> I have moved all of my pitcher plants to the garage for some winter
> dormancy. I know how to handle the Sarracenia's. Does anyone know
> how to handle Darlingtonia for Dormancy. Should it always sit
> immersed in Water like during the growth period? Should I let the
> tray get dry but leave the soil moist?
At least in my conditions (England, sometimes below freezing at
night, but doesn't reach -10C all that often), I suspect that it
would make no difference whatsoever whether there was water in the
tray or not. For one thing, Darlingtonia never or rarely seems to
suffer from Botrytis (grey-mould) attacks like Sarracenia. In Summer,
I keep water in the tray because if I don't then the plant will dry
out in a day or two (yes - this has happened to my Sarracenia once
or twice, and it takes them quite a while to recover once they
have wilted and the pitchers have bent over), but in Winter, the soil
will stay wet for ages whether or not it is stood in water. So I add
water to the tray when I remember, but don't worry if there isn't any
for a few weeks.
I sometimes leave the Darlingtonia outside (but under cover) - they
survive just fine with this, but are a bit slow to get going in
Spring. I think I'll keep them in the greenhouse (min 45F / 7C) this
Winter, just so I get earlier growth and flowers. If there's any
problem with leaving them outside in the growing season, it's that
they catch too many insects and the pitchers turn brown, or they
are attacked by other insects, such as caterpillars.
-- Clarke Brunt (clarke@brunt.demon.co.uk)