Re[2]: Darlingtonia soil change

From: BREWER_CHARLES@ecomail.damneck.navy.mil
Date: Fri May 15 1998 - 12:04:59 PDT


Date: Fri, 15 May 1998 15:04:59 -0400
From: BREWER_CHARLES@ecomail.damneck.navy.mil
To: cp@opus.hpl.hp.com
Message-Id: <aabcdefg1667$foo@default>
Subject: Re[2]: Darlingtonia soil change


     Jay and All,
      I know Darlingtonias can be a royal pain in the "hello", for folks
     who live in warmer climates, including me. I grow these plants just
     fine until the day temperature start staying around the 90's. This
     usually takes place around the end June through August. When I start
     seeing the plants getting stressed from all the heat, I up root them
     and put it in the refrigerator for about three months. In other wards,
     I reverse their growing season.
      As for soil, I do re pot my Darlingtonias yearly using the basic soil
     mix I use for Sarrs and VFTs. This is a combination of peat/sand. More
     peat then sand. I also use a large pot to grow Darlingtonia in. The
     larger pot helps to keep the soil cooler, allows me to extend their
     growing season. I was thinking about digging a hole in the ground, in
     a semi shaded area and planting the pot into the ground in hopes of
     keeping their root system cool enough to carry them through the hot
     summer. I have already set aside a plant for experimenting with. If I
     notice that this plants starts to suffer from the heat, I will just up
     root it and into the refrigerator it goes until fall.
      Reversing their seasons has caused another problem, Natural Food. I
     compensate for this by misting the Darlingtonias twice a week with
     half strength fertilizer. I do this after the sun goes down to prevent
     the pitchers from getting burned, then continue my twice a day misting
     program with fresh water. I do not consider my Darlingtonias to be the
     worlds biggest, but they are healthy and growing strong and that's all
     I care about. Hope this helps,
                        Charles Brewer
                     Virginia Beach, Virginia



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