The problem with outdoor cultivation in the Arizona desert is not light but
high heat and low humidity. High temps in the Summer have topped 123F in
the shade. My plants eventally fry no matter what I seem to try. And If I
try to up the humidity with any type of semi-enclosure, I end up with even
higher temps. In this part of the country one or two children die each year
after being left in a car while a parent shops. This was vividly brought to
my attention when Andrew Marshall sent me a couple of Nepenthes this summer.
After several hours in a mail truck the plants arrived at my door in a
blackened state, throughly dead. Andrew very graciously replaced the plants
this Fall. (thanks Andrew!)
Indoors with sun also doesn't work for me in my present house. I have no
East or West windows and the Southern windows are all covered with a patio.
I guess I could try to build some kind of greenhouse but again there is the
matter of keeping it cool. Perhaps I'll get to see Barry's greenhouse setup
down in Tucon one of these days. I'd be curious to see how he deals with the
Summer heat.
In the mean time, I'm going to try to see if D. peltata will adapt to
outdoor conditions, and I have yet to try Drosophyllum. I've also heard
that some of the temperate, low growing drosera's will survive a Phoenix
Summer.
I have quit trying to grow the hard to raise plants and am now sticking to
what I know will grow for me under glass. It sure would be nice to find
some kind of UV lamp or chemical I could add to the water to bring out the
colors of my VFT's and S. purpurea.
Good Growing,
John in Phoenix