Growing P. planifolia and P. ionantha

[vic brown]

Following on from Joseph's (Pinguiculaman) recent Ping growing topics, here a couple of SE USA Pings which I find difficult; Pinguicula planifolia and P. ionantha. I don't have any trouble growing the other four SE USA species.

I successfully germinated P. planifolia last summer and the resulting plants are healthy enough, with a nice red colour, but their growth rate is excruciatingly slow! I have been growing them in peat/sand (1:1) in bright shade and very wet (water level with the compost much of the time). I recently transferred some to LFS with a bit of perlite, with a live sphagnum topping, much as I grow P. primuliflora and given them more light (several hours of direct sunlight per day). They seem to be doing a little better in the Sphagnum mix, however the largest of my 18 plants is only 2cm (3/4 inch) after a years growing! I suspect that this one would respond to feeding, maybe its time to get some bloodworms. How do other growers keep this plant?

Pinguicula planifolia

Also, I've just germinated some fresh seed of P. ionantha and would appreciate any growing tips for this one too. My only previous attempt with this plant ended in failure, possibly because I kept them too dry or because the seeds came from selfed plants and were inbred.

Thanks

Vic

[Loakesy]

Vic

That's an incredible looking Ping!!!!!! Amost flower-like! 8)

[Guest Sheila]

Lovely

Another plant for my ever expanding wish list

[gardenofeden]

I have ionantha but only just manage to keep it alive in a "peat"/perlite mix...

[Joseph Clemens]

Vic,

I too am growing many of the SE USA Pinguicula with easy success, except for Pinguicula planifolia and I have not tried Pinguicula pumila again for several decades now.

I have observed all of these in their native habitats, except Pinguicula pumila. Nearly every time I've seen Pinguicula planifolia it was growing in shallow depressions of black mud and most often covered by as much as an inch (2.5cm) or more of water.

I've seen them blooming in January where, at night a thin sheet of ice formed on the surface of the water they were growing under and the flower stalks were temporarily trapped in it.

They weren't always submerged, sometimes they were just growing in the black mud with their leaves exposed to the air. Neither was it always cold, and in the wild they seem to grow just as well in the hot sunny days of summer as the darker colder days of winter.

I will never give up with them. My most recent attempt was with two nice healthy looking specimens when they arrived. Five months later they are both gone, but one flowered and I was able to get fertilization by self-pollination. Seed set but the ovary (seed pod) split open while the seed inside was still green. I almost panicked, but sowed the green seed anyway. It turned from green to brown, and then germinated. Those seedlings are making slow, steady progress.

Hopefully history will repeat itself, this was what it took for me to learn to grow VFT successfully.

---

Pinguicula ionantha grows for me as easily as Pinguicula primuliflora, though without the plantlet formation on the leaves.

[CP2k]

Hi Vic,

I have been growing the SE US pings outdoors in a location currently receiving 4-5 hours of direct sun(very strong in my area). Temperatures average between 30-40C during the day, reaching 40C when the sun is shining on the terrarium. I actually grow them with my petiolaris dews! Temperatures at night are much cooler at around 20C. IMO, high summer day temperatures help speed up growth. Seedlings grow the fastest when the weather is very warm.

My 3 year old plants of planifolia have been growing as semi-aquatics during the spring and summer(newer leaves above water, while old leaves below water). They love these conditions.

I do not use sphagnum in any of the mixes, except as a top dressing. Usually, the sphagnum becomes covered in algae...Peat and sand, 1:2 or 1:1 works much better for me both for germination and growing adult plants.

My plants do not catch much insects and I rarely feed them. I suspect they would grow much faster with feeding. They grow slowly the first year(except P.pumila) , rarely reaching over 4cm, although at 5cm in diameter I have had P.planifolia flower. It is usually by their second summer that they grow to flowering size. These plants tend to grow slower when they are crowded(as is the case with some of my plants!).

[CP2k]

Here are some pics:

P.ionantha "purple flower"-Sumatra, FL- around 2 years old and in dire need of repotting!!

P.planifolia is quite variable for me. Here are two different clones grown in the same conditions. One produces narrow leaves that are partly green, while another produces blood red leaves that are wide.

P.planifolia with narrow leaves:

P.planifolia with wide blood red leaves:

[Fernando Rivadavia]

Hey Vic,

I find it very curious that you have difficulty with P.planifolia and P.ionantha, since these were the 1st two Ping species I ever grew well! Maybe they need more heat? More sunlight? I grew them in chopped dead sphagnum/ fern fiber (which was the only soil mix I had back then), maybe with a little bit of sand mixed in. The pots were always standing in water.

Take Care,

Fernando Rivadavia

[Tim]

Mine just rot. No excusses, mine just die.

OK, here's an opportunity to learn. Why do mine die, and why does a first class expert like Pingman have trouble?

Well, for what it's worth, I think that it's not cold enough in the winter here, and the humidity is too high in my greenhouse.

My Mexicans grow like weeds, for what it's worth. But that would stand the theory, as they don't get that cold there, and I presume the humidity is lower in the summer for some species, at least?

But let's talk this over, as I for one would like to be able to grow these plants.

[CP2k]

Hi Tim,

I live south of your area and night temperatures during the winter is around 10C(50F), sometimes a little more and sometimes a little less. I grow these plants in the same location outdoors year-round. In the terrarium, winter day temperatures reach 30C(80+F) when the sun is shining on it.

I have been growing them in a terrarium(clear plastic box) with less than an inch opening on the side. The plants sit in 2-3in of water, so I would imagine that the environment is quite humid. There probably isn't much air circulation, but I haven't had problems with fungus or rot. I have had problems with algae and slime mold growing on long-fibered sphagnum.

[Tim]

Is that in full sun? My plants last about a year, I should have said.

[vic brown]

Thanks for the replies guy's!

CP2K, you certainly have the knack of growing these two.

I'm not sure I have problems with P. ionantha as I never got my first attempt past 2-leaved seedling stage! My current babies are already bigger and so far doing quite well. How wet do people keep P. ionantha?

My P. planifolia are certainly warm enough at the moment, I'll try increasing the water level on one pot a little more, so the lower leaves are covered and give them all more light. I might try experimentally feeding one or two plants as well and see what the response is.

Cheers

Vic

[CP2k]

I am keeping ionantha in a couple inches of water in the tray.

Hi Tim,

I grow them in full sun for 4-5 hours in the summer. The rest of the time is spent in bright light or shaded sun.

[JanW]

Vic, your P. planifolia is very beautiful. Thats the first Pinguicula that could let me make a Ping-fan! Excellent colour.

Jan

[Joseph Clemens]

And, sometimes, for no apparent reason, they thrive for a little while:

This one thrived at first, bloomed several times -- but self-pollination never produced seed. Then in its second and third year it kept getting smaller and weaker, until - it was gone.

Edited November 20, 2010 by Joseph Clemens

[Homer]

I've been growing P. ionantha for 4 years now. It was one of the 1st pings I got. The best results occur when the plant(s) are grown in humid areas. A few years back, I wanted to grow 1 plant outdoors for the summer, but it quickly died due to low temps I presume (50-60F range).

As for P. planifolia, this is a new one for me! I nearly lost it, as it was drying up and dying even though it was on a tray system in my terrarium. I raised the water level to the soil surface, and before too long it bounced back healthy as ever! Keep the water level high! Here's a recent pic under fluorescents.

-Homer

[Tim]

That actually might be the answer then, mine died during the winter, and it gets close to freezing. I thought judging by where most of them come from they could stand a chilly winter.

[Guest Slurm]

Do these require a cool rest period or can I grow them in my room temperature terrarium. I once grew a P.primulaflora on my windowsill for 3 years without trouble.

[Sean Spence]

No cool rest period is required.