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Post by unstuckintime on Mar 16, 2009 16:46:41 GMT
Howdie,
So, I saved a Darlingtonia from a Lowes a few weeks back (I know, a bad idea if there ever was one) and so far it is just fine. The newest pitcher is developing just fine, growing at a desent clip for a CP. I was wondering if anyone has experience growing this plant in New England type weather, with emphasis on the whole "Keeping the roots cool," business. I was just thinking about how, since I am further north up here in Mass than the hotter weather of the South, the "keeping the roots cool" business will be less of a problem for me. Its growing in the medium I bought it in, (which appears to be pure long-fiber sphagnum) and I plan to grow it in the same spot where I have grown my happy Sarracenia. Any thoughts will be appreciated.
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Post by chloroplast on Mar 31, 2009 15:22:53 GMT
I kept mine alive for 1 year but it died in the middle of the 2nd summer.
Getting them through July and August is the tricky part, at least for me. I now have a house with a cool basement and may again try my luck with this species, this time placing it in the basement under very good lighting during the hottest weeks of the summer.
I kept mine in a cold-frame greenhouse between 30-50 during its winter dormancy.
Good luck.
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fredg
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Post by fredg on Mar 31, 2009 18:19:10 GMT
Ken Now you have me intrigued. I checked the average high temps for Mass. and it seems they are no higher than I get here in the UK. I grow most of my Darlingtonia in the sunniest parts of my greenhouses, planted directly in shallow trays of live sphagnum. They grow rather rapidly. The image is 2008, there are far more flowers to come on this colony this year. Others I have outside in the same type shallow trays open to the elements in winter. These too seem to do well.
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Post by meadowview on Mar 31, 2009 18:37:13 GMT
Fred:
I absolutely envy you! Those are beautiful Darlingtonia!!! I am equally intrigued, why with similar average high temps, you can grow Darlingtonia while NE U.S. growers can't.
We've tried to grow Darlingtonia here in Virginia and for obvious reasons it is too hot. However, one thing I would add is that when I visited Darlingtonia sites in the wild the relative humidity was clearly much lower than Virginia. I've always thought that the evaporative cooling of Darlingtonia leaf surface provided by lower relative humidity may be a significant factor in their successful propagation.
Any comments?
Sincerely,
Phil Sheridan Meadowview
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Post by chloroplast on Mar 31, 2009 20:45:54 GMT
Fred,
I have no explanation for this save, perhaps, for a difference in our experience in cultivating Darlingtonia! :-)
Admittedly, it was my first (and last) attempt with this plant. I did everything "by the book," giving it full sun, rooting it in live LFS, keeping it constantly moist with cool rainwater. During our 2-week heatwave it lost its vigor and died later in the season.
I have been growing CPs for ~10 years but there are far more experienced members of the NECPS. To my knowledge, nobody in my society has been able to keep this plant alive for more than a few years and they certainly don't look as magnificent as your plants!
I'd say you have the Luck-of-the-Irish on your side, but you're on the wrong island. :-)
Regardless, those are spectacular plants! It makes me want to try again.
Best,
Ken
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fredg
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Post by fredg on Mar 31, 2009 21:03:13 GMT
Ken You say you kept the plant moist.. I keep mine standing in water. The trays are undrained.. I fill to the top. I will top up every couple of days in summer..... daily if the water evaporates quickly. Temperatues in the greenhouses top 100F on sunny days. Another teaser to get you growing them. A different colony... their first year in a large tray. NB. note the opposite spirality on pitchers ;D The same colony one year before the tray is half the size
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Post by chloroplast on Mar 31, 2009 21:48:20 GMT
I did not have them sitting in water. I will certainly do that the next time around.
Very nice colonies. My understanding is that the 180 degree twisting can be either clockwise or counterclockwise, with each direction being equally prevalent in the species.
I'm also fascinated by the fact that the first two pitchers almost invariably point north-south, then the next two east-west, etc. I wanted to reproduce Schnell's experiment in which he determined the direction of the first two leaves in year 1, then rotated his pot 90 degrees in year 2 (plants stuck to their old orientation) but in year 3 they adapted to the new orientation.
Alas, my plants never made it to year 3! Perhaps this time around, with the plants sitting in water, I'll be able to finish the fun experiment....
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Post by jdallas on Mar 31, 2009 23:21:16 GMT
I thought I would chime in on this one, especially since we live relatively close to Darlingtonia habitat, and have had our share of successes and failures with this plant.
Fred's plants are magnificent. He is doing most of the things that we have found make them successful. Those include:
1. Either a loose media or live sphagnum moss. Live sphagnum has a beautiful wicking action and helps aerate the media. We use an old mix Adrian Slack recommended which was equal parts orchid bark, peat moss, perlite or pumice and small lava rock. Some folks have good luck with dead long fiber sphagnum, but we've found it to be our least desirable media. We've also had good luck with vermiculite and pumice in equal parts.
2. Low, wide containers. A variety of factors could be involved in why this works, but I've seen it over and over. Fred has his in some kind of pan or tray. We keep some of ours in cat litter pans with holes in the bottom, or large horticultural trays with drainage. We also have our mother plants in kiddie wading pools with the peat/bark media.
One key difference for us is that we never let them sit in water. We either have them on a dripper or top-water daily in hot weather. We found that plants died consistently if the water began to puddle in the pools or trays. I suspect that reason that Fred's plants do so well is that he has live sphagnum on them which has that wonderful wicking action creating evaporative cooling. We also grow our plants outdoors, in full sun, in Western Oregon.
I've long suspected that the whole "cool root run" is a bit of a red herring since the plants are not always that cool in nature. In the Siskiyou National forest in Southern Oregon, Darlingtonia are found in spring seeps on rocky hillsides where the bedrock is predominately serpentine. They are usually in full sun, and even where they are in boggier conditions the water is always moving. Root aeration seems just as, if not more important than being cool. We put temperature probes in soil around plants and found soil temperatures around 80 degrees F. on hot July days. (Air temperatures in the 90's - 100 are frequent in that part of the state during the summer.) Darlingtonia roots don't go very deep into the soil.
The habitat of the clone you are growing may make a difference also. Quite a few Darlingtonia in cultivation are from the Oregon coast which stays cool year-round. Even those, however, are always found in or near moving water.
I would love to post some photos, but I can't for the life of me figure out how to insert photos on the post. Others that know how to do this on a Mac Firefox brower, feel free to share!
Jeff Dallas Sarracenia Northwest Eagle Creek, OR
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fredg
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Post by fredg on Apr 1, 2009 0:01:50 GMT
Jeff
Yes the wicking action on live sphagnum is one of the reasons I think my plants grow so well. The sphagnum on the edges has to be kept within the tray otherwise the water will be syphoned out in no time.
The trays are double sized standard seed trays with standard depth so they are probably a little shallower than a cat litter tray.
Last week I replanted a colony I was growing in a very loose peat/perlite compost with a live sphagnum dressing. The live sphagnum had grown to about a 2" (5cm) thickness. The roots of all the new plants were entirely in the sphagnum. The only roots in the peat/perlite were the ones I'd put in it with the original planting. I'd say that given the choice the plants know best ;D
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Post by chloroplast on Apr 1, 2009 0:10:05 GMT
Fred & Jeff,
I may have not started the post, but thank you both for sharing such detailed information. I will be referring to this thread when I acquire my second Darlingtonia.
To sit in water or to not sit in water....that is the question.
I'll buy two and see which works best for me.
Ken
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fredg
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Post by fredg on Apr 1, 2009 10:38:04 GMT
Ken For reference I measured the internal depth of my trays, it is 3" (75mm). This is the same on both standard and double sized trays. This year I have added several thermometers to my various trays and hope to collect data in the summer months. It may prove interesting. In any case the plants are happy and that is the most important thing. ;D
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Post by chloroplast on Apr 1, 2009 14:48:29 GMT
Fred,
Once again, thank you. I'm curious to know what the results of your soil temperature data will be.
You're right that the best metric for successful cultivation of a plant is the plant's happiness!
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Post by Not a Number on Apr 1, 2009 15:45:38 GMT
This year I have added several thermometers to my various trays and hope to collect data in the summer months. It may prove interesting. In any case the plants are happy and that is the most important thing. ;D Yes, this will be useful data, particularly the day vs night temperatures.
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Post by unstuckintime on Apr 2, 2009 17:10:41 GMT
Wow! I didn't mean to spark this whole discussion, but I'm glad I did! All the information presented here has been information I haven't been able to find else where, and so I am excited that it was presented. Thank you all for your input, not just for me, but anyone else who's looking how to grow Darlingtonias, or figure out what they did wrong.
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fredg
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Post by fredg on Apr 2, 2009 17:48:52 GMT
A word of caution. I have presented how I grow Darlingtonia and I have 25 years experience of doing so in my conditions. However, as can be seen from Jeff's experience, he does not grow them standing in water as they will rot in his conditions.
The best way to proceed would I suggest be a middle way initially and if possible not "putting all your Darlingtonia in one pot". Do as I do ..... for the best advice..... 'ask the plants'..... be observant
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