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An observation about P. lusitanica

jimscott

Tropical Fish Enthusiast
Last year I was given a copious portion of seeds and I think every last million of them germinated. Consequently, this species became n intergral part of my "newbie packages", such that I have a reasonable amount left. They also got separated into two different containers and differing conditions.

A small group ended up sharing residence with U. calcyfida and spent the last 6 months in a closet, "room temp", under artificial lighting, with ~15 hours of light per day.

A larger quantity got their own pot and spent the past 6 months at a window sill, get decreasing photoperiod and temps for the winter, followed by the warmer temps and increasing photoperiod of spring.

In the closet batch, the plants are larger and nobody is inclined to flower so far. In the window sill batch, the plants are significantly smaller (overcrowded?) but one is sending up a scape.

I can't tell if flowering plant is due to seasonal fluctuation, )while the other is not) or coincidence. In other words, is it just correlation or is there causality?
 
Scott,
They may be smaller from crowding. I have noticed this with other plants that are crowded.

I too grow my P. lusitanica on the windowsill and they start to flower in the spring.

Do you fluctuate your lighting for the plants in the closet? If you did it may cause them to flower. I have to fluctuate the lighting in my tanks to get my pygmies to form gemmea.
 
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I haven't puposely altered the photoperiod to be in synch with the seasons. They get 15 hours one day and 13 another, depending upon when I turn on / shut off the light. I am getting Utrics, Genlisea, and Drosera to flower, either in spite of or because of the summer like photoperiod.
 
I have 3 2" pots that have very small seedlings in them.They are very overcrowded so is it ok to transplant them using tweezers or something? My Grape Ape size fingers will probably smash them unless I use them:-)) I have enough to put some outside, try a windowsill and have some under growlights with my other pings so maybe I will be able to do my own experiment and see what seem to work the best for them.Neat little plant for sure.Bring on the weeds !!!!!!!
Mark W.
 
I've watched Forbes deftly plucking out with tweezers the small Pings and Drosera he sells at LACPS meetings. He propagates by cuttings/pullings and seed. He makes it look so easy and it probably is once you get the hang of it.
 
I'll jump in. The P. lusitanica you sent me has sent up a flower, which is just beginning to open. The plant is about the size of a quarter right now, with about 6 leaves. It's anything but crowded. Also, it started out at a 16hr photoperiod, but was bumped to 17 about a week ago. I'm running all of my lights on a timer, which runs:

14hrs Winter
16hrs Spring
18hrs Summer
16hrs Fall

I haven't run this cycle for a full year yet, as I'm new to plants under lights, but photoperiod is a huge cue for seasonal variation in plants. If you're growing in a closet-under-lights setup, get yourself a timer! Plus it into the wall, then a power strip into the timer, and all your lights into the power strip. It's safe, cheap, reliable, and even better, convenient. The only time you really have to touch your lighting is once every three months to mimic seasonal variations.

So, back on topic, I'm not sure which batch the plant you sent me came from, but it's flowering and growing very quickly. If it's from the window batch, it may have been primed to flower when leaving the window. If from the closet, it may be reacting to the longer "average" photoperiod, and flowering. Or, even more vexingly, it could be the result of years of inbreeding in cultivation without seasonal variations, and may just bloom whenever it feels like it, regardless of environmental cues. Reading back over this post, it meanders a bit more than I'd intended, but I typed it all, so I'm hitting send. Hope it helps...
 
It came from the window sill. I have also received butterworts that must have been at the very beginning stages of flowering.
 
Sounds like it came ready to do some bloomin'! Gotta move this guy outside and see how it does. There are plenty of fungus gnats out there that I'd like to see fall into its clutches...
 
Rephrasing the question a bit this species is native to the UK and thus naturally receives a change in seasons and photoperiod. Having them on a window sill was an approximation of change. In contrast, I've been treating a few of their number as if they came from the Equator, at least in terms of relatively stable photperiod. Is that making a difference?
 
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