Re: Darlingtonia has germinated!

Barry Meyers-Rice (barry@as.arizona.edu)
Fri, 15 Oct 93 08:55:41 MST

Clarke:

Congratulations on the _Darlingtonia_ germinations. This plant is
rather tricky for me to grow since high temperatures are always
a problem for desert growers, even in greenhouses. That I can grow it
at all is a testament to something (I'm tempted to say my skill, but if
I did then Nemesis would punish me by killing my plants instantly!).
The only way I can grow this species is amusing. I got seedlings a few
years ago from Rob Maharajh and in this impressionable state I forced
them six months out of synch. Now I grow them in the winter, and during
the summer they sit in my refrigerator! (Last night, in fact, I took
them out of the cooler and put them in the greenhouse.) I tried the same
trick on some semi-mature plants from Bruce Bednar, but they died during
the process of switching their seasons. I grow _D.linearis_ and a
Yukon variety of _D.anglica_ this way too.

I'm sure our Australian and other negative-latitude comrades will
be bemused to hear my tuberous _Drosera_ are coming out of dormancy.
It always entertains me to hear of Australia-grown _Sarracenia_ flowering
in November!

B