. Perhaps mine have been too warm!
Here is my tiny pot I don't know why mine are so short!

Yours look very good. Great job! They're so healthy! !

somerandomband wrote:This was field research for me too! My cobra lilies always grow new pitchers but haven't gotten any taller in the months I've had them... it was very interesting to see them so tall when the weather was only 58° F. Perhaps mine have been too warm!
Here is my tiny pot

20180207_102129.jpg

20180207_102120.jpg

20180207_102110.jpg

I don't know why mine are so short!

Yours look very good. Great job! They're so healthy! !

Thanks for the post. That's a really awesome place. I just started some darlingtonia Californicas from seeds. Boarderlib grows them outside and what'sgrowingon grows them inside. I don't know about others. I was told they like a temperature drop at night if the daytime temp is above 75F and I am going to attempt that with refrigerated water. I also read that you can place ice cubes on the soil and let the cold water drip down their roots.

Sent from my KYOCERA-C6742A using Tapatalk

They look very healthy and happy to me! Very nice colors! As far as the size, they appear to be very young to me, as I still see the juvenile (non-hooded) leaves. They were probably propagated from stolon root would be my guess. I have a plant that is about a year old that I started that way, and this year's pitchers are like 3 times the size of last years! Take hood care of them and they will grow big and strong!

Sent from my XT1650 using Tapatalk

There is actually a stolon emerging from my tiny pot of cobras! I've been taking very good care of them and there are so many pitchers! They hangout in the room with my veiled chameleons since it's so warm and humid! I have a cooled water pitcher for its roots at night. They have a lovely spot by the open window ♡ they are very young babies. I am just always worried they won't get taller! I've read that if they see my warm of humid enough, they will stay small...

The other pictures were older. Here's what they look like now: perhaps im not cooling them enough at night @flytraphunter ! I never thought they'd be so hard to grow an hour and 45 minutes away from their natural habitat! Perhaps I should just put mine outside!

Such beautiful plants I hope to have one, one day.

somerandomband wrote:

20180418_135343.jpg

Just thought you guys would like to see a darlingtonia's natural habitat!

20180418_134927.jpg

20180418_135044.jpg

20180418_135049.jpg

20180418_135126.jpg

20180418_135133.jpg

20180418_135235.jpg

20180418_135239.jpg

.

20180418_135242.jpg

20180418_135436.jpg

It was so beautiful! Enjoy, folks! Absorb the natural habitats beauty!!!

Did you happen to get a look at the soil to see what it looks like? It looks grassy. The CPs in NC grow in live moss, grassy beat up peat-sand soil and just mostly sand with very little mucky green peat( probably from pine tree debris. The US Geo service calls our soil along Eastern NC as muck and mire. Whatever that means. LoL

Sent from my KYOCERA-C6742A using Tapatalk

From the area and what I could see, the soil was mostly sand mixed with some mud. The mud didn't look like peat or anything, but very grassy. The town of Florence is a coastal town, so there's sand everywhere! There's a tiny stream of water running underneath the cobras. No cobras were growing in the shade at all, but there was just a big enough opening in the trees that they got plenty of sunlight. I was surprised though cause the weather in Florence is commonly 40-50° F. With lots of rain and wind. I didn't think it would be warm enough.

somerandomband wrote:From the area and what I could see, the soil was mostly sand mixed with some mud. The mud didn't look like peat or anything, but very grassy. The town of Florence is a coastal town, so there's sand everywhere! There's a tiny stream of water running underneath the cobras. No cobras were growing in the shade at all, but there was just a big enough opening in the trees that they got plenty of sunlight. I was surprised though cause the weather in Florence is commonly 40-50° F. With lots of rain and wind. I didn't think it would be warm enough.

Cool. Thanks. You can get on US geological survey and look at the maps and determine what the soil is. We have predominantly muck and mire, go figure. But it's basically sandy peat pine debris or sand peat clay. Where the swamps are the water pushes up out of the ground and onto the surface. It's like a spring. And yes there is a lot of grass and other short plants growing as well.
It makes sense that there is water flowing underneath them and that they like it cold. I don't think DCs do very well above 75F. Thanks for the in field report.

Sent from my KYOCERA-C6742A using Tapatalk

somerandomband wrote:

20180418_135343.jpg

Just thought you guys would like to see a darlingtonia's natural habitat!

20180418_134927.jpg

20180418_135044.jpg

20180418_135049.jpg

20180418_135126.jpg

20180418_135133.jpg

20180418_135235.jpg

20180418_135239.jpg

.

20180418_135242.jpg

20180418_135436.jpg

It was so beautiful! Enjoy, folks! Absorb the natural habitats beauty!!!

That is so beautiful! Thank you so much for sharing. I unfortunately have had very bad luck with keeping my Darlingtonia alive. I have a little tiny seedling still holding on. I lost two small clumps of seedlings and a larger-medium-sized clump of seedlings. I had the larger one for about a 9 months before I lost everything. Just one little seedling left with 5 little pitchers on it. Lol. I'm very good with sarracenia....but not Darlingtonia! I'm trying mine in the house under lights. Any suggestions?

Sent from my SM-S727VL using Tapatalk

That is so beautiful! Thank you so much for sharing. I unfortunately have had very bad luck with keeping my Darlingtonia alive. I have a little tiny seedling still holding on. I lost two small clumps of seedlings and a larger-medium-sized clump of seedlings. I had the larger one for about a 9 months before I lost everything. Just one little seedling left with 5 little pitchers on it. Lol. I'm very good with sarracenia....but not Darlingtonia! I'm trying mine in the house under lights. Any suggestions?

Here's my two cents worth.
I'm a Drosera guy but I've had Darlingtonia for a couple years now from seedlings and they get bigger every year.

I think the most important factor (other than the big 3) is to keep the roots cool.

I keep a container of distilled water in the refrigerator and top water with that when the days get warm.

(siphon the water back out from your tray, check it for TDS, and put it back in the fridge for tomorrow.)

I have also filled a 2l soda bottle with distilled water.
I froze it solid.
On very warm days, I'd suspend it like an IV bottle in the hospital and let it drip down onto the cobra lily as it melts.
But that's a lot of messing around so I usually just keep them in a nice cool basement where the roots never get hot.

Good growing,
Mike