# Darlingtonia californica



## Sirius (Apr 26, 2011)

My most current project has been "repotting" my Darlingtonia californica. This is a carnivorous plant, and it grows wild in California and Oregon. Here is a pic of the plant in-situ near Gasquet, CA...







The plant grows near cold water seeps and streams, and is often seen growing with two other carnivorous plants (Pinguicula macroceras subsp. nortensis & Drosera rotundifolia) and an orchid (Epipactis gigantea).  I purchased my Darlingtonia two years ago at Lowe's Home Improvement store. It was a small seedling inside a plastic bubble mixed in with the venus flytraps. They are not rare in cultivation, but they are hard to find for sale, so how Lowe's got their hands on them is anybody's guess.

This is the jar I planted the Darlingtonia in shortly after I got it. As you can see in the photos, the plant added several pitchers and the roots took off.











I felt the old jar was getting too small for the plant, so I bought a larger jar and tried to replicate the rocky terrain that the Darlingtonia grows in. I also added several small Pinguicula macroceras subsp. nortensis and a Drosera rotundifolia. The new jar is 18 inches tall and 10 inches wide, so there is plenty of room for everything to stretch out. 
















I will post some better photos once the new plants wake up from dormancy and the moss gets settled in and starts to spread. I like the new jars so much, I planted my other carnivorous plants in them as well. They were too tall for my plant shelf so I had to invert the lids.





From left to right: Darlingtonia californica and friends, Cephalotus follicularis, Sarracenia purpurea.

More pictures in the coming months as the summer growing season kicks into full swing.


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## JeanLux (Apr 26, 2011)

Wow, that's a great environment for pitchers :drool: !!!! Do you open the cover from time to time? Jean


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## SlipperFan (Apr 26, 2011)

Cool plants. What do you feed them?


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## Heather (Apr 26, 2011)

Cool! That looks wonderful. Great use of my favorite biscotti jars! They are also excellent for making homemade flavored vodka too.


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## Sirius (Apr 27, 2011)

JeanLux said:


> Wow, that's a great environment for pitchers :drool: !!!! Do you open the cover from time to time? Jean



When I had them in the jars with the metal lids, I opened them once every three months or so to add some fresh water. I just left them alone to do their thing.

I have been trying to decide if I am going to vent the new jars more frequently. The moss turned brown in my old jars because I wasn't misting it. It looked unsightly, but it was still growing as you can see in my photos.

Actually, everything I have read about Darlingtonia and Cephalotus suggests that they hate stagnant air. Just don't tell my plants that, they might believe you.


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## Sirius (Apr 27, 2011)

SlipperFan said:


> Cool plants. What do you feed them?



Very diluted, urea free orchid fertilizer. I swear, I am probably doing everything wrong with them, but they seem to be alright with it. I have often wondered if I should start feeding them mealworms. I think I read that most carnivorous plants still get some of their nutrition from photosynthesis.


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## Sirius (Apr 27, 2011)

Heather said:


> Cool! That looks wonderful. Great use of my favorite biscotti jars! They are also excellent for making homemade flavored vodka too.



I knew you would approve.


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## Yoyo_Jo (Apr 27, 2011)

Isn't that cool!


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## Kevin (Apr 27, 2011)

Very cool!

From my own personal experience, the main thing you need to do, is to keep the roots cool!!! How long have you had them? They should do okay in those containers, but they need lots of light and cool temperatures, especially on the roots. It looks like you have a closed system there in those jars, and I think they might do better with more air flow, but most importantly, keep them cool! Second, or maybe even more important, is don't ferilize them! Mealworms would be a good idea, but it might be tricky to get them down the curved pitcher. If you are able to put the jar outside for the summer, they will catch their own food, but again, they need to be cool. Do a search on Darlingtonia, and you will find they are not the easiest species to keep. 

Where are you?


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## Sirius (Apr 27, 2011)

Kevin said:


> Very cool!
> 
> From my own personal experience, the main thing you need to do, is to keep the roots cool!!! How long have you had them? They should do okay in those containers, but they need lots of light and cool temperatures, especially on the roots. It looks like you have a closed system there in those jars, and I think they might do better with more air flow, but most importantly, keep them cool! Second, or maybe even more important, is don't ferilize them! Mealworms would be a good idea, but it might be tricky to get them down the curved pitcher. If you are able to put the jar outside for the summer, they will catch their own food, but again, they need to be cool. Do a search on Darlingtonia, and you will find they are not the easiest species to keep.
> 
> Where are you?



In Missouri. Yeah, everything you have said is exactly what the culture experts say. Airflow. Cool temps. No fertilizer.

Well, actually people are starting to have good results with very low power fertilizer on some carnivorous plants. Apparently, Cephalotus responds well to some light fertilizing at the roots. All of this is according to internet sources, for what it's worth.

I have had Darlingtonia for two years, in the jar. It is putting on new pitchers now after a winter dormancy. Next fall will be my three year anniversary with the plant, so something is going right. I think the roots stay cool, because the glass jar stays cool, and helps maintain a proper balance between the sometimes warm, humid top of the jar and cool, moist bottom of the jar. They get about four to five hours of direct sun a day from the east/southeast. The rest of the day is bright indirect light and spillover from a compact fluorescent fixture from the shelf above.

I have had the Sarracenia Purpurea for about as long as the Darlingtonia. I have only had the Cephalotus for six months, but it is putting on new juvenile pitchers too.

Hey Kevin, want me to really blow your mind? The Darlingtonia is growing in Miracle Grow potting soil. Has been for two years now. Everyone says that is instant death for carnivorous plants. I thought instant death would be a lot faster. 

Really, I am doing most everything wrong. Wrong soil. No airflow. Intermittent watering. Fertilizing at the roots. It's a wonder the plants are alive at all, much less growing happily.


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## Wendelin (Apr 27, 2011)

The jars look very nice! Good job!


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## Shiva (Apr 27, 2011)

Interesting thread.


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## etex (Apr 27, 2011)

The plants look real healthy and happy. Not what I'd expect with Miracle Grow in a closed jar!!


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## Ernie (Apr 27, 2011)

John,

Love that you're breaking all the rules. Something I try to get across in my lectures is that all growing conditions are tightly interconnected and that if you're in tune with that you'll do okay. You either have an understanding of how your system is working or you accidentally stumbled on it. I wouldn't make any major changes.


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## Sirius (Apr 27, 2011)

Ernie,

One thing I have tried to get away from, is fussing my plants to death.

I think more plants are killed by constantly tweaking everything trying to make them happy. I know I used to be bad about moving my plants around. Now, I just put them in a pot and let them grow. And I haven't had many problems since.

I bought the Darlingtonia cheap, so I was able to not stress too much about buying complicated soil mixes and building a custom case. At the time the only way for me to keep the roots cool and provide good humidity was to put the plant in a terrarium. I think "stumbling" on a culture that they like is a pretty appropriate description. When reading the culture descriptions for these plants from all over the web, I have seen some pretty amazing statements about how the plants should be put in sterile soil, with no fertilizer, in exact temperature and lighting. Then they follow this up with the statement, Darlingtonia is hard to keep alive.

If it's so hard to keep alive, why are you trying the same old thing?

If nothing else, it is making for a great experiment. I am wondering how many years it will take for me to get this to flower. As I said, I bought it as a small seedling. The pitchers coming in this year seem to be coming faster and more vigorous, because I gave colder winter temperatures than last year. I still haven't been brave enough to let them get down into the 40F degree range yet.

Here is a really cool video showing mature pitchers with heads the size of baseballs!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7MLsFoGBX7o


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## etex (Apr 27, 2011)

Very cool video!


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## Sirius (Apr 27, 2011)

The guy in that video, Harry Tryon, is a Darlingtonia growing guru. He lives in the Gasquet CA area, so he has the perfect conditions for growing them outdoors. Here are some amazing photos of his house and collection of CP's from another forum.

http://www.plantascarnivorasbr.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=3219&view=next


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## eOrchids (Apr 27, 2011)

John,
I stand in awe because you are growing one of the hardest carnivorous plants known in a completely different environment and it is thriving!!!

For that, I applaud you for rewriting darlingtonia californica cultivation. :clap:


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## jjkOC (Apr 27, 2011)

Wow, it is super-awesome to see your cobra lily thriving... in a jar! Maybe can you provide me with a step-by-step culture manual?


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## goldenrose (Apr 27, 2011)

:clap::clap::clap::clap:
AMAZING!!! 
:drool::drool::drool::drool:


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## Sirius (Apr 27, 2011)

Better daytime pics. You can see the newly added Pinguicula in the background. I hope they like the jar.


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## jjkOC (Apr 27, 2011)

Seriously... this is really super-awesome!


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## Heather (Apr 27, 2011)

Finally looked up where Gasquet is. Not near me at all. 
Kinda near Humboldt though, which I may be visiting this summer. Would be neat to see them in situ!


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## Sirius (Apr 27, 2011)

Heather said:


> Finally looked up where Gasquet is. Not near me at all.
> Kinda near Humboldt though, which I may be visiting this summer. Would be neat to see them in situ!



If you get to go, you should try to call Harry Tryon. He supposedly likes to take people on guided tours, and he seems like a nice guy. It would be awesome if you got to see them.


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## paphioboy (Apr 28, 2011)

Looks like a very healthy cobra lily for one that's been 'grown all wrong'  Love it..


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## Clark (Apr 28, 2011)

Congrats John!

Got mine from Lowe's also.
Needless to say, mine were suicidal.

Did not see them in situ either last year.


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## Heather (Apr 28, 2011)

John, sorry for the hijack but do you still have you water gardens?


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## KyushuCalanthe (Apr 28, 2011)

Neat idea. They really do want cool roots though. The couple I tried here were literally toast in just one season.


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