Gaz Posted April 3, 2013 Report Share Posted April 3, 2013 Here's my very small collection of temperate Pings putting on a show for Easter. Pity it was a dull day so the light wasn't brilliant. P grandiflora flowering with vallisneriifolia 'white flower' only just waking up. Thanks for looking. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luca B. Posted April 3, 2013 Report Share Posted April 3, 2013 Beautiful plants Gary,you're very lucky,mine just only started waking up (and not all of them),congratulations Luca Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jesse Posted April 4, 2013 Report Share Posted April 4, 2013 Here's my very small collection of temperate Pings putting on a show for Easter. Pity it was a dull day so the light wasn't brilliant. P grandiflora flowering with vallisneriifolia 'white flower' only just waking up. Looks nice. But IMHO you are keeping your P. grandiflora too warm. Normally they should be flowering in about four weeks or so, when keept in the right temperature range. I keep mine outdoors only (which requires additional protection against blackbirds and slugs during the growing season and against mice during the resting season). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimscott Posted April 4, 2013 Report Share Posted April 4, 2013 Vey nice looking flowers! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ada Posted April 4, 2013 Report Share Posted April 4, 2013 Its always nice to see the first flowers in spring. Your not too far from me Gaz but your grandiflora are well in front of mine. I only have p.alpina just waking up and flowers showing now but nothing else.Not even my typical p.grandiflora is showing any signs of life yet,as jesse says they might be a tad too warm. ada Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gaz Posted April 4, 2013 Author Report Share Posted April 4, 2013 Hi everybody, thank you for all the comments. Yes I think Jesse is right, I just had a look in my records for last year and then the first leaves were starting on 24th April. I had to keep them in the unheated half of the greenhouse this winter. Of course the unheated half is next to the heated half so as you say they're probably too warm. I'll have to find somewhere else for next year. Do any of you know if being too warm will cause the plants any lasting problems? Thanks for your advice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jesse Posted April 5, 2013 Report Share Posted April 5, 2013 Do any of you know if being too warm will cause the plants any lasting problems? Maybe the P. grandiflora plants will develop their winter buds much too early during July and will have problems to stay alive until next spring then, Many people have problems in long-term cultivation of cold-temperate Pinguicula, and in case of such an easy species like P. grandiflora this is often caused just by providing too high temperatures for this cold-loving plants, which leads to very early winter buds. I keep P. grandiflora in outdoor cultivation and they thrive. With P. vallisneriifolia it's a completely different thing: They have special requirements for the substrate (which must contain limestone) and I think that the winters in Middle Europe get a little bit too cold for successful outdoor cultivation. So perhaps P. vallisneriifolia will profit from higher temperatures during winter. But I don't know for sure with P. vallisneriifolia, because I could not manage to make them thrive until now, my P. vallisneriifolia are declining in long-term cultivation (outdoors), while P. grandiflora is thriving in my mini-bog. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gaz Posted April 5, 2013 Author Report Share Posted April 5, 2013 Just one last question Jesse, do you provide any kind of cover to protect them from the rain? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jesse Posted April 5, 2013 Report Share Posted April 5, 2013 Just one last question Jesse, do you provide any kind of cover to protect them from the rain? Average precipitation in my area is around 750 mm (30") per year. I have no special rain protection for my Pinguicula mini-bogs, but directly to the west there is standing a big Douglas fir. West is the main wind direction in my location during rainfall, so most likely the Douglas fir with its wide branches will protect my Pinguicula against some of the natural rainfalls. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gaz Posted April 5, 2013 Author Report Share Posted April 5, 2013 Thanks, I moved them to a cooler greenhouse. Probably still not ideal but to be honest I like the plants to look "clean" and also I don't really have any spare place for a mini-bog in the garden...oh well, see how it goes. Any chance of posting a photo of you mini-bog? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luca B. Posted April 5, 2013 Report Share Posted April 5, 2013 Any chance of posting a photo of you mini-bog? Yeah,i'd like to see it too :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gardenofeden Posted April 6, 2013 Report Share Posted April 6, 2013 Just one last question Jesse, do you provide any kind of cover to protect them from the rain? I grow my temperates in a small cold frame behind the greenhouse, so they are protected from rain but remain cool and well ventilated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jesse Posted April 6, 2013 Report Share Posted April 6, 2013 Any chance of posting a photo of you mini-bog? There is not much to see by this time of the year. My P. grandiflora mini-bog is absolutely newly created, I dug it into the ground, filled with peat and planted my stock of winter buds and gemmae just a couple of days ago. This is how it looks today: The punji-sticks are a protection against blackbirds, who love to cushion their nests with peat. This is the very first year that I had propagated enough planting material of P. grandiflora for filling a mini-bog of its own. In former years they were just a few plants mixed with other species in one of my other mini-bogs or in pots.All my P. grandiflora plants are originated from a single portion of seeds, sown in December 2008. P. grandiflora is the only species of temperate Pinguicula I was able to grow from seeds. Most of the plants are now in the mini-bog shown above. Some are already given to other growers and some are still in potted cultivation. Perhaps I should take some pictures later in the year. It is my aim with P. grandiflora to get them flowering in the same amount and beauty as I already managed with another hardy Pinguicula species. This is my mini-bog of P. macroceras ssp. nortensis while flowering last year: I'll be happy if my P. grandiflora mini-bog will show as much flowers one day. Not too many years from now, I hope. If you are interested in detailed information about the inner construction of my mini-bogs, with a built-in water reservoir, please ask and I can explain. I had to think some time over it, how to establish a water reservoir, self-watering and quick-filling into a simple and easy construction that provides the consistantly good and slowly changing growing conditions through the year, that cold-temperate Pinguicula like so much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gaz Posted April 6, 2013 Author Report Share Posted April 6, 2013 Thanks it's good to see exactly what you mean. If your P. grandiflora bog ends up looking even half as good as last years P. macroceras ssp. nortensis it will be worth the effort. Please post another photo when the plants develop and especially when they flower. Regards Gary Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian_P Posted April 21, 2013 Report Share Posted April 21, 2013 Nice flowers Gaz. I just put some P. grandiflora seeds into cold stratification. I was ordering some Drosera and VFT seeds and decided to have a go at growing some Pinguicula as well, just hope they germinate. What substrate mix do you use for yours? Looks like some sort of fine gravel. Best regards, Ian. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gaz Posted April 21, 2013 Author Report Share Posted April 21, 2013 (edited) Thanks Ian, I'm growing them in a mostly organic mix as recommended by World of Pinguicula (but with a bit of Moorland Gold added), like this:- Peat/coir (2) Sand (2) Perlite (seed grade) (1) Vermiculite (fine) (1) Calcerous clay (1.5) Pumice (1.5), large bits removed Dolomitic lime (about 20ml in 300ml of mix) Approximate proportions in brackets. The gravel you see is just a 5mm or so topping of fine chicken grit. ICPS recommends a more organic mix for temperate Pings but this is what I had at the time and they seem to be doing alright. I've never tried growing them from seed so good luck. Best regards Gary Edited April 22, 2013 by Gaz 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian_P Posted April 21, 2013 Report Share Posted April 21, 2013 Hi Gaz, Good to see that you use coir, I have been using a mix of rehydrated dry sphagnum moss, perlite and canna coco professional+ for most of my plants, so if I do get any seeds to germinate I'll try them out in it and see if they like it. I like the idea of top dressing them too, looks tidy. I am surprised to see lime in the mix, I've been using the dried sphagnum to try and add acidity, as the canna is pretty much neutral pH. I've just bookmarked World of Pinguicula, I'll have a look at it tomorrow. Thanks for replying, Best Regards, Ian. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jesse Posted April 22, 2013 Report Share Posted April 22, 2013 (edited) I just put some P. grandiflora seeds into cold stratification. I was ordering some Drosera and VFT seeds and decided to have a go at growing some Pinguicula as well, just hope they germinate. What substrate mix do you use for yours? Looks like some sort of fine gravel. My P. grandiflora plants are seed grown from a good portion of seeds that I have sown in December, 2008 and January, 2009 under slightly different germination conditions. They germinated on the window sill in an unheated room of the house without previous cold-stratification and with a good germination rate. P. grandiflora is not picky about the substrate. Until now, P. grandiflora is the only cold-temperate Pinguicula species I could grow from seeds to flowering size plants, so I think it's an easy species to grow from seeds. Good luck with yours! Edited April 22, 2013 by jesse 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian_P Posted April 22, 2013 Report Share Posted April 22, 2013 Hi jesse, The seeds have been in the fridge for a week now, so I'll give them another week and then sow them and see what happens. If they do germinate I'll post some pictures. Regards, Ian. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gardenofeden Posted April 22, 2013 Report Share Posted April 22, 2013 I am surprised to see lime in the mix, I've been using the dried sphagnum to try and add acidity, as the canna is pretty much neutral Many temperate Pinguicula grow in base-rich (calcareous) flushes and not acid bogs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gaz Posted April 22, 2013 Author Report Share Posted April 22, 2013 (edited) Peat/coir (2). Hi Ian Just to clarify, the total of peat and coir together is about 2 parts, not 2 of each. I like to add the chicken grit as a top dressing partly for cosmetic purposes but also to try to keep the moss down. I have to share it with my wifes hens so we just bought a 25kg bag from Wells Poultry for £6.35 plus about £8 p&p. They're located in Gwent so it's probably too far for you to fetch it. They also do 1kg & 2.5kg bags but obviously at a higher unit cost. Make sure you get chick grit as the hen grit is much bigger (OK for larger plants such as some cacti etc etc) but not for Pings. Hope this helps Regards Gary Edited April 22, 2013 by Gaz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gardenofeden Posted April 22, 2013 Report Share Posted April 22, 2013 I just got myself some chick grit after a previous post. I tested it with acid and note that it is not acidic, but great for Pings. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian_P Posted April 22, 2013 Report Share Posted April 22, 2013 Many temperate Pinguicula grow in base-rich (calcareous) flushes and not acid bogs. Ah, I see. Well I've just sown mine (couldn't wait another week) so fingers crossed. Had a right game getting the seeds off the damp tissue, they're so tiny! Regards, Ian. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ada Posted April 22, 2013 Report Share Posted April 22, 2013 I always sow my ping seeds as soon as they are ripe.I have never had any luck with stored seed the following spring.My seeds are all germinating now. ada Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian_P Posted April 22, 2013 Report Share Posted April 22, 2013 Hi Gaz, I'll keep an eye open for chick grit, but when the p&p costs more than the product, that always puts me off buying on-line. I had a look on "A world of pinguicula" website earlier, looks like it hasn't been updated for a few years but an interesting site. Well, the seeds are sown, so now I'll play the waiting game. Regards, Ian. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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