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my hypertufa set-up for my filiform Pinguicula

SO, last week I made hypertufa rocks out of plaster mixed with lots of perlite and peat(it was fun and messy) After trial and error, I finally got the consistency down to what I wanted, and even made a slot for the plants to be put in before plaster set. here is the result!
P. moctezumae(I had them put in peat/perlite/sphagnum moss in a bowl initially, but it didn't seem to do well after few days of observing. So I potted them in one of hypertufa rocks with peat/sphagnum moss. They seem to like the plaster so far. I will definitely report back on how well they are doing in the next few months! I pour little bit of distilled water over the plant, and the water seems to be absorbed into plaster, and the rock seems to stay moist for 3-4 days without additional watering.
*Before Potted up
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*After potted up in hypertufa rocks
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*P. medusina. It was initially nice green when it first arrived, but after few days under artificial light 24 hours, it got slightly pinkish and also dewy. There were lots of small onion-like bulbs at the tips, so I just placed them on top of the soil next to the plant. The mother plant doesn't seem like it has gone into winter-mode(yet). I am keeping the rock semi-moist, but mostly dry
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That's it for now~!
:banana2:

will be back later to report on the progress!
 
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Whoa!!! Nice rocks.
 
Awesome!!! That's my kinda project! :)

Does the large tufa mountain wick water up to the plants at all?
 
Whoa!!! Nice rocks.

thanks Fury~ it took 5lbs of plaster to get that big one right! lol. also, the big rock is red because I mixed in a little bit of Iron Oxide (from Joseph Clemens tutorial on this thread).. Oh maybe the leaves became pinkish from that instead of the artificial light? Hmmmmm

---------- Post added at 10:24 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:16 PM ----------

Awesome!!! That's my kinda project! :)

Does the large tufa mountain wick water up to the plants at all?

Yeap, but it doesn't make the substrate really wet(maybe barely moist?). I can tell that whole rock is moist to the touch- water I placed into the bowl(that the rock is sitting in) is gone.
But I also know that the plant is NOT sitting in water, although its moist... sorta confusing to explain!
But something about moist rock, and P. medusina is nicely dewy right now. I hope it's happy(we will see!)- I am planning on putting the whole rock standing in water once weather comes around(its 35F outside now). Little onion bulbs is still nicely green(sitting on top of soil), and hasn't rotted yet!

---------- Post added at 10:25 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:24 PM ----------

OOooh, and my P. moctezumae is really dewy too; I could use a nice Macro SLR camera.. argh.
 
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Candice, that is awesome!

Is the rock/plaster still semi-malleable? I am wondering if roots can grow into it.

Honestly, you have a very neat and creative set up! I am impressed and slightly jealous. I will definitely be incorporating something like this into my next project.

Please keep us updated on how the pings like it!
 
thanks Fury~ it took 5lbs of plaster to get that big one right! lol. also, the big rock is red because I mixed in a little bit of Iron Oxide (from Joseph Clemens tutorial on this thread).. Oh maybe the leaves became pinkish from that instead of the artificial light? Hmmmmm

Ah, excellent idea! If I had the space I would love to try something like that out. I too am curious as to how your plants' roots will do as they grow into the rock. Definitely keep us posted! That's a great setup you have.
 
Yeap, but it doesn't make the substrate really wet(maybe barely moist?). I can tell that whole rock is moist to the touch- water I placed into the bowl(that the rock is sitting in) is gone.
But I also know that the plant is NOT sitting in water, although its moist... sorta confusing to explain!

Ah that's great just what I was hoping to hear!
I have a 25 lb sack of plaster of paris that I make snail and crab calcium supplement wafers with but I won't use all 25 lbs for that in even the rest of my life so I might give your project a spin. Thanks for passing on this awesome idea! :D
 
Candice, that is awesome!

Is the rock/plaster still semi-malleable? I am wondering if roots can grow into it.

Honestly, you have a very neat and creative set up! I am impressed and slightly jealous. I will definitely be incorporating something like this into my next project.

Please keep us updated on how the pings like it!

lol, I wished I was that creative- I found a thread on a UK(?) carnivorous forum about some people using plaster mix rock to grow P. gypsicola.. so I figured, maybe I should plant my P. medusina (as it sounded hopeless for a newbie like me to grow anyway), so I potted it up on the rock.
I actually 'molded' in the slot on my plaster rock when I was making it. But after plaster(plaster of Paris) cures(in 30min), it can be carved out easily using a butter knife. I don't know if the roots can grow into the rock, if they can grow into perlite, it probably will- I added lots of perlite into the mix, along with peat.

---------- Post added at 11:23 PM ---------- Previous post was at 11:12 PM ----------

Ah, excellent idea! If I had the space I would love to try something like that out. I too am curious as to how your plants' roots will do as they grow into the rock. Definitely keep us posted! That's a great setup you have.
surprisingly, I was able to fit over 20+ mini bulbs, mini plants, and mother plant of P. medusina, and 6 plants of P. moctezumae on two different rock in sizes 6" in diameter(but taller) and 3"x4" rock, respectively. But since you have a control over how big and how it will be shaped, I am sure you can try with whatever space you have to spare.

These rocks are made today- one is in 2.5" pot
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suite

very very good idea like presentation .

but the substrate problem rest , have you try cat litier or pure gypsum for the P. medusina ?

for me it is the light that makes the leaves more or less red, nothing more.

jeff
 
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  • #10
Great setup! LOL! My plants are so ghetto!
 
  • #11
I have often considered creating such a natural looking artificial Pinguicula substrate, but just couldn't justify (to myself) using that much space for so few plants. Still, I may do so, some day - it has such an appealing appearance.
 
  • #12
very very good idea like presentation .

but the substrate problem rest , have you try cat litier or pure gypsum for the P. medusina ?

for me it is the light that makes the leaves more or less red, nothing more.

jeff
Cat litter? Is that the clumping type? I have two cats, and have a super-clumping type litter. Non-clumping type was a disaster(for potty purposes).
Is pure gypsum more beneficial for P. medusina? I currently have them in APS mix with little bit of peat moss added to it.

---------- Post added at 12:50 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:46 PM ----------

Great setup! LOL! My plants are so ghetto!
LOL. You can be soo funny! I can't wait to have summer so I can put these outside with the sun. My kitchen countertop is getting a bit cramped with bunch of pots here and there. I am going to make it a bit more pleasing to the eye, otherwise my DH will have a fit(he's got small case of OCD)

---------- Post added at 12:52 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:50 PM ----------

I have often considered creating such a natural looking artificial Pinguicula substrate, but just couldn't justify (to myself) using that much space for so few plants. Still, I may do so, some day - it has such an appealing appearance.

:poke:hehe, how about outside in the sun? only if I had a house with a backyard, they all will be outside in full sun most of the time!(minus the winter)!
Now, I only have to cross my fingers and hope that the plants will actually end up ok, and not worse!
 
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  • #13
suite

I use for my mexican and for some temperate this substrate

cat litier (non-clumping and unscented) 50%
river sand 12.5%
pouzzolane 12.5%
oolithic calcareous sand 12.5%
vermiculite 12.5%

now I use in my 50% to cat liter 20% akadama ( bonzaï clay)

P. medusina is a gypsicole specie , 'in situ' they grow in pure gypsum , I use for these gypsicole species just pure gypsum + river sand 50/50

jeff
 
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  • #15
How about a mix of crushed coral and APS for them?
 
  • #16
yeap!
http://www.cpukforum.com/forum/lofiversion/index.php/t39337.html

It was late one evening, and I was searching for P. Gypsicola [Edit: The name is actually Pinguicula gypsicola or P. gypsicola, the second part of plant names are always written in all lower case.] online to purchase and serendipitously ran into several images from that thread (from Google Images).
LOL I then proceeded to purchase 25lbs of Plaster of Paris from Blick art store that evening- speaking of being impulsive!
 
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  • #17
Candice324,
Very interesting thread. I wish you every success in establishing your Pinguicula colonies. I hope to see updates showing good progress as your endeavor progresses.
 
  • #18
Joseph, If you are going to be adjusting nomenclature then shouldn't the Genus and species names be changed to be italics too?
 
  • #19
Joseph, If you are going to be adjusting nomenclature then shouldn't the Genus and species names be changed to be italics too?

pwned.

this is an incredible thread and idea. P. gypsicola grew well for me until a certain point where it pooped out on me... booo. i need to get my self some leaf pullings and start my own rock. if anyone has leaf pulling available PM me pronto as i know they are just starting to wake up from their winter phase.

Alex
 
  • #20
pwned.

this is an incredible thread and idea. P. gypsicola grew well for me until a certain point where it pooped out on me... booo. i need to get my self some leaf pullings and start my own rock. if anyone has leaf pulling available PM me pronto as i know they are just starting to wake up from their winter phase.

Alex

Surely a few will pop up this year during the NASC Benefit Auction...
 
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