Re: Darlingtonia
Michael Zenner (mzenner@agora.rdrop.com)
Mon, 22 May 95 16:45 PDT
>Greetings All!
>
>Has anyone come across a good cultivation method for growing Darlingtonia
>AND keeping the roots cool while doing so? I'm trying to come up with a
>way to do this WITHOUT resorting to freon coils or constant ice packing,
>etc., etc. There must be a way to utilize evaporation to keep the root
>cool enough during a hot summer.
>
>I am currently growing Sarracenia under a grape arbor with great success
>as it is a fairly humid environment. I'm think of trying some
>Darlingtonia here as well.
>
>How about growing them in a clay pot in water with something wrapped
>around the pot to increase evaporation?
>
>Any ideas?
>
Steve,
Lemme tell you what I've been doing, to great success, with
Darlingtonia: I went out and purchased a plastic window tray, about 2 feet
long, 10 inches wide, and 8 inches deep. I then filled it to within two
inches of the lip with baypor rock, a hydroponic medium made of expanded
clay. It looks like smooth gravel, but is much lighter and still not
bouyant. I then filled the tray to the lip with dried long-fiber sphagnum.
I filled the tray up with water to about a half-inch below the top of the
baypor. Then I went out and got the cheapest aquarium pump I could find,
complete with charcoal filter, and hooked it over the side of the tray.
This way I've got constant circulation, which seems to be keeping the roots
happily cool. The only maintenence I've had to do is make sure the water
level stays constant. The spagnum layer stays saturated, which provides a
nice big surface area for evaporation, keeping things cool underneath and
humid above. I've got two plants growing in this arrangment at the moment.
One of which started producing new growth almost immediately. It's also
quite a nice display!
Good luck...
>BTW I live in So. Calif about 3 miles form the ocean.
>
>-- Steve
>
>
>Steve Clancy
-Michael Zenner
mzenner@agora.rdrop.com
Portland, OR
Flyspecks! I've been spending my life living among flyspecks, when there
are miracles leaning on lampposts on eighteenth and Fairfax!