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Pinguicula primuliflora tips

elgecko

I've got a magic window!
Well I like Pinguicula primuliflora a lot and have tried 2 or 3 times before.
Growing in different media and locations, but still have it die in the fall.

I've tried keeping it very wet with a soil mix of 50/50 peat/perlite.
I've tried it damp with a soil mix of 50/05 peat/perlite with a top layer of living Sphagnum.

I tried placing it into my garage with all the other temperate plants during winter.
I tried letting it grow on the south facing windowsill over winter.

It always dies on me.

I was at the garden center today and there was a very nice one with several plants on some leaf tips. I could not resist, even every attempt I've tried so far with the plant has failed.
I'm thinking of growing it in a 50/50 peat/sand mix in my terrarium. Not sure what I should do with it in the fall though. I do change the light schedule and temps in the house do cool a little, but not a whole lot.

What are the secrets to growing this one, or other tips you can offer so I might be able to grow it over a years time?
 
throw it away and get something different

that plant is so annoying!

haha I've had almost the exact situations you've had... for some reason though my neglectful gardencenter can grow them in the shade under a rack sopping wet and they live... its the most ridiculous thing i've ever seen
 
throw it away and get something different

that plant is so annoying!

haha I've had almost the exact situations you've had... for some reason though my neglectful gardencenter can grow them in the shade under a rack sopping wet and they live... its the most ridiculous thing i've ever seen
LOL
I'll probably have to do that anyway.

I've always liked Pinguicula planifolia more, but always read where it's harder to grow then Pinguicula primuliflora.
Maybe if I fail with the Pinguicula primuliflora this time, I'll ask around and see if I can get a trade for Pinguicula planifolia. Maybe I'd have better luck since it's to be harder to grow. LOL
 
haha I'm going to take a photo of the primuliflora's at this nursery...

you can see ALL the other cp's just barely surviving under the awful conditions EXCEPT primuliflora which just seems to produce a million plantlets...
 
From what I've read, all you need is a very wet soil of either pure peat or pure sphagnum (or mixes of the two), and kept in a shady condition.
 
My buddy grows them really well in almost full shade. I tried them once. My beds were very sunny. The only ones that survived were pots that had tipped over and were under water. Then I put the pots upright and they died too!

From what I've read, all you need is a very wet soil of either pure peat or pure sphagnum (or mixes of the two), and kept in a shady condition.
 
LOL! I thought you were going to offer tips!

My best plant was my first plant, a "Lowes cube of death" thing. That was in 2004-2005. I can't remember for sure the media but I don't think I did anything more sophisticated than the container it was already in, which is probably just peat. As to lighting, I had it in the lab, at a SE exposure window. That's not the best lighting and the thing produced 8 flowers, from the fall through February and produced several plantlets. Then I moved it to the kitchen window, which was SW exposure, in a plastic container. I watered it from overhead, ~3x a week, with the deionized water. It was a great plant until I put it outside, where it got infested with aphids.
 
Yeah Scott,
Grow a different Ping maybe???
Thinking of that I had a Pinguicula grandiflora for a couple years till aphids got that plant. Never replaced it............


I have great luck growing them on the south facing windowsill (If I can remember correctly) , or outside under the table that gets very early morning and evening sunlight. The rest of the day it's bright indirect lighting.
I just can not grow it more then 1 season. I always lose the plant in the fall.
 
With this plant, the mother plant always dies on me. My best luck has been with starting with leaf cuttings. I'd recommend taking multiple leaf cuttings if you haven't already. Throw them in some very moist to soggy LFS and leave them be. Putting them in a ziplock bag with moist but not dripping wet moss also works for me. Place them under lights. After a few weeks, when the plantlets start to emerge, place them on some very damp LFS or peat/perlite or peat/sand mix and watch them grow. I think the trick is the mother plant isn't adapted to your conditions and has a very hard time doing so. The plantlets emerge in your conditions and are able to handle them.

As far as how wet to keep them, I don't really keep mine all that wet. One pot stays fairly soggy for a few days when I first water, then less so as the water evaporates out. I wait until the shoebox is completely dry for a few days before watering again, then fill it about half way up (that's close to the top of the pot). The other pot only stays moist and never soggy. I don't see a difference in growth. One is in peat/perlite, the other on LFS. I don't see a difference with that either. Both pots are grown under lights, though I do plan to try some outside this year.

Good luck!
Crystal
 
  • #10
I'm certainly no expert, but here are my experiences for the past nine months:

Plant purchased in July from online retailer. Arrived in peat/perilite/vermiculite mixture. Transplanted to outdoor minibog containing 50/50 peat/perilite. Plant received morning sun and afternoon shade. Plant began to die back but new leaves emerged from crown that were more of a copper color and curled on edges. I read that this was a response to brighter light. Plantlets produced on dead leaves. Main plant bloomed multiple times in fall. Overwintered in garage with south facing window. Plant continued to grow, but more slowly and reverted back to green flat leaves. The original mother plant has already bloomed this spring and has several developing blooms that should open in a few weeks. The plantlets are still small, but still alive also.

I have tried to keep the plant moist at all times. I also think that the Colorado afternoon sun it too strong for this species during the summer months. I honestly didn't expect it to survive this winter after reading reports here, but I guess I got lucky.
 
  • #11
Well, that's it then; if ElGecko and his Magic Window® cannot grow primuliflora then what hope do the rest of us have??

:(

Could primuliflora be considered an annual then?
 
  • #12
I feel all of your pains. I too am trying to grow them. I'm new to them though. Had 4 die on me so far and have 2 left. One has been in bloom. I also have a p.Moranensis and p. Agnata that are doing O.K. so far. They get late afternoon sun only.

I WILL MASTER THESE!
 
  • #13
Hehe, i've heard of all the sad tales of primulifloras dying away, but i have magically mastered these: they stay on the bottom of my surprisingly dim terrarium, and i keep them a little moist. Somehow mine thrive in my neglecting 'care' LOL. i really need a new light system :D
 
  • #14
I believe that the reason they are very nice in damp dark nurseries, and in the bottom of dark terra is because they like those conditions...
 
  • #15
Everyone seems to have an green achiles heel (or should I say 'brown') - a plant that does gangbusters for everyone else but for some mysterious cosmic reason unbeknownst to them fails no matter what their attempts. It seems you've found yours. :)
 
  • #17
I just did a big boo-boo with mine this week; I left the little humidity dome (a clear plastic cup) off for an entire day and the leaves were well shocked by the dryer air surrounding it. My intention was to leave the dome off but an hour or two to let the soil dry a bit.

The leaves are pretty dry and crispy now but I think it just may recover.

Here is a pic of its flower before my stupidity:

Prim_flower.jpg
 
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