Question
Dear SNW,
Hi!  I once asked you about Nepenthes Maka Ula'ula heat tolerance, and you said most Highlanders can take hot days, as long as there are cool nights to let them recover.  Does the same go for other highland tropical, like Drosera capensis?  (Speaking of cool night plants, do your Darlingtonia californica come from the mountains or the coast?  It want to know now so that when you restock you won't sell out before I can get an answer.  It it's a mountaineer, it would love Ellensburg.)

My other question is, I heard that P. agnata does not make succulent winter leaves.  I'm going to buy Pinguicula x 'Gina' form you sometime this month.  Does it make succulent leaves?  I'm worried about leaf cuttings, which I heard you can't make with carnivorous leaves.   Is that possible to winter reproduce P. 'Gina'?
John

Answer
As mentioned in my previous message, the term highland is arbitrary.  It's a useful guide for Nepenthes (and orchids), but it doesn't necessarily apply to other plants.  The term specifically applies to nighttime temperature.  Drosera capensis doesn't require a drop in nighttime temperature, even though it is native to the coastal mountains of South Africa.  Instead, it prefers mild conditions both day and night.  This concept of highland might be applicable to Darlingtonia, but your watering technique and soil conditions will be have more impact on its growth than temperature.  (At this time, we do not know which clone of Darlingtonia we will release next. Both coastal and mountainous variety are hardy as long as you maintain proper soil conditions.)

As for Pinguicula, the assumption that you cannot propagate plants from carnivorous leaves is inaccurate.  You can take cuttings on both carnivorous and dormant leaves.  Some growers prefer dormant leaves because you get more leaves per plant.  I prefer large carnivorous leaves because they're easier for me to manage.  Results are the same for both types of leaves.  


Good growing!
Jacob Farin