Reviving a neglected collection - take II

[flytraplady5]

hey Joseph
since i consider you the guru of pings .so glad that you came thru with that technical explantion on t Ca+
since i consider you the guru of pings
I will never forget the amazing room full of pings that I saw when I was priviledged to meet you several years ago
A gracious host and freely sharing your knowledge of these plants
Lois

[Joseph Clemens]

Howdy Lois,
Thank you for the many kind words.

Presently, I am finally in the process of reviving my collection. Originally I was up to 120 shoebox sized trays of plants. Now, after almost four years of being almost waterless, and with some of the many fluorescent light fixtures having failed, there are still 30 trays, almost full of plants. Nearly all of the survivors were in Winter leaf form, until I made sure they had working lights and began watering them. Many have begun to respond positively to this change in their growing conditions. I have decided not to focus on

One reason I typically maintain a uniform growing environment, year-'round is that I find more plants are lost while adjusting to Winter drying and to Spring moistening, than are ever lost when I maintain them under high artificial light levels and keep them very wet, year-'round. Coaxing my plants back into strong growth from an extended period of dryness, I find to be a tricky thing to do. I've discovered that many species that are (heterophyllous), continue to cycle between their two different leaf forms, and that it takes different combinations of changing environmental conditions, with different species, to effect those changes. Still there are several species (considered homophyllous) that appear to also grow and bloom quite well under a fairly constant environment.