What's new
TerraForums Venus Flytrap, Nepenthes, Drosera and more talk

Register a free account today to become a member! Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members through your own private inbox!

An experiment

Pyro

N=R* fs fp ne fl fi fc L
Moderator
In a discussion with a fellow grower I leardned that he uses crushed coral as the primary ingredient for his Mexican Pinguigula species. I though this an odd choice but when I looked at his plants I saw that cuttings I had given him were easily 3-4 times the size of the plants I had made the cuttings off of. With this in mind I have decided to switch up my mix. I purchased 10kilos of crushed coral and washed it till the water ran clear then soaked it with 4 changes in 24hrs. Next I mixed in vermiculite, charcoal, perlite and clay pellets to about 10% of the total mix. I will follow up here with updates on how the plants are doing if you all are interested.
 
Huh.. so your saying it is about 90% crushed coral with just a little of the other things mixed in.

When I have received Pings from overseas they appear to be growing in some sort of chalk.
Maybe I will fiddle around with radical mixes.. for the most part the ones I have been using don't work well with my current setup for the Pings.
Tony
 
I hope the experiment goes well. It would be interesting to see if these plants can grow better in the crushed coral.
Most of my plants grow in mixes with at least some peat and perlite. I have tried to grow some plants on inorganic mixes and they grow slower than plants on a mix with some peat. I rarely see any of my pings catch any prey because they are in outdoor terrariums. Maybe the peat is supplying the plants with some nutrients so these plants grow faster than the ones in the inorganic mix.
 
Sure the plants with peat (or other organic adding) grow faster but if your plants may be stressed by heavy temperature or nematodes attack or spider mites..., in inorganic media, they have stronger roots and then are stronger to resist bad conditions.

I have a friend that grow all his Pinguicula on classical peat and sand mix that lost ALL his collection in august with these unusual hot temperatures. Mine suffered also same heavy temperatures but ALL are alived and didn't stopped to grow. Maximun temperature reached in my shaded greenhouse : 46 °C !
 
Tony,

Yep 90% coral, the rest of the stuff is in there mostly because it was the last of it and I figured I could just get rid of it that way and also I thought it might add a little moisture retention. My friend says that he thinks it is the calcium in the coral that the Pings benefit from. When I was repotting I also discovered that the plants he had given me (prepotted) were in his coral mix and they have always done much better than my other Pings in a more organic media. I also thing the loose nature of the media helps. I have also heard that peat can actually stunt the growth of the Mexi-Pings.

One week in and the plants are all looking great, no real obvious improvment but no decline either.
 
Hehe, Pyro forgot to mention top watering with this method.
tounge.gif


Tony,
The chalky substance that you received with the pings was most likely chalk. People use that to add calcium into there mixes when things like dolomite are hard to find. Very similar to the idea of using crushed coral.

I've had a few pings growing fine in a mix similar to this from Pyro's tips for a few weeks now, top watering is basically a must. But other than that the plants seem to like it.
smile.gif
 
I did forget to mention top watering but I also leave the pots in trays with water in them and I usually only top water when the trays dry out and let the flow through just sit until next time
 
I am doubtful that peat stunts the growth of mexican Pinguiculas. Personally, the Pings that I have seen at Cal State Fullerton(under Leo's Songs care) and at CalCarn were grown in mixes with large portions of peat, but with good drainage. These plants were absolutely huge and producing tons of flower.
I grow my pings under cool temperatures(20-30C days, cooler at night) and I have yet to lose a plant to rot. As long as the plants are not kept under hot and humid conditions with stagnant air, they should grow well.
 
I agree, peat has not been a problem for me. I have been using 100% ground peat almost exclusively for many years now. I keep the peat almost constantly WET, I have good growth.

However, this discussion about crushed coral has peaked my curiosity: I have been growing one Pinguicula moctezumae in a mixture of [1/2 gypsum - 1/2 vermiculite] for several years now. It is growing and blooming well and is the only Pinguicula moctezumae which has developed multiple crowns.

Well, I immediately went over to my local pet supply store and got myself a 15# bag of crushed coral sold for marine aquaria. I sieved out the pieces 1/8" (2mm) and smaller and used them in mixes with usual ingredients (peat/vermiculite) and am testing how many of my Pings may respond positively to this media, if at all.

I will report my results as soon as anything out of the ordinary is observed.
 
  • #10
i hear you can grow mexi-pings in abalone shells as well because they also give out calcium . i've been growing my mexi-pings in peat with other organic things too and they don't seem stunted or growing weird, they grow well but a lil slow . i should try this experiment or i can try that egg shell thing .
 
  • #11
how are the plants growing ?

i got a P. ehlersiae pardon my spelling  i don't have the tag with me at the moment.

i first put it into peat/pearlite only to find the roots had all dies and it was sending out new roots .
well i put it  in sand/pearlite/peat , not i'm wondering if i should put it in sand/coral/pearlite. ?
 
i've been wondering , because they go succulant , do they grow in a sand clay soil, in nature ?i'm gonna just take a cutting for in case the big one does'nt like the sand/coral/pearlite.

wish me luck
 
  • #12
So far it seems like the coral is making a huge difference. I am seeing growth like I can't believe, a few plants have even doubled in size in the couple weeks since the transfer. I am also getting a lot of plants flowering.
 
  • #13
Would P. agnata benefit from this type of soil?
anyone know its native soil conditions?
thanks,
Scot
 
  • #14
My agnata are in this soil and doing very well.

As far as the native conditions for agnata, I suggest Eric's website
 
  • #15
Very interesting...

Travis...would this media type be for Mexi pings specifically? Do you think other types like North American would benefit? Or would it be any type that grows in a calciferous area?

I would be interested in trying this.
 
  • #16
I don't think the N. American Pings would do well in this type of mix because they are pretty much always found in areas of straight peat. I think this media works well for Mexi-Pings because they are ofter found in areas where the "soil" is basically a form of limestone so the coral supplies the calcium that they would be exposed to in nature. Some of the European temperate Pings might also do well in a media of this type as I hear they grow in similar conditions but I have never tried growing them so I can not give a definative answer. Again, Eric's site would probably have something on this
 
  • #17
is it possible though to switch the growing medium of a mexi ping and n. american ping . in peter d'amatos book he says that different types of pings are not always closely related to eachother , might as well breed a p. vulgaris with a p. moranensis . hey pyro can you get before and after pics of your pings in this experiment .
 
  • #18
Goldtrap,

I have some before vs. after pics but the trouble is I have no place on the web to put them so I can't post them here
sad.gif
 
  • #19
Maybe Eric could help? This sounds like great material for his website.
 
  • #20
hey pyro , does'nt pft have a home page . i knew that a while ago but i never posted pics cuz i never learned to use my camera properly .
 
Back
Top