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Ping. gigantea

I don't own a digital camera but if any of you are planning to attend the BACPS Show next Sunday, I am displaying my Ping. gigantea. It currently has a 13" leaf span. 2 years ago the plant maxed out at 15" before it bloomed. Alfred Lau saw the plant and said it was the largest Ping he had ever seen but had heard that some specimens of gigantea could reach 18" or more!

Phil
 
It seems that plants with less light go larger than the one with bright light even fewx hours of direct sun.

The plants seems to adapt their leaves to catch more or less light.

I have also noted that in full sun, the plants turn yellowish comparatively to more shaded plants that are green
 
Wow! I have a P. 'Titan' that is approaching 12 inches. It's HUGE! I'll be at the BACPS meeting, and will bring a camera!

Capslock
 
Eric,

If you remember the CPN when they intoduced it(Maybe w/o a name), it was described as a "yellow" ping growing in full sun in hard to reach rocky, outcrops.
Phil, could you remind me of your compost again? I think you said your secret was growing it in a soil filled tray so the humidity is super high?
Cheers,

Joe
 
Yes Joe, you are right.
smile_m_32.gif
 
[b said:
Quote[/b] (The Griffin @ Sep. 21 2004,10:05)]Phil, could you remind me of your compost again?
This is Leo Song's recipe quoted from
http://www.carnivorousplants.org/cultivars/cpncultivars/v30.html
Pinguicula ‘Titan’ is very vigorous and easy to grow. We use a general mix for carnivorous plants (2 parts coco peat, 2 parts peat moss, 1 part fine orchid bark, 3 parts #20 quartz sand, 1-1.5 parts coarse perlite) to which we add a bit of dolomite and gypsum (1 part to 800 parts potting mix). A 5 cm (2 inch) layer of perlite is placed at the bottom of the pot for added drainage and enhanced aeration.
 
In case Phil misses this thread, here's what I found from
http://www.bacps.org/2002Spring.html

Part 1:
[b said:
Quote[/b] ]Phil Faulisi brought in a Pinguicla gigantea, which he grew in a large square pot containing peat, sand and vermiculite. He transplants yearly and does not fertilize at all.

Part 2:
[b said:
Quote[/b] ]Phil Faulisi brought in Pinguicula display of P. esseriana, P.
gigantea, P. pumila, P. rotundifolia, and P. hemiepiphytica. He grows
them in peat, charcoal, vermiculite, sphagnum and small orchid bark. Phil also brought in a huge hybrid specimen of P. 'John Rizzi' grown in
peat, charcoal and perlite. Phil generally uses peat, perlite and
sphagnum no sand for his mix. He then grows them in full sun with RO
water and uses no fertilizers. His P. gigantea can achieve a diameter
of 14" across.

I guess the mix would be something between Part 1 & 2.
 
Thanks Bob and Emesis,

I would just chalk this up to good growing, as Phil has great conditions and is very adaptive. I am guessing the mix is not as important as how he gorws it.

Cheers,

Joe
 
It's funny how often I get mis-quoted when I bring display plants in. I never use perlite or vermiculite - ever - on any pings. I grow my gigantea for the most part in equal parts of peat and chopped long fibre sphagnum with a little sand added in. Not too much though because I don't like the mix too heavey. The peat I use is a special grade sold only to nursery growers. It has a very light and fluffy composition and helps to keep the mix open. I am now finding that I get much better growth by using pure long fibre sphagnum moss. Again - shallow, large surface pans or containers 2-3" deep, and full sun. I let the plants dry out to the point of being just damp before I water again. I never stick with one mix for all plants.

One can find pings growing in combinations of mixes in the greenhouse. I experiment often and then repeat what works best. I did at one time use my nepenthes mix on them with good results, but found they did just as well with less ingredients and careful attention to watering. The key for this species, under my conditions, is to use a somewhat epiphytic mix or to adjust my watering so they are not grown wet. I don't believe the plants are found in really wet conditions. I use large pans and trays because the extra humidity around the leaves helps them spread out and anyone who knows me knows I hate the look of a ping with leaves folding over the edge of a pot.

I have also found that the heavier the mix is the smaller the plant gets. There is also lots of air circulation around the greenhouse at all times as well. If grown in soil too wet or too heavy, I find the plants lift themselves out of the soil and develop aerial roots. I now grow and propagate all my John Rizzi plants in pure sphagnum and am getting the biggest and most succulent growth on them ever. The rosettes or leaf cuttings are placed on top of a 2" layer of sphagnum and allowed to spread. They develop larger root systems and are much easier to transplant.

It's pretty much different for other growers. You try as many different mixes and growing conditions as you can until you hit on the right combo. I've tried mixes reccomended by other growers with disasterous results so now I stick with what works under my conditions. I also try to stick to simplicity. If a plant if found growing in the leaf litter between limestone rock crevices I use a mix that is very fluffy and open but I don't go adding all kinds of limestone and vermiculite and all that other stuff that many other growers use. It just doesn't work for my plants under my conditions. It may for Joe next door, but not for me.

Phil
 
  • #10
But I don't live next door. If I did, I would stop by once in a while....
smile_n_32.gif
 
  • #11
Phil,

Thanks for clearing up your mix. I thought the BACPS printed stuff seemed different from your current mix, and I attributed that to the age of the article. I probably used a too peat-heavy mix for the P. moranensis var. mexicana. I'll let it dry out between watering.
 
  • #12
I empathize very much with what Phil said. Living on the Tropic of Capricorn, I could never find other CPers to exchange cultivation info in similar conditions. What most CPers described as "perfect" growing conditions for different species never worked for me. Not to mention that all soil mixes seemed to involve peat, an ingredient that was inexistent around here 10-15 years ago when I was a cultivator. It was all trial and error, I had to find what worked best in my conditions. So good luck to all!!
smile.gif
:)

Fernando Rivadavia
Sao Paulo, Brazil
 
  • #13
Where would one purchase cocoa peat? Which pings would benefit from a mix containing same?
 
  • #14
PetFlytrap sells coir: Growcoir
It's long cocnut fibers compressed into a brick. Add water and it expands into a course, fibrous material. I have just tried it this year as a peat substitute/extender and have only used it on a few plants. I find, so far, that it makes for a quick draining potting soil that stays moist but doesn't pack down as much as plain peat/perlite does over time.
 
  • #16
my p.gigantea shrunk from 12" to 10" in diameter. Very unusual behaviour. Also it is dividing and has two flowers open at the moment. Any ideas on hour to self pollinate them. There are three flowers and I tried it on the very first with a tooth pick but no luck. Can they be self pollinated from the same flower or is flower to flower better?

C
 
  • #17
Same flower usually works fine for me.
 
  • #18
I bought a P. Gigantea from LACPS for $1 and it now has a 6inch diameter... I just left it in the pot, watered it, and put in my terrarium...
smile_n_32.gif
Do these plants generally grow faster compared to other cp's?
 
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