Expert: Sarracenia Northwest - 3/11/2010

Question
Hello

I just received a Darlingtonia californica from one of my relatives. But I have just been informed that the plant is one of the coastal varieties.

Is there anything I can do to make it easier to take care of?
I am planning on transplanting it into a long, white, rectangular planter box similar to the ones that go underneath windows. I am planning on putting ice cubes on top of the soil on hot days (days over 85-90 degrees). I am also going to use your recommended planting medium of 1 part peat moss, 1 part orchid bark, and 1-2 parts perlite.

I live in USDA Zone 9. Along the San Francisco Bay, about 15 miles west of San Francisco, near Oakland.

Can you please tell me what you think about my set up and if it would work well?

Thank you so much
-Jamie

Answer
Hi Jamie,

This set-up sounds good.  The one major recommendation I have is to not set planter in water the way you might for Sarracenia.  Darlingtonia benefit from an airy soil media.  Plan on doing lots of top-watering during the summer.  If you can set up a drip system, even better.  Many garden centers carry supplies for Raindrip drip lines, and these are fairly easy to set-up, and not very expensive.  You could also automate it with a timer.

The ice cubes may be overkill in the Bay area.  Your summers are usually not that hot if you're near the water.  If it's possible to get a larger planter box that the one the plants are in can set inside this may help also.  The idea with this is to create an airspace between the planter and the walls of the pot.  This way the sun never hits the sides of planter.  I've done this over the last year with Cephalotus and Drosera regia, two species that also detest warm roots, with great results.

If you have access to any live sphagnum moss, this is also an excellent top dressing for Darlingtonia since it helps cool them.

Let us know how they do.

Good Growing!

Jeff Dallas
Sarracenia Northwest
http://www.cobraplant.com