(no subject)

Robert Allen (Robert.Allen@Eng.Sun.COM)
Thu, 19 May 1994 10:21:17 -0700

>>It can get as cold as 30 below in Ottawa over the winter. I am
>>thinking of wintering them in my cold room (closet) using a small
>>portable fluorescent lamp. Would a small fridge with a small lamp or
>>low wattage incandescent lamp be feasible?

If you keep them indoors, keep them down in the 30's F. Let them dry out
a LOT. Light is not super important. If you have a cold room w/ a window,
put them by the window and keep them just barely damp. I've never kept these
plants dormant indoors, so I can only guess based on they way mine to outdoors.
One winter I had them all in a fishtank outside on my deck, where they got
only indirect light, and I watered them at most once a month. I still lost
a number of drosera to fungus. The larger plants can fight off fungus better,
particularly if they are cooler & drier.
>>
>>Could you explain a bit about Darlingtonia's dormancy requirements?

Duuuuhhh. Again, I can only comment on what mine do. They are winter
dormant, then activate in spring, but seem to slow down again in the
heat of summer. Most dealers won't ship them past May or June, so
I suspect that the official word is that they have a short growing
season in cultivation. Recently people have been constructing Darlingtonia
setups that have recirculating water via an aquarium pump. Reportedly
the plants do MUCH better in this setup, and they may have a longer
growing season.

R.