Looking for help?

showbiz · Jun 14, 2003

I just got one of these tiny little P. esseriana as a gift, my question is, should I let the plant shoot out flower stems or should I cut them of.. I'm not trying to get seeds out of them. Will the flowers slow the growth of my plant? It's a tiny little plant. Since it's my first ping what should I do as far as how much natural light I should give it. Should I have water in its tray all the time or can I just keep the soil damp

CP2k · Jun 14, 2003

If you want to enjoy the flowers(probably the most attractive feature of many mexican pings), then let the flower develop. Many of these sp. only set seeds with cross pollination of a different clone.
Mexican pings enjoy bright indirect light all day or full morning sun.

epbb · Jun 14, 2003

I grow nearly my Mexican Pinguicula in a small greenhouse and in full sun. They show wonderfull colors and seems to flower more longer.

Their flowers are very nice and with a good light, the leaves are also a nice spot to see.

BUT, my plants had time to be used with the sun since march so, the summer sun is not dangerous !

CP2k · Jun 15, 2003

The amount of light these plants should get depends on where you live. In Southern California, it is best to shade these plants as the light is very intense and the temperatures are high.

epbb · Jun 15, 2003

Sure it depends on the area you live !

In mine, near Paris, France, the sun is less abondant than in Florida !

Today, it was an hot day in France and temperature in my greenhouse reach 42 °C

showbiz · Jun 16, 2003

Thanks for the help.. I have another question.. If I wanted to cut off the flower where should I cut it off from.. Should I cut it off towards the crown of the plant, or should I cut of the flower and let the stem wilt off

Tamlin Dawnstar · Jun 17, 2003

Leave as much scape as possible after removing the floral part: the scape has chloroplasts that will help with photosynthesis if allowed to remain.

Vic Brown · Jun 17, 2003

I wouldn't cut the flower off, it isn't going to significantly weaken your plant, and as has already been said the flowers are one of the best things about Pings.

P. esseriana is just about the easiest Ping to propagate from leaf-cuttings that I know, leaves frequently fall from my bowls full of these little beauties and start developing plantlets complete with roots on the windowsill. Just gently tug off a few leaves and lay them on the soil surface of your pot, you will soon have plenty more plants to enjoy or share.

Vic

Capslock · Jun 17, 2003

I'm glad you mentioned that Vic. I bought a P. esseriana a while back and in transport, it suffered a little collision and three leaves were dislodged but came to rest in the pot an inch or so from the main plant. All three formed new plants, and now are little rosettes. One of them landed upside down and formed an upside down rosette! the roots just wrapped around the whole thing down into the soil. I finally flipped it over and retrained the roots into the soil. I think I could make 20 plants if I cannibalized the original plant!

Capslock