Cultivating Mexican Pinguicula

[swords]

OFF TOPIC (sorta): The ultraviolet light put out by fluorescent lamps is enough to color up our plants but isn't enough for lizards to convert calcium? Or are the $30 UV twisty CF bulbs I buy for my lizard just a total marketing scam or do they actually put out a "different kind" of UV than say the reef keepers compact fluorescent tubes?

If Mexipings grow at higher elevations, perhaps the reason people don't/can't grow them in terrariums is because it's normally too hot and stagnant for them in a fish tank? Just a wild guess...

[Not a Number]

The reptile UV lamps give off more of the UVB medium waves - essential for vitamin D production. And probably a bit of marketing hype.

[Wolfn]

I found a Pinguicula 'Pirouette' online for a very good price. Can someone please give me the basics of it? When I should I order it? When does it come out of succulent stage?

Ok, I have this plant. When should I let it go into it's succulent stage? Or does it go into a succulent stage at all (I know one of it's parents, P. agnata, does not turn into a succulent and is carnivorous year round).

[rattler]

i doubt its the UV off the lamps turning them pink.....if my summer sun dont turn them pink as im a couple thousand feet in in the air and my summer days are longer than Mexicos summer days its likely some other factor....

[jimscott]

Ok, I have this plant. When should I let it go into it's succulent stage? Or does it go into a succulent stage at all (I know one of it's parents, P. Agnata, does not turn into a succulent and is carnivorous year round).

I've been reducing the photoperiod with a timer to roughly coincide with reality. And now, that plant is not only not yet producing winter leaves, it is sending up a flower scape, as are:

P. gracilis x moctezumae

P. gigantea x moctezumae

P. gypsicola x kohres

P. moctezumae x kohres

P. 'Aphrodite'

But some plants are going into winter leaf mode.

[Not a Number]

i doubt its the UV off the lamps turning them pink.....if my summer sun dont turn them pink as im a couple thousand feet in in the air and my summer days are longer than Mexicos summer days its likely some other factor....

Most of the Mexican Pinguicula are found at altitudes of 1200-3000 meters (3936-9842 feet) on northern slopes and north facing crevices/ravines or in the shade of pine, oak or cloud forests. They receive little direct sunlight and usually only in summer due to the facing of the crevices/ravines. Ed Read says he found a huge colony of one species on the walls of a north facing valley/ravine perpetually shrouded in mist from a nearby waterfall.

Only a few like P. gigantea grow in full sunlight.

Diffused light and shade favors the blue and ultraviolet spectrum. Peter D'Amato has commented that his plants color up magnificently in the portions of his greenhouse that have diffused lighting.

Mexico is also closer to the equator than you are - less atmospheric filter = stronger sunlight.

Easy enough to test. Buy some UV filter sleeves. Use tubes warm color (redder) tubes vs cooler (blue) colors with and without UV filters. And compare species like P. gigantea grows in full sun and P. colimensis (found at 500 m on sunny northern slopes).

So what's your hypothesis?

[rattler]

do believe in the summer we would be closer to the sun than the equator....or atleast equal to it for the same reason there is 24 hours of daylight in Alaska during part of the summer....the earth is tilted....

still your argument doesnt make seance......could be the ratio of visible light versus UV that is the key, but UV itself doesnt get stronger after passing through the leaves of a tree, just less visible light gets through.....the UV wavelengths will be stronger out in the open than through shade cloth....UV just penetrates these better than visible light wave lengths...

would say its possible that since red pigments absorb light akin to black that plants in full sun dont produce any pink coloration due to the fact the plants themselves will be more prone to warm up faster and loose moisture at a faster rate....

[Joseph Clemens]

For details of variations in UV radiation reaching the earth at various altitudes and latitudes, here is a link to one source: U.S. EPA.

For example, the expected UV exposure in Oaxaca, Mexico is here. I compare that with my local UV, here at Tucson, AZ. I consider my exposure here in Tucson to be high, and it is, but nothing like closer to the equator or at high elevations close to the equator. Anything North of our latitude is significantly lower in overall UV exposure.

[Joseph Clemens]

Here's a link to a Mexican Pinguicula cultivation web page I put together a few years ago.

Cultivating Mexican Pinguicula

[jimscott]

Looks like I need to mix sand with the APS, and some rust!