Pings

[sarracenialuver]

hey im planning on getting a pinguicula x tina, how much water, humidity, sunlight, temperature, and finally how do they eat and digest bugs?Oh and 1 more thing, can they grow on a windowseal(i dont know how to spell)?Thanks alot!
Kevin

[sarracenialuver]

whoops and the last thing.....dormancy?How long and what to do?lol, thanks again,
Kevin

[Spectabilis73]

I have several pings of the same species (mexican,I think) and they are doing great on the windosil.
Spectabilis73 http://www.**********.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif http://www.**********.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/tounge.gif http://www.**********.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif

[Vic Brown]

P. x 'Tina' is an easy Mexican hybrid, that's probably why, along with P. x 'Weser', it is often found on sale in general garden centres over here in Europe.

Water.
From about March - October I grow my plants fairly wet, I let them stand in about 1cm of water (preferably rain water, but not so critical with Mexican Pings) When this dries out in the saucer, wait a couple of days (don't let the soil completely dry out) before topping up with water.
In Winter, keep the plants just slightly damp, they don't need a totally dry winter, like many Mexican Pings.

Light.
This plant grows very well for me on either West or East facing windowsills, receiving a few hours of sunshine per day. I presume you get more sun where you live than we do in England, and hotter Summers too (most places do&#33http://www.**********.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/wink.gif, so it may do better on a North facing windowsill.

Temperature.
Room temperature is fine, try to keep a little cooler in winter (min. about 10C (50F).

Dormancy.
This hybrid doesn't produce the typical succulent rosette of leaves that many Mexican Pings do, just slightly smaller leaves and reduced growth. Follow directions above and it will be fine.

Butterworts have very glandular leaves and some are hair-like, with stick glue (a little like sundews only much smaller), these catch the prey, usually very small bugs, such as fungus gnats. Then, other minute glands on the leaves secrete a digestive liquid (acid and enzymes) which digests the soft parts of the insects.

Cheers
Vic

[sarracenialuver]

thanks just one more thing, what kind of soil should i use?i was thinking about a peat/shagnum/perlite mixture.Is that right?Well thanks alot Vic....
Kevin http://www.**********.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif

[Vic Brown]

Kevin
Just about every serious Mexican Ping grower/collector uses their own soil recipe, often varying it depending on the species requirements.
A fairly safe, standard mix is: Peat/Sand/Perlite/Vermiculite (1:1:1:1), if you can't get hold of the vermiculite add more perlite. It's important to have a very airy, free draining soil.
This plant doesn't mind a low level of fertiliser, it will grow like crazy, so you can substitute half the peat for regular houseplant compost if you would like to get a big plant faster.

Vic

[sarracenialuver]

ok thanks alot!!!!!
Kevin http://www.**********.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif

[Spectabilis73]

one question:
How big do the pings discussed in this topic get? http://www.**********.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif

[Vic Brown]

It's a nice sized hybrid, with large purple flowers. My P. x 'Tina's get to about 5-6" diameter and then the crowns usually divide, so that each plant splits into 2 or 3 large plants, you soon have plenty of plants to grow or swap.

Vic

[Spectabilis73]

Tina? I thought that "tina" would mean in a way, "tiny" lol.5-6 in! now I have to get one... http://www.**********.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/wow.gif *fetches potatoe pealer* "I'll peel my skin and feed it to a flytrap for a 'tina'!" http://www.**********.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/tounge.gif