Submerging P.planifolia in cultivation...PICS!

[Brian Barnes]

Hello All! Due to the emails i've received for more info on my P. planifolia submersion technique, here ya go!!
Firstly, NEVER do this technique in the Summer or in hot weather...you might lose your plants to rot. You need cool, late fall weather to begin. I prefer to grow my P. planifolia in a mix of 3/4 sand to 1/4 peat, as it mimics the conditions in the wild and as i've seen them many times in this type soil. Slowly fill the container to submerge them completely and leave only the tips of the crown leaves above water. Try not to pour quickly, as this will cover the leaves in peat/sediment. Round tupperware containers with no drainage of course, work best...
Believe it or not, you want STRONG sun while submerged, thats why cool temps are crucial. Let the container sit for three weeks submerged. During this time is when i experience a "growth explosion" with my P. plani's. I theorize that the plant produces larger leaves to make up for lack of sun during submersion. During the fourth week, slowly allow the container to become very wet to the touch and then only moist. Now, here's where you'll "color" your plant by exposing the new jumbo leaves to strong sun, to achieve that lovely red hue!
Keep your plants in this moist-only condition for one month, then submerge again. REMEMBER to discontinue treatment when constantly warm Spring conditions return...
This will allow you to grow huge "cabbage head" planifolia and you'll be amazed at how it affects flowering with TONS of spikes in Spring! I'll be donating some seed from my "giants" to the ICPS seed bank in Spring.
Best of luck and enjoy these gorgeous red gems! Brian.

[locko]

Thats really cool putting what you saw in the wild into practice in cultivation and getting great results.

[Brian Barnes]

Thanks! It does seem to work quite well. I may try P. primuliflora as well...

[kby]

OK, I decided to try this during our recent winter storm in Los Angeles, but, with the passing of the storm, now I have a problem. How do you keep algae from growing in the bright sun?-kby

[Brian Barnes]

Hi! Are your plants indoors or outdoors? A slight green tint to the soil is harmless to the plants. What media are you using to grow them in? Brian.

[kby]

Outside. It's sort of a typical peat/perlite/sand kinda mixture although there might be some long-fibre sphagnum. It was more of a light green scum on top of the water. If it didn't have the peat it might be better as that probably supplies enough nitrates to encourage algal growth (if I apply what I understand from aquarium literature), but it looks like you have some peat or something similar in the pics you have above as well. I'm kinda just letting the water slowly go down at this point, rather than completing the submerge for a whole month, mostly due to the algae (if it gets really bad I'll change the water, but I was just curious if this was any issue you'd encountered--thanks).-kby

[Brian Barnes]

Kby, i grow mine in an almost pure sand mix, with about 1/5 being peat. As you, I believe that peat in these conditions does more harm than good. I would drain the water completely and wait to do your submersion only during extended periods of cold temps. USE ONLY reverse osmosis or pure rainwater for this practice, never tap water. In my opinion, the green algae is more of an eyesore than a threat to plant health....
Brian.

[kby]

Thanks...it was rainwater (remember the storm...) and it's as cold as it's going to get in southern CA; but should be similar or colder to FL, or so I'd think. I think things were potted before your pics, so that's why the media. It also gets stuff falling in anyway from being outside, which probably adds to the stuff in the water. Tnx.

[sarracenialover]

I need to get one of those wate filters...

[alec000]

can you do this with any ping?

[Brian Barnes]

No!!! I would not recommend that.....
Different species of Pinguicula have different cultural requirements.
Happy Growing,
Brian.

[jdallas]

Hi Brian,

I realize this is a very old post, but I was curious if you ever tried the submersion technique with P. primuliflora. I'm having a devil of a time with those in our greenhouse; we get batches of them, they grow great for 4-6 months, then all start dying. We use a 50/50 peat to perlite media with them now and grow them on the simple tray system. Do you use the very sandy mix like you do for P. planifolia?

Jeff

[jeff]

Bonjour

I use this method for planifolia-primuliflora -ionantha with a good result .

for these 3 and for the 3 others ( lutea-caerulea-pumila) I use this substrat : 70% river sand 30% blond peat

jeff