when did you purchased your plants? sometimes when plants are purchased off-season. they get confused about their growth cycle. I would keep growing them if i were you and not force them into dormancy. let them be dormant next Fall.

I also live in California, Los angeles. all my plants are dormant.. it's been chilly here lately but they're still alive. will repot them in february. no worries, your plants will be fine. whatever you do, don't force them into dormancy if they are growing vigorously, strong, and healthy. Let them grow.

I would let nature dictate what they should do. It's like crocus in a January thaw. They pop up early and then stop when winter's reality resumes. I wouldn't change a thing.

Thank you both very much for your input! I will let nature take its course, and with the "extreme" cold we've been experiencing the last few nights (I'm sure all of you non-Californians are laughing at me right now), they are starting to get a little die-back.

Xymox, in answer to your question, I purchased one of the Sarracenia in June. Interestingly, that one has gone a bit more dormant (or perhaps dead) than the other two Sarracennia and the cobra lily, which I purchased later in August. I'll just wait and see what happens, and hope they look as nice next spring! I'm hoping that if you can grow them successfully in L.A., that with a little luck I can do the same here.

I love reading this forum!!! Take care.

Extreme cold?! Coming from Buffalo, NY, I walk around with a shirt and a spring jacket most of the time, and the temps have been in the 20's! But then again, I'm uncomfortable when gets over 70!

How are you growing your cobra lily?

I KNEW you would laugh at me! ....At least I had the good judgement to put the word "EXTREME" in quotation marks!

Petiolaris: in answer to your question, I currently have the cobra lilly along with two sarracenia in a large bowl outside. All three are still in their original pots, and I put them all together in the one big bowl which I keep filled with about an inch or two of filtered water, rain-water, or occasionally, diluted compost tea. They do look like they're trying to go dormant - The edges of the pitchers are truning brown and crispy, and new growth is not as vigorous-looking as it was several weeks ago.

I didn't want to put them in my pond or stream over winter because the water is only about 55 degrees, which I thought was too warm for dormancy. Is that correct? (See...I DO think that 55 is warm, under certain circumstances!)

Any thoughts, observations, or suggestions?

Cobra lilys are indigeonous to the Pacific Northwest, essentially, Oregon, Northeen California, and maybe Washington(?) Anyways, they can take freezes but suffer in the heat. Wait... that describes me! Seriously, they are a cool weather plant. From my own personal experience, I have killed 3 of them by taking them out of what they were in and attempting to improve their conditions. My first plant I tried placing in a swampy area by a streamlet that ran in back of our townhouse. A 3" rainstorm carried it off. A replacement Lowes plant wilted when I took it out of the cube and put it outside in the summer heat. I tried perking it up by placing it under an AC conduit, that ran water through the pot and roots. That didn't work too well. Another plant did well when I repotted and had it suspended atop of another platic container. I kept it indoors for a month until the outside temps came down to about room temp. That plant made it through summer, fall, and winter (cold attic). When I put it outside in the spring, the critters got into it (and my VFT's) and the traps were bitten off. so I brought it inside, to kitchen sill, where it began recovering. But then its pitchers turned black. Advice from a very experienced grower finally killed it. I was told to keep the media wet. But it must have been too much to fast, for an already weak plant. I also killed a bunch of seedlings when it was advised that I poke drainage holes in the bucket I had them in. Bottom line: Every time I change its conditions significantly enough, they reacted. The less tweaking I did - the better. The best plant was the one that was suspended and had great drainage. Below is a pic of it:

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And here is the infamous streamlet:

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The adage, "If it aint broke, don't fix it" really applies, especially with my experiences!

Technically, the plant ought be dormant right now and waking up in about a month or so. But I wouldn't mess too much with its conditions.