Darlingtonia californica is found in sphagnum bogs and seeps in northern California and coastal Oregon. Its typical environment is a mild slope with water flowing through but it may also be found on protected dripping cliff faces. The slopes may be any exposure from hot sunny lowland south facing to cool highland north facing. You would think that with the wide range of exposures in the wild, the plants would be easy to grow. For most people they are not. What all or almost all the wild locations have in common is cold spring water constantly flowing through the habitat. It is believed the difficulty growing the plants in captivity is keeping the roots cool during warm weather.

Darlingtonia seeds need a damp cold stratification for 4 weeks before they will germinate. If you plan on keeping the plants in a terrarium for an extended period, you may start the seeds at any time. For plants to be kept outside it is best to start the seed in the fall if you plan to keep the seedlings under lights the first winter or plant in late winter if they will be put outside in late spring. If you live in an area where Darlingtonia can be grown outside unprotected year round, consider starting the seeds in pots outside during the winter.

For seeds to be started indoors or in a greenhouse, the seed should be stratified in the refrigerator. The method that uses the least space in the refrigerator is to place the seeds in a small plastic bag with a few large pinches of damp chopped sphagnum. Keep the seed in the refrigerator 4 weeks.

Sow the seed on the surface of finely chopped sphagnum moss. Live sphagnum works best but needs to be trimmed back regularly. Don't bury the seed. Place seed about 5 mm apart. If the seed have not already been stratified, put the pot in a plastic bag and store in a refrigerator, garage, or other location that stays between a few to 10 degrees above freezing for 4 weeks.

After stratification, move the pots to a bright, location. You may leave the pots in the plastic bags until the seeds start to germinate. As soon as they start to germinate, remove the pots from the bags or at least open the tops and put the pots in a sunny location or under lights. Darlingtonia don't need as much light as Sarracenia but they do need lots of light to show their best colors.

For information on propagating Darlingtonia vegetatively, please see the How To section of this web site.

The plants should remain in pure sphagnum. Darlingtonia grows best in loosely packed long fibered sphagnum moss. Live sphagnum moss is probably best but has to be closely watched as it can overgrow small plants. Top water the plants regularly. Many members put ice cubes of pure (distilled or reverse osmosis) water on the soil surface every day during hot weather. Others pump cooled water into the pots or keep the pots in deep trays of water. What ever you do, larger pots will be a more stable environment. Air temperatures and humidity are not major issues as long as the roots are cool.

Darlingtonia plants over a year or two old need somewhat of a rest in the winter. Plants left in warm greenhouses or terrariums are subject to loss--this depends a lot on where the plants are adapted and how exactly you care for them. The plants can take being frozen solid for short periods of time. If you live where it freezes hard for a weeks at a time, the plants will need protection in a cold greenhouse, cold frame or garage.

John Brittnacher