Care Tips for Mexican Pinguicula
Hi CP Folks! This is my first time growing some really tiny Mexican Pings.
I've researched quite a bit on M. Pings, and understood that they prefer well draining soil, but also contain enough minerals for the roots to hold onto.
I primarily grow cacti and succulents, so my mix might still appear to be too gritty.. so would like to hear your soil, care tips and advise.
My mix consist of 1 part - turface, 1 part - grow stones, 1 part - vermiculite, 1 part - perlite and 1 part - mixed peat and coir. They are all screened except till a sieve to prevent dust/finer particles except for the mixed peat and coir part.
I mainly use terra cotta pots (too airy for Pings), so I improvised and poked some drainage holes into some Styrofoam cups.
This is a Pinguicula 'Weser', doesn't seem to have alot of roots, then again like I mentioned I only grew cacti and succulents, so I don't know how much roots to expect. Is this amount of roots normal for a Mexican Ping?
Also, the leaves droop alot! Making it very difficult to pot. What I did, like how I pot most echeverias, is using the soil to pitch a 'mini mount', then anchor the drooping plant over the 'mount'. Hope this is fine.
Pinguicula 'Esseriana', this guy seems to have more roots than the previous one.
The green succulent leaves are signs that it is going dormant? Should I begin to water lesser if the plant is going dormant?
So far, I've only used distilled bottled water, nothing else. Kept them in a humidity tray, and whenever the water in tray is low, or almost completely dehydrated, I water them from the top of the mix, on the edges of the plant. Never over the plant.
They get bright, shaded indirect sunlight. Do I keep them this way? I've read they don't really need much direct sunlight.
Cheers,
Bernard
Comments (7)
tommyr_gw Zone 6
8 years ago
Paul MI
8 years agoRelated Discussions
Is this Pinguicula Moranesis?
Comments (16)P.macroceras and vulgaris from the US go into a true dormancy. I am not sure if species like caerulea, lutea and planifolia require a dormancy period as I have grown all three as tropicals for a few years. As for the mexican species, most go through a period of succulent growth during the winter dry season. Some species like medusina and heterophylla etc. will completely die back to a small bulb buried in the soil, while other species will produce above ground succulent growth. Not sure if this can be refered to as a dormancy as the plant continues to grow....See Moremexican butterwort domancy/propagation questions
Comments (7)I agree with petiolaris's previous posts. I put my Venus flytraps through dormancy mainly by decreasing daylight during winter. As you give the plants less light and then less water, they will get to the point where they have entered a dormancy, but you must gradually increase light and water levels so that dormancy is at least 3 months long. If you mess with carnivorous plant cycles too much and do not give them the proper length of time to go dormant and then start growth again, they will decrease in health and vigor and eventually die. I would wait until the pinguicula you have goes dormant naturally and then take leaf pullings. I have also read that carnivorous leaves of pinguicula do not grow new plantlets very well, but I am not sure if that is true. If I were you, I would wait until the plant goes dormant by the natural decrease in light and as day length decreases, you should decrease water so the plant stays just slightly moist. That should help....See MoreMexican Petunias (tall) Report
Comments (8)Christie, you wouldn't be jealous if you knew how much work it is to keep it. I checked on it at 8 AM today and the thermometers showed 45 degrees. Yikes! I have been too busy with burning leaves and garden clean-up to get the gas furnace going in there -- depending at night on a 1500 watt electric heater that really works well. But apparently 30 degrees burned out the gh fuse and no power. I'll have to fire the gas furnace up today for sure. I use gh bubblewrap over all the vertical glass and that needs to be put up before the furnace gets going. The Mexican petunia link looks like the same. Wonder if you could order one in March or April and get some cuttings started before last frost date? I'd be tempted to do that. My sunny kitchen sink windowsill is overflowing with rooting plants all year long. Sunny...See MorePinguiculas that flower year round?
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8 years agooldmangroot
8 years agobernardyjh
8 years agoHey Ping folks! Thanks for stopping by and leaving your tips and comments. I really appreciate reading them, especially so for a newbie like me.
Here are some update on them a few months on..
The little leave fall from P Esseiana decided to propagate into an new plant! It's really exciting to see that Pings are very "fussy" plants as compared to some of my succulent/cacti.
As the fall/winter weather kicks in, I moved my plants under lights now. Still with the humidity tray. More updates as we go on!
oldmangroot
8 years ago
bernardyjhOriginal Author