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Post by petmantis on Jul 5, 2009 14:58:30 GMT -5
In the spring, when the temperatures were moderate with lots of nighttime drops, (about 20 C in the daytime, dropping to 12 in the night) my darlingtonia was doing very very well. Now that summer has come, and the nighttime drops haven't went much under 19 C, with daytime highs of sometimes close to 30 C, my Darlingtonia seems to be doing poorly, possibly even dying. I am keeping it in 100% live sphagnum moss, watering with refrigerated water 3 times daily, during the hottest parts of the day, so the soil stays at a relatively 10-15 C. However, it seems to be in a state of shock: the pitchers it was inflating suddenly feel like mush, even though they are upright and colorful, they don't seem to be growing. Also, the pitchers that are just emerging from the rhizome look droopy....sort of like a piece of cabbage thawing. What should i do? Should i bring in the plant during the hot days, and maybe put distilled ice cubes on the soil to ensure the temperatures don't increase? How do i get the plant to start growing again? Please help.  |
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Post by lloyd on Jul 5, 2009 18:24:35 GMT -5
It may be in root shock, possibly too late. I don't think it's worth the mighty effort it would take in our hot summers. Sarr's are so great anyway.
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Post by petmantis on Jul 5, 2009 19:23:34 GMT -5
Aww, that really does suck Lloyd...do you think i may be able to save the stolons it made though?
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Post by petmantis on Jul 5, 2009 19:50:16 GMT -5
Also, i only see 2 pitchers that have totally wilted, the other completely-inflated ones are perfectly fine, and one that's inflating (this one is shaded from the sunlight by other pitchers is doing great too! I just don't understand why only 2 would die....also to pitchers that the stolons are inflating are in the shade of the mature inflated pitchers, and these have no problem either.
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Post by dvg on Jul 5, 2009 20:16:07 GMT -5
Some other options:
1) Grow it against an east facing wall, so that it only gets morning sun and not the very hot sun from noon on.
2) Grow it indoors under a bright light. I grow mine in the basement and it is doing well.
3) Get an aquarium air pump and fit the end of the output hose with an airstone. Place the airstone under your Darlington pot and into the water dish.. Make sure there is always a couple inches of water in the dish. People have used this technique in hot greenhouses, and grown their darlings right next to their low land Neps, with great success.
4) Grow your Darling in a white pot, so that the pot doesn't absorb as much heat as a black one will.
5) Some growers have grown theirs in clay pots, with the clay staying cooler as the moisture within it evaporate. Having a fan blowing on the clay pot will keep it even cooler. And building a chamber, white in color, that your clay pot can sit in and also housing a fan to blow air onto the clay pot, can really help. The chamber also can keep the sun from hitting the pot directly and heating it up.
6) Have a small chiller, keeping a water reservoir tank cool, and using a small circulation pump to circulate cool water through the pot. Gravity can then be used to drain the used water back into the reservoir.
As you can see these options can range from fairly simple to complex. You have to decide how much cooling you actually need.
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Post by lloyd on Jul 5, 2009 21:15:32 GMT -5
Undoubtedly you CAN grow Darlingtonia in a hot summer but I don't think it's worth it. The effort isn't worth it to me. But if you must have one, keep the roots cool with moving water and lots of aeration. I had a really nice one once that got big and then just died and I never bought one again. Good luck with your plant.
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Post by dvg on Jul 5, 2009 21:27:57 GMT -5
Hmmm, i have an air pump and air stone, i'm currently growing it in a white pot, but what do you mean by a small chiller? is that sort of like one of those blue ice things you use to keep drinks cool or something? I was talking about an electric chiller. I saw one at a hydroponics store last year, and was thinking of buying it for my Darlingtonia. But it turns out I don't need it. It only drew 50 watts and had a probe that sat in the water and cooled the water in a reservoir. They had it set up in the store on the counter and it had a quarter inch of ice around it, from freezing the humidity in the air. Pretty cool, but it cost $250.00 if I recall correctly. Pricey, but one never knows to what extremes others will go....  |
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Post by mabudon on Jul 6, 2009 15:09:26 GMT -5
A friend of mine locally grows his under one of his benches and it does real well, they tend to appreciate shade in the heat from all I've seen (which is NOT much thus the brevity of this post ) |
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Post by petmantis on Jul 6, 2009 18:17:15 GMT -5
Ok, need an update here, The darlingtonia has magically revived during the night, and has resumed growth. The mushy pitchers have become alive again, and are inflating! I now keep it in a much deeper tray of water, in around maybe 2-3 inches, with an ice pack on the bottom to keep the water constantly just above freezing.
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Post by lloyd on Jul 6, 2009 19:36:52 GMT -5
When a plant needs more care than a significant other..........
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Post by dvg on Jul 6, 2009 23:52:06 GMT -5
Ain't that the truth. I try to treat my wife just as special as the plants...just can't coax her to eat any bugs. Lord knows I've tried. Maybe if I dipped them in chocolate first...
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Post by Flytrap on Jul 7, 2009 10:42:30 GMT -5
Petmantis,
Grow your darlingtonia in as large a container you can put it in. I think that darlingtonias hate media temperature fluctuations, but loves good access to aeration once in awhile.
I grow all my darlingtonias in large plastic rubbermaid tubs. As for media, i've used everything from orchid bark and perlite, sphagnum and peat, peat and sand.... and the plants have always thrived in whatever stuff I throw at it.
The tubs measure 3'x3'x2' and 3'x2'x2' ... and the plants love it... as by the many floral scapes I get every year.
good luck!
D
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Post by lloyd on Jul 7, 2009 12:46:41 GMT -5
BC is much more moderate than here. Our summers can be oppressively hot. I think it would take some sort of pump/aeration/cooling system to keep the roots cool in our"temperate" climate.
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