Weekly Recommendations, Week 45: Watering Your Plants

I have talked to many people who claim to have a black thumb. They tell me that they can’t manage to keep any plants alive. Every plant entrusted to their care ends up dying, and they can’t figure out why. However, the reality is that they probably either just forgot to water their plants or they watered them too much. This is because most plants require very little care to keep alive, but all plants need water, some more than others. This does not constitute a black thumb, it just means that a little more vigilance is required.
I understand this issue though, because as a self-proclaimed plant nerd and an experienced plant caretaker, even I forget to water my plants sometimes, which occasionally results in a dead plant. In fact, I recently almost killed one of my favorite plants. It’s a tiny sundew (Drosera spp.) in a little pot – a carnivorous plant that my boss gave to me. I’m not sure how many days I went without watering it, but luckily I noticed, just in time, that it was looking a bit droopy. So, I drenched it with distilled water (the kind of water that carnivorous plants require) and hoped that I wasn’t too late and that it would recover. To my pleasant surprise, it sprung back and is doing just fine.
So, if you’re one of those who considers yourself a black thumb, I would recommend improved vigilance about watering your plants – not too much and not too little (this is species dependent of course, but really not that difficult to master). And if you’re like me and just forget to water your plants once in a while because life gets in the way sometimes, consider this a reminder to go water your plants. They’re nice things to have around, and it’s sad to see them go, especially when it’s due to something as simple as keeping them properly hydrated.

Weekly Recommendations, Week 39: Darlingtonia State Natural Site

Driving along the Oregon Coast on Highway 101, beautiful sights, awesome views, and totally worthwhile stops abound. One in particular that I highly recommend is Darlingtonia State Natural Site, which I was fortunate enough to visit on a recent trip to the coast. It's a location just north of Florence on the way to Newport, and honestly if you blink you'll miss it. It's a small site, so it's a brief stop, but it's totally worth it because it is home to a remarkable carnivorous plant called the cobra lily (also known as Darlingtonia). While this plant may be rare, the view you'll get upon visiting will not give you that impression. A short pathway will lead you from the parking lot to an opening in the forest canopy where you will find hundreds (if not thousands) of cobra lilies growing in a marshy area.  Check out what Wikipedia has to say about it, and if you're ever in the area, definitely don't miss it.

Darlingtonia State Natural Site (18 acres) is a state park and botanical preserve located five miles (8 km) north of Florence, Oregon, United States on U.S. Route 101, just west of Mercer Lake and south of Sutton Lake that is dedicated to the preservation of a rare plant.
Darlingtonia californica is a carnivorous plant, commonly known as the cobra lily, which traps insects in its hollow tubular leaves, whose top is flared into a hollow dome with a forked "tongue" that gives the species its common name. In late spring, they bear purple and yellow flowers that rise above the green cobra-like leaves. Darlingtonia are found only in wet meadows and bogs with acid soils low in nitrogen. The rare, strangely-shaped plant is the only member of the pitcher plant family Sarraceniaceae in Oregon.
The park has a short loop trail through a peat bog area overlooking patches of Darlingtonia. It is the only Oregon state park dedicated to the protection of a single plant species.