Post by coldcoffee on Feb 9, 2012 5:23:51 GMT
Hey everyone,
I have decided to try growing Darlingtonia again. Last time I tried growing a mature Darlingtonia I was about 8 years old (I have done some seedlings since then but this is a full sized plant)! I think I made just about every mistake in the book then- used regular potting soil, regular water, etc... I lived in CO at the time where it tends to stay nice and cold which I think is why it lasted as long as it did (about a month or two unless I an remembering totally wrong.... which is possible). Its actually kind of funny, I got the plant at a K-Mart. It was being sold bare-root in a bag. I am not kidding! I got it here in California when I was visiting my grandmother and accidently left it behind. She had to ship it to me. I suppose you could say I received my first bare-root carnivorous plant in the mail when I was about 8.
Anyway, the set up is pictured below. I got one of those huge plastic pots from Lowes and drilled holed about 1/2" to 3/4" from the bottom (So most water drains out but a little tiny bit stays down in the bottom as a "reserves" sort of deal). I used a mix of equal parts peat, perlite, pumice and fine orchid bark (more or less following Jeff Dallas's suggestions on Jeff and Jaccob's carnivorous plant growing DVD vol1). I was going to use a cat box instead of the pot I used but thought this would be more fun.
I also have a couple of smaller pots for the campus conservatory, those I am going to hook up to the drip line.
Any suggestions?
The 1 gallon milk jug is there for size comparison (I apologize to my international friends on this forum for whom a gallon sized jug of milk may not be an intuitive volume comparison- I tried to find a ruler but was unable)
I have decided to try growing Darlingtonia again. Last time I tried growing a mature Darlingtonia I was about 8 years old (I have done some seedlings since then but this is a full sized plant)! I think I made just about every mistake in the book then- used regular potting soil, regular water, etc... I lived in CO at the time where it tends to stay nice and cold which I think is why it lasted as long as it did (about a month or two unless I an remembering totally wrong.... which is possible). Its actually kind of funny, I got the plant at a K-Mart. It was being sold bare-root in a bag. I am not kidding! I got it here in California when I was visiting my grandmother and accidently left it behind. She had to ship it to me. I suppose you could say I received my first bare-root carnivorous plant in the mail when I was about 8.
Anyway, the set up is pictured below. I got one of those huge plastic pots from Lowes and drilled holed about 1/2" to 3/4" from the bottom (So most water drains out but a little tiny bit stays down in the bottom as a "reserves" sort of deal). I used a mix of equal parts peat, perlite, pumice and fine orchid bark (more or less following Jeff Dallas's suggestions on Jeff and Jaccob's carnivorous plant growing DVD vol1). I was going to use a cat box instead of the pot I used but thought this would be more fun.
I also have a couple of smaller pots for the campus conservatory, those I am going to hook up to the drip line.
Any suggestions?
The 1 gallon milk jug is there for size comparison (I apologize to my international friends on this forum for whom a gallon sized jug of milk may not be an intuitive volume comparison- I tried to find a ruler but was unable)
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