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!
Pings arrived dormant
- Thread starter Cindy
- Start date
Hi Cindy,
I would use 1/4 of each: sand, peat, vermiculite, perlite. This is what I used for all my mexican pings. They all do great, except P.agnata, which I suspect to require less watering. If they are dormant, I would go for a lightly moist substrate that you will let dry during the winter. I don't know if you can use dry substrate right away, I'm always paranoid about letting the plants drying out, even if the pings can hold this very well.
Overhead watering and strong light are perfect, but try to do not drop water on the foliage when you water them.
I would use 1/4 of each: sand, peat, vermiculite, perlite. This is what I used for all my mexican pings. They all do great, except P.agnata, which I suspect to require less watering. If they are dormant, I would go for a lightly moist substrate that you will let dry during the winter. I don't know if you can use dry substrate right away, I'm always paranoid about letting the plants drying out, even if the pings can hold this very well.
Overhead watering and strong light are perfect, but try to do not drop water on the foliage when you water them.
Uh, none of the above mentioned Pinguicula have a dormancy. They are tropical heterophyllous Pinguicula. Under healthy growing conditions, they never stop growing.
A good place to find out more about these fascinating tropical CP is CP Database Pinguicula Article.
What you may mean is that they are in their "winter" leaf form and not their "summer" leaf form of growth, hence the group name: tropical heterophyllous (more than one kind of leaf).
Some of the tropical Mexican Pinguicula do have a sort of dormancy, though I question even this. I am referring to the ones like P. heterophylla or P. acuminata both of which are not visible above the media when they are in their "winter" leaf form. I question "dormancy" because they are known to flower in this form, sending up their flowers from the underground, leafless, "dormant" plant. Not quite true dormant behavior.
Dormancy = state of the plant when growth has ceased for the year.
A good place to find out more about these fascinating tropical CP is CP Database Pinguicula Article.
What you may mean is that they are in their "winter" leaf form and not their "summer" leaf form of growth, hence the group name: tropical heterophyllous (more than one kind of leaf).
Some of the tropical Mexican Pinguicula do have a sort of dormancy, though I question even this. I am referring to the ones like P. heterophylla or P. acuminata both of which are not visible above the media when they are in their "winter" leaf form. I question "dormancy" because they are known to flower in this form, sending up their flowers from the underground, leafless, "dormant" plant. Not quite true dormant behavior.
Dormancy = state of the plant when growth has ceased for the year.
As you know I live in a "HOT", but dry climate -- most of the year, that is. Right now it is somewhat cooler and moister -- though the moister is not that common even this time of year.
None of that matters where I grow my Pings right now. They are indoors (climate controlled) under fluorescent lights. I run the lights on timers (15 hours per day). Since it is predominantly "Hot" outside, and especially so in the daytime, I set my lights to turn on at 6 p.m. (1800) and to go off at 9 a.m. (0900). This is to prevent overtaxing my compressor-driven home air-conditioning system, which would prevent it from keeping the temperature in the plant room below 90F at all times. The actual temperatures experienced by the plants are (85F high during their day, 75F low during their night). I had observed that most of the heterophyllous Pings have been switching between "summer" and "winter" leaf form at various times (many of the same species/clones would be in either form at any given time). I have not been able to "control" this behavior despite various attempts at doing so. I had been growing them in 100% Sphagnum peat moss, but recently have been testing various calcareous media on those Pings that can appreciate it, in order to improve my growing technique.
None of that matters where I grow my Pings right now. They are indoors (climate controlled) under fluorescent lights. I run the lights on timers (15 hours per day). Since it is predominantly "Hot" outside, and especially so in the daytime, I set my lights to turn on at 6 p.m. (1800) and to go off at 9 a.m. (0900). This is to prevent overtaxing my compressor-driven home air-conditioning system, which would prevent it from keeping the temperature in the plant room below 90F at all times. The actual temperatures experienced by the plants are (85F high during their day, 75F low during their night). I had observed that most of the heterophyllous Pings have been switching between "summer" and "winter" leaf form at various times (many of the same species/clones would be in either form at any given time). I have not been able to "control" this behavior despite various attempts at doing so. I had been growing them in 100% Sphagnum peat moss, but recently have been testing various calcareous media on those Pings that can appreciate it, in order to improve my growing technique.
