Stu

Another vote for U. minor

Pings vary in their locations and so will require slightly differing setups anyway. For cultivation, you can divide most into two groups of; mexican and temperate pings. Unless you live in Mexico or somewhere of similar climate, I would be very careful of growing Mexican forms outside, where rain and cold temperatures can pester them. Also, as far as I am aware, almost (if not) all Pinguicula species do not populate areas where actual flooding or collection of water occurs, and this is probably why you experience the rotting of the soft fleshy parts. You can prevent this by making sure you fill the compost to the level of the pot at the edges, with a gradual 'mound' in the middle, where the Ping will be situated (slightly higher ground than the rest of the pot). This will ensure that the Ping itself does not become waterlogged. Of course, remember to sit it in a tray that does not leave it submerged when full of water! I cannot speak for everyone but will give my opinions RE lighting. I have a P. 'tina' [mexican] growing very well on my bedroom windowsill which does not get very bright direct light, but still gets some light. I have a garden centre P. hybrid ('sethos'?) [mexican] growing on my lounge windowsill which gets bright, direct (but reduced by net curtains) sun. This causes it to 'colour up' with a strong pink to the leaves. The rest of my Pings (P. grandiflora [temperate] and a few other mexicans), grow in an conservatory/outbuilding which recieves direct sun in the morning and bright light all day, and sees temperatures similar to the outside (11°C-35°C). They grow very well in this setup and seem to love the heat and light (even the grandiflora which is recommended to be kept cool!). Repeated sources of literature I have read also suggest daily misting or light overhead watering, so light rain showers shouldn't really be a problem.... I think it is the standing water around the crown which upsets the plants. Hope that helps,

I have U. livida, U. dichotoma & U. uniflora in a glass tumbler together. A flower scape is just starting to grow.... I can't tell which it is yet! I have thought about doing a big planting of as many terrestrials as possible in a large bowl to see what happens... a project for the future I feel.

Quite a few already became Pinguicula food for one which grows next to it. No doubt a couple of seedlings will germinate in the pot too.

Somehow I doubt I'll have space for a few thousand capensis seedlings! I've saved the seed though if anyone's interested.

Following on from my U. sandersonii having an 11 flower scape, I removed one from my D. capensis 'alba' today, which has borne 33 flowers (and plenty of seed)!

As far as I'm aware, all members of the genus Utricularia have bladder-like traps. For image examples, check the Carnivorous Plant Photo Finder, specifically these.... Example 1 Example 2 Do remember though that these images are magnified... the traps are usually very tiny! Regards,

Hi David, Using those glasses does allow me to see some of the bladder traps, however, they would look even more spectacular if grown in pure water. Regards,

I like D. erythrorhiza ssp. squamosa- laterite form. Are you growing it in a laterite enriched medium, or does it naturally form the intense colouration? Regards,

I have always grown Vesicularia dubyana submerged, although I have heard it does grow emersed as long as it is kept wet. Not sure as to it's use as a top dressing for CP's though. You might need to experiment! Regards,

Peat bogs can get as low as pH 3 due to the acidifying effect of Sphagnum. Regards,

I would suspect a precise answer is the same as for "How long is a piece of invisible string, measured in the dark?" Utrics do not grow actual leaves or roots by a set standard. The stolons are addaptive and will form bladders, rootlike hairs or green leaf-like parts depending on factors such as exposure to light and prey available. Mine have not formed many root-like bladder parts in their peat and sand mix and have predominantly formed surface green stolons (and some green parts below the soil where light can penetrate). When I repotted my sandersonii 'blue' yesterday, I noticed this trend with almost no bladders in the soil, but I also noticed that in the small sphagnum layer in the base (to hold water), there was a massive number of bladder traps, as there was open water here. Regards

As long as the root is healthy (white tip/inside), you can indeed propagate by root cuttings. I've done it myself with D.binata. With long roots, you can chop it into 2" lengths to increase the amount of cuttings. Place the root on the medium (peat & sand for capensis) and then cover with about 0.5" of the same medium. Keep the pot covered to maintain humidity until the roots have produced new shoots. Regards,

Dried...

I have frozen bloodworm blocks in the freezer for my fish tanks, which I have used on Drosera and Pinguicula before.

Grow it in an isolation chamber!

hmmmm, you guys have got me really worried now! I knew U.subulata is a bit of a pest, but perhaps I've underestimated it a bit.

Yeah, it has to be kept in check now and again. Actually it is only my sandersonii blue that is doing that as I think the soil level is high and bulges over the rim when saturated with water. Time for another shearing I think! Certainly Jan. They are sold as tealight holders in a well known supermarket here in the UK for 99p each. I've stocked up on quite a few for growing my utricularia in as I like the simplicity. Here's the glass... The total space in the top is 6cm wide x 3cm deep; so not a lot of room for soil really! However, they seem to work quite well in my situation as utrics don't require a great deal of space. Here's a pic of my entire growlight setup, which is primarily for the utrics.. ..and a close up of the utrics... You can also see U.gibba in the back of the picture being grown in another 'makeshift' situation utilising a flower vase. I also use bigger glass containers for my genlisea (in photo) and a multiple utric setup. These are from the same supermarket, sold as drinking tumblers, but have a more unusal shape for a glass... It started off as more of a curious experiment to see if they would grow, and they have proved that they are quite capable of that! As mentioned, they hold very little soil, so the utrics may fill the container quite soon (as shown in the earlier photo!) but you can easily break them up and repot. With such a small container (similar to bonsai), it is important that you water often. I use a small pipette to squirt some water on them every day. Some I might be able to leave a couple of days if they prefer wet, but not waterlogged conditions. I tend to try and pack the soil in to just under the rim, leaving a slight gap to allow occasional flooding. I hope that's answered some of you questions. Regards,

Exactly what I've started yesterday, as well as indoors (growlight) vs. more extreme temperature variation indoors. Media on trial... 1) Live Sphagnum 2) Peat 3) Silver Sand 4) Grit Sand 5) Vermiculite 6) Mexican Ping Mix; Peat / Perlite / Grit Sand / Silver Sand / Vermiculite I didn't try pure perlite as it was a disaster last time I tried it. Regards,

However, media such as vermiculite and perlite that can absorb a great deal of water have an altogether different problem in which they can quickly harbour algae under strong lighting. Regards,

You can leave them in their media to grow. I myself, cram leaves for cuttings into pots to give me a better chance of success, so they soon need to be moved. Also, they start off covered, creating 100% humidity. This is dangerous for fungal growth and rotting, so I would be glad to change the media when they are big enough. Regards,

Thanks for the info. Lets hope mine stops being so shy at some point! Regards,

Good to see a pic of 'blue flower'. My blue variety is just sending up it's first and only scape at the moment. I look forward to seeing the colours when it opens. lol @ Jim Well, I'm no expert and this is the first time it's flowering for me, but with mine, it's filled it's pot so much (see below) that maybe it's flowering to try and spread by other methods! Regards,

Thanks Bob, that confirms what I suspected. It should look good when it fills up it's new home of a 30cm diameter saucer, in flower! Regards,

According to TCPS, U.nephrophylla is classed as being lithophytic. U.quelchii is also listed as being terrestrial and epiphytic. I guess the simple fact is that some species can grow in multiple environments, and thus, how do you classify it as one or the other?! http://thecps.org.uk/content/view/38/25/1/1/