How to Grow a Cobra Lily, Darlingtonia Californica
We hope you find this in depth guide on how to grow a cobra lily useful. Commonly known as cobra lily or pitcher plant, this carnivorous catcher thrives mostly on fens, ponds, stream, and seeps around the northern part of California and some portions of southwest Oregon.
This plant is called a cobra lily for obvious reasons – its leaves closely resemble an expanding head of a cobra.
As this plant is basically a pitcher type, it employs the same trap type as other North American pitcher catchers. Among the most common lures are red pigmentation, nectar, and protruding tongue with wax that attracts insects. The ‘tongue’ coming out from the cobra lily’s opening secretes a unique juice that attracts pollinators in no time at all.
Here’s also a good article from our library about caring a Pitcher Plant in general: How to Take Care of a Pitcher Plant?
Anatomy Of The Darlingtonia Californica
-Leaf Structure
The cobra lily’s head, or the crown of its leaves, has translucent patches. These patches serve as an effective camouflage so that bugs and flies will not find an escape route.
-Flower
The flower of the Darlingtonia Californica gallantly stands at the tip of a 3-foot stalk. Its flower buds start sprouting during winter and end its development during the summer. The flower is made of a single upside-down green sepal that originates from the depth of the bud. At the opposite end of the flower is a red petal with a sticky opening for attracting all kinds of pollinators.
-Digestion
The digestive mechanism of a cobra lily is somewhat similar to the large intestine of a human. Instead of producing enzymes to digest, the cobra lily will just flush a stream of fluid used to absorb the soft tissues of its prey.
-Root System
This carnivorous plant has an extensive root system composed of stolons that run a few meters away from the main plant. The root extensions will pop another sprout for the new stem of cobra lily.
Here’s another guide related to other Carnivorous plants, the Butterwort; its anatomy and how to grow it.
Caring for and Growing a Cobra Lily
-Environment
Darlingtonia Californica is best grown in a partly shaded environment. One thing that you must make sure of is that the soil must be a sort of ‘airy’ to keep the temperature cool. Always remember that this carnivorous plant is susceptible to extreme heat.
-Container
Since maintaining a cool temperature is crucial for Darlingtonia Californica to thrive well, you must find a plant container that is light in color and drains water well. Plastic pots, glazed ceramics, and terra-cotta clay will all work well but make sure that these containers do not absorb heat.
-Watering
The cobra lily, as with any other carnivorous plants, requires water that has low to almost non-existent mineral concentration. As such, rainwater is the best source.
As an alternative, you can use a distilled water available at the closest grocery. If it’s an especially hot day, it is recommended that you chill the distilled water in the refrigerator first before pouring it to the Darlingtonia Californica.
Before watering the plant, make sure that you place the pot on a water tray. Then, pour the water overhead allowing it to run down towards the root.
If you already have an assortment of carnivorous plants in your collection and you’re planning to add the Darlingtonia Californica to your arsenal, you might want to invest in a different kind of watering system known as Reverse Osmosis. A reverse osmosis water system is less costly compared to buying distilled water over time.
-Lighting
The cobra lily needs a balanced distribution of light to ensure vibrantly colored sepals. If you planted the cobra lily in your garden, just make sure that there’s enough room surrounding it for sunlight to reach the plant.
-Feeding
Due to its upside-down sepals, it’s a bit difficult to feed the Darlingtonia Californica by hand. For this reason, you might have to purchase forceps or even tweezers to help you feed this carnivorous plant. What are we feeding it? Well, for the cobra lily, dried crickets, flies, and other insects are more than enough.
-Fertilizer
Applying a typical NPK fertilizer is a no-no for the proper care of Darlingtonia Californica, just like with any other carnivorous plants. In fact, you will only destroy the root and the stem of this plant if you introduce too many nutrients to the soil.
Here’s another guide we’ve written about Carnivorous plants in general: How to Fertilize Carnivorous Plants?
-Transplanting
If you can not avoid transplanting your Darlingtonia Californica, please do so in late winter. Make sure that the new area has enough space for the plant to expand its stolons. Always remember that these stolons will produce the new generation of cobra lilies.
-Cuttings
Cutting the stolons of Darlingtonia Californica produces more surviving buds compared to seed planting. Also, stolons produce a larger and healthier breed of lilies. If you want to propagate more of this plant, you really need to master the proper cutting of stolons.
Of course, you cannot just cut stolon randomly and expect for the best result. Instead, take time to trace the stolons with a budding cobra head protrusion. Once you’ve determined the best and healthiest stolon, measure 3-6 inches starting from the cobra-like head and then cut. Then, plant it in a cold and drained container and expect to grow a Cobra Lily sprout after about a month.
-Seed
If you don’t have time to do the stolon propagation, using the cobra lily’s seeds are an alternative. You have to keep the seeds refrigerated until the first quarter of the year (preferably the month of February). Plant the refrigerated seed in sphagnum moss and make sure that it is located in a cold place. Before the summer starts, you will see that some baby cobra lily is gradually germinating from the seed coat.
Those are the things that you must keep in mind once you choose to plant and grow a Cobra Lily. It might seem quite a task, but once you see these beautiful plants grow and thrive, you’ll know it was worth every effort.
