Clint
Stay chooned in for more!
Alright. So I've got about... I'd say 30 Darlingtonia (If I split up some clumps) with more on the way. I want to plant them on the bank of the little creek at our cabin in the mountains. I was going to plant them directly in the soil that's already there, but I've got a BUTTLOAD of peat that I'm never going to use so I figured I'd dig a trench and plants them in that, but then I started to become afraid of erosion! I don't want them to be washed away, so then I thought of gettting a HUGE artificial terracotta planter (it's like hard foam or something. Weather resistant) and cutting holes in it to let plenty of exchange between the Darlingtonia medium and what's outside of it. It would also insulate during the winter since it's thick foam.
I was going to plant them on the right side in the picture (when looking at the pitcher, the right side). The left side is all red clay, you see, so it's inappropriate. I think planting them directly in in the media would minimize erosion, but there wouldn't be any insulation. Maybe they don't even NEED extra insulation, I don't know squat about Darlingtonia. It DOES get cold in the winter, so I don't really know how high up the bank to plant them. I should mention I planted live Sphagnum there, as well as in the gravel/sand right in the middle of the stream, and it did fine so that tells me the soil that's already there is also fine. Or at least what's on top. Don't Darlingtonia grow in media relatively high in minerals in the wild, anyway? This creek feeds the lake in front of the house, and even with all of the little rocks and stuff it flows over, the LFS thrives on the shore. I'm sure it's fine.
As you can see, it's not a big, fast flowing stream. Certainly not like Jimscott's! I place a clay pot with Darlingtonia in the stream last year, but it rotted in the winter. But that was one plant, one attempt. The water was probably halfway up the clay pot (or more), so it may have been too wet.
The elevation is 1980 feet, so it's cooler than most of Georgia, but I'm worried it'll be TOO cold for them in the winter. I should mention that Sarracenia did perfectly fine over the winter there last year, Dionaea and Drosera all died. They weren't planted in the same are the Darlingtonia will be, so I dunno how it'll work out, which is why I'm a bit worried. The Sarracenia DID freeze, but it didn't hurt them.
Here are the average temperatures. You can check the boxes at the top to see record all-time highs and record lows for each month.
http://www.weather.com/outlook/health/al....546?locid=30546
How high should I plant them up the bank? Plant directly in the media? Dig a trench and fill CP-media? If I did that, I could get a fresh start and circumvent a lot of weeds with fresh media and lots of preen. I've never actually tested the media for anything, but LFS did fine. I dunno what to do lol.
I was going to plant them on the right side in the picture (when looking at the pitcher, the right side). The left side is all red clay, you see, so it's inappropriate. I think planting them directly in in the media would minimize erosion, but there wouldn't be any insulation. Maybe they don't even NEED extra insulation, I don't know squat about Darlingtonia. It DOES get cold in the winter, so I don't really know how high up the bank to plant them. I should mention I planted live Sphagnum there, as well as in the gravel/sand right in the middle of the stream, and it did fine so that tells me the soil that's already there is also fine. Or at least what's on top. Don't Darlingtonia grow in media relatively high in minerals in the wild, anyway? This creek feeds the lake in front of the house, and even with all of the little rocks and stuff it flows over, the LFS thrives on the shore. I'm sure it's fine.
The elevation is 1980 feet, so it's cooler than most of Georgia, but I'm worried it'll be TOO cold for them in the winter. I should mention that Sarracenia did perfectly fine over the winter there last year, Dionaea and Drosera all died. They weren't planted in the same are the Darlingtonia will be, so I dunno how it'll work out, which is why I'm a bit worried. The Sarracenia DID freeze, but it didn't hurt them.
Here are the average temperatures. You can check the boxes at the top to see record all-time highs and record lows for each month.
http://www.weather.com/outlook/health/al....546?locid=30546
How high should I plant them up the bank? Plant directly in the media? Dig a trench and fill CP-media? If I did that, I could get a fresh start and circumvent a lot of weeds with fresh media and lots of preen. I've never actually tested the media for anything, but LFS did fine. I dunno what to do lol.