Cobra lily

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In Britan and in the west coast cobra lilies are east to care for but in hotter climates cobras can easily die such as east coast USA

Tips iI have fund for keeping cobra lillyies in such a climate

At night put them in a basement

Put ice cubes on the soils surface

wrap pot in aluminum foil

I might get one if they ever apper at Lowes

 
Have you kept them before? Oh, Lowes sucks for good carnivorous plants. I worked for that company for five years. :)

 
While it's true that darlingtonia prefer cooler climates and water, the most important thing is to keep that water moving. They are usually found near shallow, cool flowing streams and bogs so I think cool wwater combined with circulation would make a very healthy darlingtonia.

 
While it's true that darlingtonia prefer cooler climates and water, the most important thing is to keep that water moving. They are usually found near shallow, cool flowing streams and bogs so I think cool water combined with circulation would make a very healthy darlingtonia.
Hi,

Very well put being a native of Cal and Or thus the name ( Darlingtonia Californica ) Most people go wrong thinking it is a warm bog plant, but mainly a mountain, cool water, bright light type of plant. does not like heat. thats why it is found where it is cool.

When Carolina west was in milwaukie they used a unique way to water there plants, they set up a ladder and placed a plant at each step then with a Chinese drip waterer. When the bamboo teder toder was full it would tip and water the first plant, the water would flow thru to the next plant and so on. double pot it using a flat white pot for the outside, water twice a day and keep it outside if possible. It should be fine. Or check with my Friend Jeff at Sarracenia Northwest.

Regards

 
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I have 1 and it's really cool. I got it from UC botanical garden. They have the best CPs.

 
Do keep in mind that there are populations of Darlingtonia that grow in less chilly areas. So while they are not heat lovers, not all require ice cold water. Nor is even moving water an absolute requirement though it is beneficial if you can swing it. Water quality will be an important consideration. As with most cps, typical tap water is not usually desirable to use. It generally contains additives such as fluorine and chlorine that are detrimental to cps.

My own experiences with Darlingtonia are as follows. Years ago, I kept one in an unglazed terra cotta pot and another in a 10 gal "sealed" terrarium with the following results:

The potted one

The one in an unglazed pot did better than the one in the terrarium -- not terribly surprising there. The pot was an 6 or 8" terra cotta. I believe the pot provided several benefits the one in the terr did not receive.

1) The medium was far deeper (only had about 1" of depth in the tank) which allowed more root room.

2) The breathability of the terra cotta -- because it was unglazed -- allowed evaporative cooling to help keep the rootzone from overheating. The pot always sat in at least a 1/2" of water. Typically I would add enough so the water level would be 2-3" high and would not add more water until it was at about a 1/2". The plant was placed in in full sun after being appropriately hardened off. On very hot summer days I would try to remember to dump out the water in which the plant sat and refill with chilled water from the fridge.

3) Having it in a pot allowed me to put the plant out to receive much stronger lighting than the one in the tank. (Putting the tank in full sun, undoubtably would have resulted in a cooked plant.)

For the winter the plant was brought inside. It did well for me for a number of years until one summer when a #$%#$#$% tree rat (aka squirrel) ripped the plant out of its pot to fry on the hot cement. I did not ever get the plant to bloom. I suspect this may have been due to not providing a chilly enough dormancy.

The terrarium

I made no attempt to chill the terraruim, ever. The tank was 'sealed' with plastic wrap so as to minimize watering needs. (Turned out I only needed to add a small amount of water about once a year to maintain very humid bog conditions.) Much to my surprise, the plant survived for about 4 or 5 yrs if memory serves. However, I could not say it thrived. While I did get 2 or 3 new pitchers every year and occasionally an old one would die off, the plant remained very short (under 6 inches) and never bloomed. Also, I would think that under better conditions I would have seen far more in the way of pitchering. This plant finally expired when I tried dividing it in half so as to try and pot up the division. Neither half survived.

So here you have two nonstandard methods of growing Darlingtonia. Now this is not to say that doing this the recommended way would not yield better results -- I'm sure it would. Rather, I wished to make the point that I suspect these plants are actually more durable than many suspect.

 
I thought of using a aquarium pump and a bucket of chilled water to keep the water moving over the plant. Has anyone tried this?

 
When I lived in WA I grew them in stagnant bog planters identical to my Sarracenias for many years with zero issues. Even though I now live in so cal by the beach I wouldnt try here. Too much sun. Not enough cool resting months

 
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