41 replies to this topic

[rco911]

My Darlingtonia got pretty dark this year.   Younger plants with pitchers under 20cm will at times get red (or very red) pitchers. Older pitchers will also turn dark red.  This year a few of my younger plants turned out very dark. This is a photo of a pitcher that formed this year - just wanted to share with everyone  

[Chatterer]

Wow! That is intense! So, tell me, is it healthy and everything? I never knew they could turn that color.

[rco911]

Chatterer, on 30th January 2008 - 13:40 PM, said:

Wow! That is intense! So, tell me, is it healthy and everything? I never knew they could turn that color.

Hi Chatterer, yes, it is very healthy, and has some new growth for the next season already. They got dark last year, but they REALLY got dark this year!

[petesredtraps]

I think that looks really interesting, more pictures please.Where do you keep your plants,where are you from?

[rco911]

Fred - You are correct! :-)

Im on the coast so its very mild over here, a great place to grow Darlingtonias! I'll try to take some more photos this weekend, here is a closer shot of the pitcher...
Some of the pitchers are dark, some still have traces of green (the smaller pitcher underneath is an older pitcher from last season, for some reason that one didn't turn so dark, but it is still redish.)

[Loakesy]

If you type those coordinates into Google Earth, you end up in Kansas!

[rco911]

Loakesy, on 31st January 2008 - 12:42 PM, said:

If you type those coordinates into Google Earth, you end up in Kansas!

WOAH!! i gotta try that when I get home tonight!

Kansas's location is:
Longitude: 94° 38'W to 102° 1' 34"W
Latitude: 37°N to 40°N

I am at:
122°29'W
37°38'N

If i was at 102°29'W , 37°38'N  - then i would be in Kansas, but thats 20° off... :-) Only a few miles!  

Fred - Thanks! :-)

Edited by rco911, 31 January 2008 - 20:01 PM.

[Loakesy]

rco911, on 31st January 2008 - 19:59 PM, said:

I am at:
122°29'W
37°38'N

If I type that in, I get a better result!

By the way rco911, I like the colour of your Darling, too!!

[Stefano]

wow, beatiful, one of the best Darlingtonia I have seen

[Amar]

I would love to see that darling with more light, can you make it happen?

[rco911]

Amar, on 31st January 2008 - 14:02 PM, said:

I would love to see that darling with more light, can you make it happen?

It was taken during the afternoon, I'll snap a photo of it this weekend - by the time I get home from work its already dark out side :-(

[Daniel O.]

Really incredible colouration.
Never seen a plant that was so dark.

I´m excited to see more pictures of your plants.

Best regards,

Dani

[Sweep]

I love your Darlingtonia! Thanks for sharing.
Gill.

[vraev]

truly fantastic. OMG! thats just magnificent. WOW! please tell us your coniditons in detail. Any more pics of whole plant would be great. :)

[speciesNUT]

One magnificent plant!! You will have to use it in a breeding program. It is one of a kind but hopefully it will breed true.

[rco911]

Thanks all!

I finally had a chance to go out and take some photos.  Sorry for the dealy, spring has sprung here, and I've been busy dividing and re-potting my plants (including this one!)  Here are a couple more photos with more light and the whole plant, as requested.  A few hoods are dark red, and some are borderline black.

Another friend of mine says that a few of her Darlingtonia's in her nursery also got this dark. Barry Rice did mention to me that he has seen plants very dark in the wild, but those were younger plants, the older plants had less red to them. I guess I will just have to wait and see.  For now, I am just enjoying their show of color while it lasts, but will be keeping an eye on it...



And from another angle:



Varev:  I grew these outdoors for the past growing seasons.  It is only this year that I am changing this. Last year they were in an enclosure surrounded with chickenwire and some plexiglass to keep raccoons out. I have lost some of my plants to raccoons!! They would get indirect bright sun, and a little bit of shade, since the beams of the enclosure would cast shadows throughout the day.  The years before I moved to Pacifica, I left them outside on the patio year round while I lived in San Francisco.

THIS YEAR: I moved them into my greenhouse and kept them on the floor for the winter, as it is cooler down there. I moved all my plants up to the tables recently as the outdoor weather is getting warmer. Spring is here!  I keep my greenhouse vented, and temps range from 50F at night to 80F during the daytime. (Just a little warmer that outdoors) -- I would keep them outdoors - but I am sick of raccoons, and am tired of looking thru chicken wire.  

Edited by rco911, 10 February 2008 - 06:33 AM.

[vraev]

Thanks for replying. OMG! those plants are incredible. you should seriously register this plant as a cultivar. I mean look at it....its the equivalent of the eden black ceph. FANTASTIC. :) sorry to hear about the raccoons. I know what you mean. Last summer when I was living in a subleted house,  the vegetable garden in the backyard was dessimated by racoons. I realise the damage that they are capable of.

But another question. Do you have more cobras?? I mean different plants. Have you seen if the color on them is the same in these exact conditions?