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By VelvetTooth
Posts:  143
Joined:  Thu Apr 21, 2022 5:05 am
#416227
Yesterday this new growing pitcher was completely fine. This morning the temps were 69-72 F, but the soil was suspiciously hot even though I did not move it from its usual spot (sun in the morning and shade by 12) and the soil temp measured 85 F?! The new pitcher is now blackish grey. However, the other new growth underneath the sphagnum is fine. What happened here? I was reading this forum https://terraforums.com/forums/threads/ ... ts.135199/ and many people have recorded 80-90 F root temps but have healthy plants.
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By VelvetTooth
Posts:  143
Joined:  Thu Apr 21, 2022 5:05 am
#416228
If panman and that one plant boi are reading this, is this how your darlingtonia new growth pitchers looked like in Georgia heat?
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By ChefDean
Location: 
Posts:  9236
Joined:  Tue Sep 18, 2018 12:44 am
#416232
I believe Panman grows his indoors, but mine is outside in Tennessee. We've been having temps consistently in the 90's, hitting 100 a couple of times.
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By VelvetTooth
Posts:  143
Joined:  Thu Apr 21, 2022 5:05 am
#416235
ChefDean wrote: Thu Jul 07, 2022 11:29 pm I believe Panman grows his indoors, but mine is outside in Tennessee. We've been having temps consistently in the 90's, hitting 100 a couple of times.
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How often do you water your plant? And do you use cooled water? I grow mine in a terracotta pot much larger than your pot to combat the heat, but yours is doing surprisingly well in those temperatures.
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By ChefDean
Location: 
Posts:  9236
Joined:  Tue Sep 18, 2018 12:44 am
#416238
You're gonna hate my answers.
VelvetTooth wrote: Thu Jul 07, 2022 11:42 pmHow often do you water your plant?
Every other day.
VelvetTooth wrote: And do you use cooled water?
Well, I let the hose run for a minute before watering it. Then I let the water flow through and flush things out.
VelvetTooth wrote:I grow mine in a terracotta pot much larger than your pot to combat the heat, but yours is doing surprisingly well in those temperatures.
Terracotta might be your problem. It can leach minerals into the media that can harm your plant. Mine is in a styrofoam cup I cut down, in a bigger styrofoam cup cut down for a tray.
Also, as a side note, I remember being told that this may be a more heat tolerant variety, but I'm not 100% sure if it is or not.
By VelvetTooth
Posts:  143
Joined:  Thu Apr 21, 2022 5:05 am
#416239
The mountain variety is more heat tolerant than the coastal. As for the terracotta, I’ve seen pictures of many people growing them directly in it with no problems. If this does look like a symptom of too much minerals in the water, please let me know. In my opinion, yours actually looks like a coastal variety because it has dark red coloration on its head. From what I’ve seen of pictures of them in the wild, mountain gets more yellow in the sun while coastal is red/brown. That’s why there’s a red only variety that’s coastal and a green only variety from the mountains (othello).
By VelvetTooth
Posts:  143
Joined:  Thu Apr 21, 2022 5:05 am
#416240
Maybe it’s a problem with too much sun. I thought only morning sun would be good enough but it could be too much? Are you leaving yours in full shade?
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By ChefDean
Location: 
Posts:  9236
Joined:  Tue Sep 18, 2018 12:44 am
#416246
I don't know what mineral burn in a Cobra looks like, so I'm just going off of the standard "terracotta bad, non-reactive good" for carnivorous plants.
Mine is on the edge of one of my racks so that it gets direct sun from sunup until about noon-ish, then indirect light for the rest of the day/hottest part of the day. (Told you you'd hate my answers)
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By ChefDean
Location: 
Posts:  9236
Joined:  Tue Sep 18, 2018 12:44 am
#416255
It sounds like the only difference is the pot. Maybe slip pot it into a plastic pot without disturbing the roots to minimize stress, then put it in a shady spot for a week or so. Then flush it daily to remove any potential minerals.
That's about the only thing I can see.
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By Huntsmanshorn
Posts:  947
Joined:  Wed Sep 03, 2014 6:32 am
#416265
VelvetTooth wrote: Thu Jul 07, 2022 10:30 pm Yesterday this new growing pitcher was completely fine. This morning the temps were 69-72 F, but the soil was suspiciously hot even though I did not move it from its usual spot (sun in the morning and shade by 12) and the soil temp measured 85 F?! The new pitcher is now blackish grey. However, the other new growth underneath the sphagnum is fine. What happened here? I was reading this forum https://terraforums.com/forums/threads/ ... ts.135199/ and many people have recorded 80-90 F root temps but have healthy plants.
Do you leave your plant sitting in water?
By VelvetTooth
Posts:  143
Joined:  Thu Apr 21, 2022 5:05 am
#416274
No I only top water twice a day with cooled water. In hindsight cutting off that tree branch yesterday probably did not shield it from the menace of socal sunlight even in the morning. I moved it to a shadier area. Still working on the secrets to Chef Dean’s heat tolerant cobra.
By VelvetTooth
Posts:  143
Joined:  Thu Apr 21, 2022 5:05 am
#416289
It’s sitting on a table in the middle of my yard next to vines and a tree. The plants give it dappled light to full shade around 12. I think it only got to high heat today because the sphagnum moss must’ve been sitting in direct sun since sunrise after I cut off a tree branch that was making shade. 85 F in damp moss is a pretty big jump for a 69-72 F morning, so I’m not entirely sure why that happened even with sun.

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