P. kondoi / reticulata growing expierences

[teinkes]

Hi All

I have a plant named P kondoi what is not growing well. Well ya it could be rather P. reticulata as I read in the past that there are no kondoi's in cultivation...

Anyway, I have 2 different clones and both aren't growing well So I wonder if they need more water then the other mex pings species. Those 2 are together with all the other Mexican pings. All the other Pings are growing very well... exept my 2 kondoi's.

Growing media is pure mineral. perlite / zand / lava 1-3mm / lava 5-10mm / pumice.

Or maybe it's just a slow grower, 2 bad klones...I do not know so people with expierence with this species have some suggestions...

thanks

Teinkes

[ICPS-bob]

I have been growing what is called P. kondoi (likely P. reticulata). It is a small rosetty plant that flowers occasionally and divides readily without intervention.

I grow all of my Pings in a mixture of half peat half coarse quartz sand with a small amount of perlite. When the soil appears to be a bit dry (every 3-5 days), I water from the top until the water drains out of the bottom. This may not be the best approach, but works for me under my growing conditions in the foggy north coast of California. In winter the temps in my greenhouse may occasionally approach freezing at night and in summer the max temp may reach 80F, but summer night temps are in the low 50F. What works for you depends greatly on growing conditions (light, soil, climate). Start with what works for others and then always experiment until you find what works for you.

[teinkes]

Well I will try one of the clones with the peat - zand - perlite mixture you mentioned. The other conditions are like your's , the right temp etc as I am working in the botanical garden here in Meise. conditioned greenhouse and all other plants are doing right exept that one. SO I still wonder if it's not the plant, the clone.

[31drew31]

I have only been growing this Pinguicula for about 8 months but has been relatively easy so far and has been flowering for probably 5 months. I use various mixes, but I am growing it right now in mostly perlite and sand, with some ground LFS and tufa rock (about 10% of media). Before it was in an all mineral media somewhat similar to yours. My plants get lots of strong light from HOT5's, temperatures around 80F day, 50-60F nights and lots of bloodworms

[Joseph Clemens]

I've been growing Pinguicula reticulata since 2000. It is incredibly resilient and durable. Some of mine have survived many years without water (even, with A/C's extra dryness) just constant fluorescent lighting. I am nursing the survivors back to health, so here are some pics when they were given better conditions.

[Dave Evans]

I have never been able to keep this species alive. It just shrinks away to nothing. Sometimes it takes a couple of years, but whenever I get one of these, the decline starts almost immediately... But my conditions are window sill, are you guys doing something special/not windowsill conditions to get this species to be so easy???

[Joseph Clemens]

I grow mine in various mineral media, or combinations of mineral media ingredients. An easy one is primarily 100% perlite, lightly dusted with powdered iron oxide, then I top the pots of perlite with about 1/4" layer of heavier minerals, such as turface. I assemble the media and pots, with the media ingredients moist. The turface is pre-hydrated with a weak solution of soluble plant food. After the pot and media are assembled I place the pots in trays of water, with the water near the top of the media surface (this makes it easier to perform the rest of my potting steps. I need some dried, powdered insects. This can be freeze-dried tubifex or bloodworms, or my favorite, home-collected, dried and powdered insects. I keep it in recycled medicine bottles, so I have a supply available.

With the pot sitting in the water tray, nearly ready to be potted up. I use my widger to make a planting hole. I make the hole through the top layer and into the perlite layer beneath, then I sprinkle a few pinches of insect powder into the planting hole and also on the sidewalls. Once that is done, I place the bareroot plant into the hole and gently push the media around the roots with the widger. Now that the plants are potted-up I place them in shoebox size trays of water, under 4100K fluorescent lights, usually on 24/7/365, and within 4 - 6 inches from the plants. I never let the trays dry out. I've only let that happen when other issues prevented me from caring properly for my plants. I regularly dust the plants leaves with the insect powder and spritz with the dilute soluble fertilizer solution. They grow and bloom quite prodigiously in these conditions.

This is what a widger is.