Pinguicula colimensis

[dionysos86]

Is anyone's colimensis still dormant? I got mine while it was dormant and made the mistake of planting it in a normal ping mix, where it sat motionless for about a month. Then I planted it in pure perlite and it still did nothing. It's got a couple of very small glandular leaves that are almost indistinguishable from the succulent leaves. Now I'm scouring the Internet for more exotic soil additives. The plant is on a 16 hr photoperiod so I would think it would produce summer leaves. Any advice or help?

 

[amphirion]

dont rush it. rushing the plant to wake up will end up killing it. mine seems to stay dormant for awhile myself. started to make carnivorous leaves when summer approached. could be triggered by warmer temperatures and increased lighting. once you see it waking up, then start adding the water.

 

[dionysos86]

I'm thinking maybe its remaining dormant bc it doesn't like the media it's in ( pure perlite). All my other pings are producing summer leaves, so I'm just kind of wondering. I know colimensis is a bit pickier than your average ping. I'm not trying to force it, just make it happy in my conditions. I keep the pings on a 16 hr photoperiod during the summer and reduce it down to 10 for the winter. I'm just wondering if inadequate media could keep a ping in the succulent phase when it should be carnivorous.

 

[amphirion]

never heard of a media issue cause dormancy before. personally, i think it's highly unlikely, considering that pings will grow almost anywhere as long as they have some sort of access to moisture... even empty styrofoam cups...

 

[Maiden]

Amphirion: when you said adding water when the plant woke up, you mean adding 'a lot' of water like in the middle of summer? Or just adding a bit, and increase slowly week to week?
Im trying to find a good watering routine for the spring, because i lost many pinguicula to roots rot when they come out of dormancy :-(

 

[amphirion]

My case is unique since I am growing my plants on rocks, but yes, ideally increasing the watering frequency gradually is the best way to go. Normal watering may be resumed when plants grow in full force.