Hurrah, under my unorthodox growing methods for this group, several species have been reluctant to bloom. I have been trying different things to see what might be the causal factor(s).
I had been concerned that it was due to my growing conditions. It has turned out that it was due to the environment I had been providing my plants, but it has turned out to be for different reasons than I had, at first, assumed. After several years of maintaining the grow-room in a particular manner, that ensured fairly warm ambient temperatures, year-round. Near 90F (32C), with occassional spikes to 100F (38C). Late this past summer I installed an evaporative cooler in the one window servicing the grow-room. The intentions for this cooler were to lower the ambient temperatures in the grow-room, while providing an increase in humidity. This cooler would also replace the refrigerated air conditioning that was previously used throughout the house (which was drastically lowering the humidity throughout the house - including the grow-room). Since winter arrived I've been keeping the cooler pads wet and drawing air through them and through the grow-room by running small exhaust fans in windows, in other parts of the house, in rooms most distant from the grow-room. Ambient temperatures in the grow-room are now, highest - 77F (25C), and during the night in the grow-room it goes down to 55F (13C). Outside, the air temp goes down to between 30-40F (1-4.5C) most nights.
With the only major environmental change in the grow-room being the lowering of the temperature, many Pinguicula, especially Mexican species, have shown an increased interest in blooming. Where before, the following species (which I grow in groups), would throw a flower or two from one or more plants, they are now blooming in what I would call, "waves" (where each plant in a particular group would each produce a flower or two, but before those flowers faded away, several other buds would begin to grow, to then replace those flowers as they fade). These shy bloomers, for me, have been: Pinguicula debbertiana, Pinguicula ehlersiae, Pinguicula esseriana, and Pinguicula jaumavensis. Some, few plants are still unbloomed, but only now, that being the unidentified Mexican I call (Red1) and a few clones of Pinguicula laueana.
I had been concerned that it was due to my growing conditions. It has turned out that it was due to the environment I had been providing my plants, but it has turned out to be for different reasons than I had, at first, assumed. After several years of maintaining the grow-room in a particular manner, that ensured fairly warm ambient temperatures, year-round. Near 90F (32C), with occassional spikes to 100F (38C). Late this past summer I installed an evaporative cooler in the one window servicing the grow-room. The intentions for this cooler were to lower the ambient temperatures in the grow-room, while providing an increase in humidity. This cooler would also replace the refrigerated air conditioning that was previously used throughout the house (which was drastically lowering the humidity throughout the house - including the grow-room). Since winter arrived I've been keeping the cooler pads wet and drawing air through them and through the grow-room by running small exhaust fans in windows, in other parts of the house, in rooms most distant from the grow-room. Ambient temperatures in the grow-room are now, highest - 77F (25C), and during the night in the grow-room it goes down to 55F (13C). Outside, the air temp goes down to between 30-40F (1-4.5C) most nights.
With the only major environmental change in the grow-room being the lowering of the temperature, many Pinguicula, especially Mexican species, have shown an increased interest in blooming. Where before, the following species (which I grow in groups), would throw a flower or two from one or more plants, they are now blooming in what I would call, "waves" (where each plant in a particular group would each produce a flower or two, but before those flowers faded away, several other buds would begin to grow, to then replace those flowers as they fade). These shy bloomers, for me, have been: Pinguicula debbertiana, Pinguicula ehlersiae, Pinguicula esseriana, and Pinguicula jaumavensis. Some, few plants are still unbloomed, but only now, that being the unidentified Mexican I call (Red1) and a few clones of Pinguicula laueana.