Cobra Lily (Darlingtonia) Cultivation Information

        Germinating Darlingtonia is similar to Sarracenia, in that they require cold stratification. To accomplish this, prepare medium of either Long Fibered Sphagnum Moss or Peat/Perlite, and place in a seal container in the refrigerator for 4 weeks. After this time, carefully spoon out the seeds to more appropriate pots in trays of water. Give 60-80% humidity, bright light of 300 ppfd or more, and temperatures of 70-80F for good germination. Spray down with a misting bottle of water every few days to prevent fungus from forming.

        After the plants germinate, Cobra Lilies will be incredibly tiny. This small form can prove to be difficult to feed, especially since the opening has a weirdly shaped flap. A pipette is best to use, with an eyedropper or syringe coming in second best. Fertilization should be 200 ppm or lower of Maxsea until mature pitchers are formed. Take care to separate seedlings if they are growing too close to each other. Overcrowding will lead to stunted plants over time.

        Usually in cultivation, mature pitchers will be seen before the first dormancy window. If this is not the case, do not attempt dormancy. Darlingtonia can be grown indoors quite well without a dormancy period, so always be more cautious when placing smaller plants outdoors. Fridge dormancy will also work for larger specimens, however I now opt to forgo dormancy all together. Every time I get a mature plant, I end up putting them outside because they're too large to fit under my lights. Sadly, dormancy outdoors in Ohio is too intensely cold for them. Thankfully, I always have more going indoors from the stolons they readily form when mature! Always use a smaller pot than you'd think for Darlingtonia. They seem to appreciate extremely confined spaces and much rather spread out in wider pots as opposed to deeper pots. I've seen several incredibly healthy plants growing in only a 1020 nursery tray with moss and can highly recommend the method.

Propagation

 

        Cobra Lilies are relatively easy to pollinate. Take a thin brush or other small instrument and place in through the petals of the flower to the anthers. The pollen is released from the anthers at the base of the flower structure. Carefully move the pollen to the stamen which is in the center of the flower. Seeds can take several months to form and are ready to be stratified soon after ripening.

        To clone a Darlingtonia, the easiest method is to wait for the plant to produce runners from stolons. These stolons typically make a new plantlet every 1-3 inches that will quite quickly form into their own plants. These stolons can be cut once the plants are making pitchers and placed into moist Long Fibered Sphagnum Moss to develop. Keep humid, without the connection to the mother plant, the plantlets have a limited ability to uptake water and are prone to dehydration.

        Mature plants also will divide from their main rhizome over time. These divisions break apart quite easily after about a year of growth, with the main challenge coming from untangling the pitchers. Very similar to Heliamphora and Sarracenia divisions, these plants will establish over the course of a few months and resume normal growth.