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Clint

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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.

DSC02104.jpg
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.
 
Hmmmm...... :0o: I'm still in therapy!

Well.... I think the environmental conditions will be okay. Just make sure they are anchored well.
 
They will take WAYYYYYYYY more coldness than sarra's, so that should be fine...im not too sure about the mineral content of the water...they grow naturaly next to either fast flowing streams or on a rock face that is fed by water constantly, and the rocks are mainly serpentine (or terpentine or some other -tine i forget lol!)...I wouldn't put them directly into your existing soil-it could be too nutrient laden or just be too heavy. They like it light and fluffly. As a safety measure to prevent "floating off", you could puch a mesh screen or similar means of prevention around the whole area you are going to infest with cobras. Oh-this would also help to keep away animals (like deer) away from your cobras-they love to eat their juicy heads. I think The Savage Garden says some people call them deer licks lol...

If i were you, i'd use your pot thing and fill it with LFS, and put the cobra's directrly into that. My cobras love dried sphagnum, and i had one in live LFS was the most amazing cobra i have ever grew. It made 18 inch pitchers-a year after i got it with 4 inch pitchers!

Hope this helps!
 
You need to experiment. Put some in the existing soil, some in Peat and some in LFS. They usually grow best in slow moving water in LFS but i have seen them growing in sand, clay, and peat. They will tolorate standing in water in the winter but they will not tolorate drying out. Put them in a place where they wont be washed away by fast moving currents. The plants i have seen in the wild actually do not seem to hold up as well as sarracenia to frost, but they will quickly come back in spring if they are not froze too bad. The best media for them seems to be LFS and the more of it the better.
 
You need to experiment. Put them in a place where they wont be washed away by fast moving currents.


If only he knew...... :-))
 
How high does that stream get?
 
Five inches higher during bad storms, and just for a few hours. Just a few inches higher when we aren't in a drought. The other weeds and plants on the bank have never been washed away during storms.
 
Didn't Bob from CPphotofinder post a pic of a darlingtonia growing in a water fountain setup near a casino?? I think this is a great location for the cobra. it loves water through its roots.
 
But how to keep it from being swept away? Mine took a swim in 3" of rain. Unless one keeps it in some sort of cage. it'll be uprooted. Maybe that can be done - an anchored cage.
 
  • #10
BUT your stream is a real stream. Mine is a trickle at best. Even during high storms it's not a real stream.
 
  • #11
s_Wed_106.jpg


Mine was an innocent looking, lazy watercourse that turned into a raging river when the remnants of a hurricane came through. Th plants in BobZ's site were established, rooted, in that environment. Anything we put in won't be established. I would strongly urge some sort of cage that won't go anywhere when a major rainstorm comes by. And you know you will have them, down there!
 
  • #12
Try some big pots of sphagnum, weighted down with plenty of rocks at the bottom.
 
  • #13
Okie dokie. I took these pics right after planting the large ones. I had already cut off all of the pitchers of the smaller ones, which is why you can't really see them. After this photo was taken I cut off the large pitchers. I did this so wind/rain wouldn't knock them over before they had a chance to root (small root systems). This is before I put dried LFS in all of the cracks in the rock work and added live lfs on top.

I didn't test the rocks. I just used what was in the area. The water flowing over the rocks never bothered the Sphagnum, so I hope it won't bother the plants. I know it's not quite the same thing :p In the "Flower bed" I used ten gallons of media. On one side (the top in this picture I planted six plants directly in the ground, and only added some rocks at the edge to keep the freshly disturbed media from eroding. I used a total of 15 cu. L. or so of died LFS in the cracks in the rock and on top of the media, and a few gallons of live LFS on top. It's supposed to rain 2 inches today. We'll see how that goes.


I'll post pics later of it with the moss, and again later this summer when the plants have their growth in. Assuming they'll make it that long. I chose to not use pots because I really am hoping to let them do their own thing and spread (at which point I'll remove the rocks at the top, keeping them in the "garden"). Wish me luck. No one can say I didn't try lol. In the heat of the summer I'd like to take some temperature measurements at soul surface level, at foliage level, at the root zone, and compare those temperatures to a normal sized pot sitting in water in full sun, as the plants would have ordinarily been grown.

DSC03530.jpg


There are about 40-45 individual plants. Many of the small ones are in clumps and could not be separated. Counting the clumps as single plants (which I don't), and excluding plants coming from stolons, I think I counted 31.
 
  • #14
That's really cool, man. Hopefully that works out.
 
  • #15
I'd also place rocks as close to the individual plants as possible to help keep them in place when the stream rises significantly.
 
  • #16
Pretty sweet Clint I hope it works out for ya!
 
  • #17
freakin awesome clint
its the moment of truth, let us all cross our fingers :)

~b
 
  • #18
Here's something you may or may not like to try that worked for me: pine needles. Get a bunch, and don't break them up. Work them into the media and also mulch the plants with them, making sure to interlace some in between the pitchers in all different directions. This acts like a natural net to keep everything in place. It binds the roots and helps give them something to wrap around and between and so forth and is more secure than peat, it's resistant to erosion... keeps it acidic... aerates... but most importantly it might be great at stabilizing the plants.

I know you already went through the trouble of planting, but it might be worth trying it in an experimental clay pot or something just to see.
 
  • #19
Nope lol. It's done lol. Someone on the ICPS forum suggested putting big rocks in the path of water in case it floods, so I'll do that, but other than that I am done with this one.

It never raided up there, but it did rain down here. Weird.
 
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