It seems to me that Darlingtonias will grow in any lime and nutrient-free
substrate that is open and free-draining. However, the incorporation of
some or all live sphagnum does seem to be worthwhile as this seems to
be a common factor with the best specimens I have seen. The biggest
problem with growing Darlingtonias is keeping the roots cool - mine
live outdoors all the time here in the UK; I have tried growing them
indoors but they generally give up the ghost after a couple of years.
I tried various combinations of peat and coarse sand when I started
growing pygmies, and never really achieved anything satisfactory, bearing
in mind that some pygmies don't go dormant in UK summers. I had a
ready supply of grit from mixing my own cactus compost, which shares
the requirements of openness and free-drainingness (50% cheapo peat
based potting compost, 50% grit, and a handful of BSE-ridden carcinogenic
bonemeal if anyone wants to know. And yes, I know some otherwise sane,
rational, intelligent people who really believe there are at least 2 "good"
Mammillaria species for every letter of the alphabet). I decided to
experiment with a 50% peat/50% grit mix for my CPs, and in general it
seems ok. I now have most terrestrial CPs growing in it, although I am
continuing to experiment. I don't grow Nepenthes so I don't know how
they would fare, but Cephalotus seems to like it.
My large Darlingtonia was obviously cramped - it produced lots of flowers
but smaller pitchers than previously, so I split it this spring. One of the
large chunks I kept is in a spacious bucket - it is doing well for new
pitchers but the flowers seem to have 'stopped'. Other chunks that I have
crammed into pots that look immediately cramped are not doing well for
new pitchers but the flower stalks are rocketing up. Do Darlingtonias
flower better when their root systems are cramped?
Has anyone tried foliar feeding of pygmies with Miracid, or with any
'fertiliser' that doesn't jump or crawl?
Good Growing, NigelH