General distinctive features of Darlingtonia, recommendations for cultivation, breeding rules, difficulties in cultivation, interesting facts. Darlingtonia (Darlingtonia) belongs to the genus of insectivorous plants that are part of the Sarraceniaceae family and the Ericales order. Only three modern varieties are classified there: Sarracenia, Heliamphora and Darlingtonia. We have already described the first two insectivorous representatives of the flora, here we will talk about their "relative" - Californian Darlingtonia (Darlingtonia californica), which is only one of its kind and often this exotic green "predator" can be found only in the marshlands of California and Oregon. It does not grow anywhere else in nature and is endemic to these places (that is, it is not possible to find this plant in any area on the planet in any area). Most often, the soil on which this plant is located is poor in nutrients, but they contain a lot of magnesium and iron, and often you can find a fast-flowing stream with very cold water nearby.
The general outlines of this exotic are mesmerizing, the darlingtonia is very reminiscent of a rising cobra with an open hood. This is especially attractive because trap leaves grow in a group (leaf rosette) and rise above the soil surface, covered with moist moss. It is popularly named Cobra Lily or Cobra Plant. All this is due to outgrowths on modified leaf plates, which are similar to the twisted tongues of reddish snakes.
The stem of the plant is long. Trap leaves are colored yellow or reddish-yellow. The shape of these modified leaf plates has a bend, which is so characteristic of the swollen hood of a reptile preparing for an attack. Such trapping leaves have the ability to emit a pungent odor, which serves as an attractive factor for insects. All this is due to the fact that the entire inner surface of the leaf plates is speckled with glands, they give off that specific "aroma" to which bugs and flies are "led".
At the top of this leaf formation is a jug of light greenish tone, which can reach 60 cm or more in diameter. In length, the leaves are close to meter indicators. The upper part of the jug, formed by the sheet plate, has an entrance that always "looks" outward from the sheet rosette. This entrance is decorated with a kind of helmet, which is distinguished by a bright diptera leaf-shaped outgrowth. The part of the plant inside the jug-leaf in some places does not have chlorophyll and the so-called "windows" effect appears, which let the daylight inside. Insects are attracted not only by the smell, but also by these light "windows" - spots. "Victims" fly in under the helmet and roll into a trap leaf.
They fall into the hoods of the Darlingtonia and can no longer get out of there. There, on the walls of the trap leaves, there are a large number of hairs along which the insect slides inside the hood and the hairs do not allow it to get out back. Then the plant begins to produce digestive juices, which take part in the digestion of the victim's little body. And soon only the chitinous membrane will remain of it. Naturally, after this, the "predator" receives the nutrients it needs. However, this is, so to speak, "dessert" on the Darlingtonia menu, since the main nutrient comes from the root system of the plant.
In the process of flowering, this representative of the sarracene family forms completely nondescript flowers, which can reach 6 cm in diameter. They slightly incline their heads to the ground. The flowers themselves are crowned with elongated flowering stems, the color of their petals is yellowish-orange or reddish-brown. The flowering process occurs in the spring, and after that, the ripening of thorny seeds takes place. If the plant's jug leaves reach parameters of 10-13 cm, then this corresponds to the height that Darlingtonia acquires in the third year.
However, in order to grow this plant in room conditions, considerable experience is required and it will be difficult for beginners to cope with darlingtonia, since they will have to create conditions close to natural.
Recommendations for growing darlingtonia
- Location and lighting. Most of all, a sunny place is suitable for a cobra lily, so the pot is placed on the east or west window. If the plant is located on the southern windowsill, then shading from direct streams of ultraviolet radiation is necessary in the summer afternoon, which can cause sunstroke to leaf plates. It is important to remember that direct rays of the sun will do more harm than shading, so light curtains are hung on the windows.
- Watering. Since under natural conditions darlingtonia grows in swampy areas on wet soils, it will have to be watered very abundantly, and there are also high requirements for the quality of the water that is moistened. Any tap water can simply destroy the cobra plant, therefore, rain or river water is used, but in the absence of such, distilled water is used. During the dormant period, darlingtonia is not watered.
- Moisture content this green "predator" should be elevated (occasionally slightly higher than moderate), as in the swampy area where Darlingtonia comes from. It is recommended to carry out daily irrigation of the air next to the trap leaves of the plant, and you can also put the pot with the cobra lily in a deep pan, at the bottom of which is laid moistened expanded clay or chopped sphagnum moss. Spraying is not recommended.
- Fertilize darlingtonia should not be followed, since a plant living in swamps generally reacts poorly to any chemistry. You can offer the plant small insects to replenish nutrients.
- Content temperature. For a cobra lily, room heat indicators are required that do not exceed 18-20 degrees in the summer. That is, even if the air readings in the room are 30-34 degrees, the roots should have only 18. This is the problem of home growing darlingtonia. In natural conditions, such a counterbalance is achieved by the fact that the cobra lily grows along the banks of streams and rivers, where cold, melted and pure water from glaciers flows down. To achieve this in the room, it is recommended to put 2-3 ice cubes from distilled water on the soil in a pot - this will imitate the melting of snow. You should not keep ice in the container constantly - only in the morning and in the evening, in order to prevent hypothermia of the root system. With the arrival of autumn, the temperature in the rooms should be reduced to 16-18 degrees and watering should be reduced. Only young plants will require year-round adherence to the winter values on the thermometer. There is evidence that darlingtonia can withstand frosty indicators up to -10 degrees without harm to themselves.
- Dormant period must be kept for adult plants, at this time (autumn-winter months) the temperature drops to 6-10 degrees Celsius. Watering is gradually reduced to very poor. The place of detention in this case should be in the shade. At such a time (and the period lasts 3-5 months), Darlingtonia stops growing, and with the arrival of spring heat, a flower is formed first, and after a couple of weeks you can see young growing leaves-traps, which quickly take on the appearance of jugs. You do not need to trim the cobra lily.
- Transplantation and selection of a substrate. When growing darlingtonia, the pot should be changed every 3 years. A drainage layer is laid on the bottom of the pot; perlite, small expanded clay or pebbles can act as it. The height of the layer should be 3–5 cm. It is best to use a soil mixture that is suitable for azaleas - coniferous and acidic. But the most preferable is the substrate that looks like moss and soil in swamps. In this case, they use peat soil, river (washed and disinfected) sand, crushed charcoal, maintaining a ratio of 2: 0, 5: 0, 5. Florists often add half of the leaf land. You can use sand with perlite or just chopped moss, since darlingtonia will die sooner or later in a dense substrate. Overheating of the root system should be avoided and it is better that the soil is open and with increased air permeability. After transplanting, pieces of sphagnum moss are laid on top of the substrate, this will protect the soil from drying out and give the roots coolness and moisture.
Darlingtonia breeding tips
It is possible to get a new rare exotic plant that feeds on insects by sowing seed, or by dividing an overgrown darlingtonia bush in the spring.
Seeds are sown on the surface of a light substrate (for example, sandy-peat), but they are not recommended to be sealed, since a lot of light is needed for successful germination of seeds, you can even carry out a special illumination with phytolamps. And also it is necessary to maintain temperature readings within 21-29 degrees. Seed material is evenly distributed at a certain distance into the container on the substrate. Then you will need to constantly keep the soil moistened - spraying is carried out from a finely dispersed spray gun. When the sprouts have formed the first pair of leaf plates, it is recommended to gradually lower the temperature.
Young darlingtonias are deprived of a dormant period, so they are kept warm throughout the year in the range of 16-18 degrees.
You can also breed this green "predator" by dividing. This is best done in the spring before the darlingtonia starts growing. To do this, the plant is carefully removed from the pot, and after shaking off the substrate a little from the root system, the roots are cut with a sharpened and disinfected knife. Then each section should be placed in a separate container filled with a moistened suitable substrate. After that, a plastic bag is put on the plant, to create greenhouse conditions and the pot is left in a warm and bright place, but without direct sunlight.
You can also propagate darlingtonia by baby shoots, which can form over time next to the mother plant. They are easily separated from the mother cobra lily during transplantation.
Description of the difficulties in growing a plant
If it so happened that harmful insects were found on Darlingtonia, then it is strictly forbidden to carry out treatment with insecticidal preparations, since the cobra plant is very sensitive to various chemicals, and therefore folk remedies are used to combat spider mites, mealybugs or scale insects. Of these funds, one can single out:
Against spider mites. A tincture of garlic is used - two heads are finely chopped, placed in a liter jar and filled with water, then covered with a lid. The infusion is placed in a dark place for five days. Then the product is filtered through cheesecloth, diluted with water in a 1: 1 ratio and the plant is sprayed. They also use onion peel tincture - add 100 grams of onion peel to five liters of water and set the vessel with the "potion" to infuse for 4–5 days in a dark place. After that, the liquid is filtered, and the affected areas of darlingtonia are sprayed.
In the fight against the scabbard, the following drugs are used:
- Pepper tincture - 50 grams of hot pepper are ground in half a liter of water, then the solution is boiled and insisted for a day. Next, you need to strain the liquid and dilute with water at the rate of 10 ml of the infusion is diluted in a liter of water. You can also add crumbled 5 grams of laundry soap there. Processing is carried out every 2 weeks. The pepper tincture can be stored for a long time, which allows you to quickly apply the product when a pest is detected.
- In a liter of water, 80 grams of dry tobacco (makhorka) are diluted and tincture is carried out during the day. Then the liquid is filtered and diluted with another liter of water. After it is used for wiping and spraying darlingtonia.
You can also take a garlic or onion tincture, as with a spider mite lesion.
If a mealybug is detected, it is recommended to carry out the treatment with an oil solution, when 2 large tablespoons of olive oil are stirred in a liter of water.
If, nevertheless, it was decided to use insecticides, then it is recommended to reduce their dosage by at least two times, in relation to that recommended by the manufacturer. Since Darlingtonia has a pronounced dormant period, it should not be disturbed at this time either by transplants or by changing any conditions, since it will inevitably lead to the death of an insectivorous plant.
Interesting facts about Darlingtonia
This representative of the flora is listed by the decision of the Washington Convention in the Red Book in those territories where it grows in natural conditions, namely, in swampy areas from California to Oregon (as you can see, the distribution area is very small).
The renowned 19th century naturalist Charles Darwin was delighted at the mention of insectivorous plants. The scientist began his first observations of such representatives of flora in the summer period of 1860 and he began to study a relative of Darlingtonia - the sundew. At the same time, numerous laboratory experiments were performed, which then grew into real studies of such samples of the green world of the planet. Darwin presented his conclusions and results of his work in a monograph published in 1875 for the judgment of the botanical world community, where he described this group of plants. It provides information on the natural habitats of insectivorous plants, as well as a detailed description of all experimental work on them using a variety of factors and substances.
Some parts of Californian Darlingtonia are reddish in color due to the presence of a pigment called anthocyanin in them. However, in 1997, a green form of this representative of the flora was discovered, completely devoid of this substance, and it was given the name Othello. She is interested not only in gardeners who are trying to support the development of this rare plant, but also by unauthorized collectors, on the contrary, contributing to the reduction of the population of this species. The variety that was discovered was hand-pollinated and seed was obtained, in the hope that the unusual darlingtonias grown from them would meet this demand.
This genus of green "predators" was named after Michel Sarrazen (1659-1734), who was engaged in medical and surgical activities, and was also a physiologist, zoologist and devoted time to botany. He worked in the French possessions in the lands of Canada. While there, he not only studied animals, but also collected an impressive herbarium. At the moment, in addition to the genus of insectivorous plants, which is named after the scientist, Sarrazen is named after the prize in achievements in botany and biology, awarded annually in Quebec.
And as many people mistakenly think with the "Saracens", the name of the family, where Darlingtonia is assigned, is completely unrelated.
For more information on Californian Darlingtonia see here:
