P. balcanica from seed

[SilverKiento]

Yesterday I acquired some P. balcanica in hopes that I will be able to germinate it. I sowed the seeds in a pot of an equal parts mix of peat and sand. I added a bit of water and sprinkled the seeds on the surface. Now the pot is in a plastic baggy in the fridge where it will remain for 5 weeks.

Is there anything I should know about P. balcanica to make my chances for success better? This will be my first attempt at growing a temperate ping, and I realize the difficulty that I may run into when it comes time to overwinter it. I suppose that I will put it on a chilly windowsill during the dormancy period, and hope it works.

Also, would it be ok to skip the first dormancy period? I'd imagine that it would be much harder to overwinter brand new seedlings so if it would be possible to skip it, I would seriously consider doing so and just keep it on my plant shelf for the first year.

I'm hoping to have some success with this so that I can gain some experience with temperate pings. The number of seeds I got was low.. so I think my chances of success are low, but the chances are good enough for me. They're far from hopeless.

[marcel]

So far I only have success with temperate species outdoors (but I do have a lot of them).
Balcanica is not very difficult but don't be surprised if the seeds don't germinate in the first year (actually, I think about 40% of my plants germinated after 2 seasons).
Also if you have plants, don't think you have lost them next spring. I have had several times that i couldn't find a hibirnicula for the world only to find several plants a month later.

I would advise against skipping dormancy, the plants mature fast.

[SilverKiento]

Alright, I won't skip dormancy.

Would it be possible to grow it inside in the summer and then move it outside in the winter? Where I grow my outdoor CPs, the sun is strong enough to fry a ping. It has happened before. So I would like to avoid growing it outside in the summer, if at all possible.

What kind of temperatures can they handle outside? I know that the sun here can be too extreme for most pings, but I think I'm more worried about the cold. It gets close to single digits here in the winter, but it's mostly around the teens. So far I haven't even been able to get a sarr to survive a dormancy here.. I'm thinking what are my chances with a ping?

[marcel]

maximum about + 30 degrees C, minimum minus 15 would be a good guideline.

If the sun is to hot you can tray shading.
I have my pings in a "box" (about 4 m2) lined with pond liner, about 8 cm deep. Then there is space for about 25- 30 cm en then I have a frame made from green netting. I do this for protection against those @###$ birds but the finer mesh would also act as shading. By standing in pots in water you can also have you plants enjoy warmer temperature then in plain soil.

[SilverKiento]

I see, I should be able to handle that. I will have to watch the temperature regardless, it does get above 86 degrees here, not often though. Currently it is 84 degrees.

So a water tray and maybe some mesh netting and it'll be fine? All right!

Thanks for the help, I really appreciate it.

[Dave Evans]

Dear Kiento,

I am unware of any species of Pinguicula which requires stratification... The temperate species (which are those which might require it) all flower right at the start of spring and the seed germinates immediately. Unlike most other CP, playsand (made of calcium carbonate) is better than quartz sand for most species, not sure about this one... If this species makes a dormant bud, there will be no way to skip dormancy.

silverkiento said:

Yesterday I acquired some P. balcanica in hopes that I will be able to germinate it. I sowed the seeds in a pot of an equal parts mix of peat and sand. I added a bit of water and sprinkled the seeds on the surface. Now the pot is in a plastic baggy in the fridge where it will remain for 5 weeks.

Also, would it be ok to skip the first dormancy period? I'd imagine that it would be much harder to overwinter brand new seedlings so if it would be possible to skip it, I would seriously consider doing so and just keep it on my plant shelf for the first year.

[SilverKiento]

The instructions on the site I ordered it from said they needed cold stratification. You think I should just take em out of the fridge and wing it?

[marcel]

Yes, it makes a dormant bud, yes it needs cold temperatures to germinate and it should be grown in a mixture of quartssand and peat (1:2 roughly).

[SilverKiento]

Well if they flower in the spring then they should germinate when it's warm. That seems to make the most sense. I guess I'll just leave it in the fridge since there is uncertainty here. It can't hurt.

[marcel]

You do that. I have been growing them for years (two flower colors), as well as vulgaris, grandiflora, leptoceras, bohemica, alpina, several longifolia ssp, vallisnerifolia, nevadensis, antartica and lusitanica.

[wadave]

Hi Marcel,

With that impressive list it sounds like you're the guy to ask some advice.

I live in Perth west oz, it's zone 10 on the American rating and I successfully grow mexican pings without any special treatment both in a terrarium and in the greenhouse.

My question is this, would I need any special conditions if I wanted to add temperate pings to my collection?

Typically our winters don't go below freezing with days in the low to mid teens in deg C.

Thanks,

Dave.

[marcel]

Hi Dave,

Well, I think you need two things:
1. a kind of shading to take the worst of the heat off in summer.
2. Mid tens won't germinate seed and doesn't provide plants with dormancy. That means that seeds will have to be placed in the refrigerator for 6 to 8 weeks before they can germinate. Also adult plants will want to form hibirnicula (winter-buds) they also can be stored for a month or two in a refrigerator when you wrap them in slightly damp cotton (preferably treated with fungicide to be safe) and then in plastic.

O and alpina is out I am afraid, it doesn't for hibiricula and you can't place the plant in the fridge.

good luck in growing.