# My Blooming Pinguicula



## Happypaphy7 (Jun 4, 2016)

This is about the happiest plant under the T8 set up at the moment. 
I don't know what variety this is, but it does very well for me, obviously.

A small plant without any flowers was given to me by Glen Decker three years ago when I bought a lot of paphs from him. 
It grew and grew, and divided itself into many pieces, some of which I have pinched off and gave away.
It is now 7 growths plant in the same pot. I should probably change the potting mix. lol

It seems once it starts to flower, it stays in bloom for good portion of the year. Each flower lasts for a long time, and the plant continues on making more and more.


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## Mikefallen13 (Jun 4, 2016)

Glad to see there are other CP growers on here! I'd say it's either P. moranensis or one of the many moranensis hybrids that are commonly available. Nonetheless, it's a very pretty plant!


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## abax (Jun 4, 2016)

That's very pretty and such a nice purple color. Is it a
succulent? The leaves in the photo appear to be quite
fleshy.


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## Happypaphy7 (Jun 5, 2016)

The leaves are not that thick, but not paper thin either. 
The leaf surface has this secretion during the warmer months where little bugs land and get digested.


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## Wendy (Jun 8, 2016)

Cute! I used to have a bunch of these in my masdie tank. They kept it insect free. Very useful plants.


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## Happypaphy7 (Jun 9, 2016)

Indeed, Wendy!
When I first had this plant, it was just covered with fungus gnats!
Now the bugs are getting share and seem to avoid. Still the population is way down. I'm thinking of buying some miniature ping to place in between some pots. lol

By the way, anyone grows red leafed ping?
I saw pictures of them showing carton degree of redness and that made me wonder if thee color is seasonal or individual difference or what. I would be disappointed if they don't stay red all the time.


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## Heather (Jun 13, 2016)

Nice! Mine just went out of bloom. Mine is pink on the new leaves. I saw an all pink one at the Sac. show but it wasn't for sale.


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## NYEric (Jun 14, 2016)

Nice, thanks for sharing.


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## paphioboy (Jun 14, 2016)

Very nice... Used to have a ping primuliflora that was very vigorous and threw 'keikis' from many of the leaf tips. Suddenly lost it when the sphag decayed. They don't seem to like sour medium. Neps do much better for me than Pings at this moment..


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## KyushuCalanthe (Jun 17, 2016)

Really nicely grown and flowered:clap:


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## Happypaphy7 (Jun 17, 2016)

paphioboy said:


> Very nice... Used to have a ping primuliflora that was very vigorous and threw 'keikis' from many of the leaf tips. Suddenly lost it when the sphag decayed. They don't seem to like sour medium. Neps do much better for me than Pings at this moment..



Mine has been growing in the same pot, and your story worries me.

I might need to repot this into a fresh mix, but I am still wondering what would be best mix for this plant. 
Right now, it looks like it is in peat moss plus sand.


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## Happypaphy7 (Jun 17, 2016)

KyushuCalanthe said:


> Really nicely grown and flowered:clap:



This thing just loves to divide itself and flower! 

BTW, I saw your rose garden video on youtube last night.
It was fantastic! Thank you very much!


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## KyushuCalanthe (Jun 17, 2016)

Happypaphy7 said:


> This thing just loves to divide itself and flower!
> 
> BTW, I saw your rose garden video on youtube last night.
> It was fantastic! Thank you very much!



Best kind of plant to have. You are welcome for the video. I should have a Japanese iris video up soon.


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## Happypaphy7 (Jun 17, 2016)

That would be fantastic! 

I love Iris!!! :smitten:

German Iris, Dutch Iris, Siberian Iris are my favorites, but I like them all! 

I'm not sure on the scientific name, but the deep blue flowered Iris that grows all over in Korea, and I assume they grow wild in Japan as well, are Siberian Iris?

I loved it so much as a kid that I took one huge chunk from a colony in the field and planted it in my garden. lol
Then I moved it to my grandma's backyard. 
I wonder where it went when my grandma moved away.


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## SFLguy (Jun 18, 2016)

Happypaphy7 said:


> Mine has been growing in the same pot, and your story worries me.
> 
> I might need to repot this into a fresh mix, but I am still wondering what would be best mix for this plant.
> Right now, it looks like it is in peat moss plus sand.


Your Pinguicula and primuliflora are very different culture wise
As for repotting, it's pretty simple really, you can actually grow them just on a piece of porous rock (lava or tufa etc) with the rock sitting in water if you're feeling adventurous


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## Happypaphy7 (Jun 18, 2016)

Where would I get such a large piece of porous rock to have this thing sit on? lol 

I prefer it in a pot. It is much easier for me to care for it that way.
If I had a high humidity growing conditions, I would definitely try on rock and other stuff for fun, though.


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## PaphLover (Jun 18, 2016)

SFLguy said:


> As for repotting, it's pretty simple really, you can actually grow them just on a piece of porous rock (lava or tufa etc) with the rock sitting in water if you're feeling adventurous



I've seen your photos of this and it is quite beautiful when grown this way. No messy dirty water from the soil spilling out of the pot. I have been looking for larger pieces of lava rock myself since I saw a photo of your setup.


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## SFLguy (Jun 18, 2016)

Happypaphy7 said:


> Where would I get such a large piece of porous rock to have this thing sit on? lol
> 
> I prefer it in a pot. It is much easier for me to care for it that way.
> If I had a high humidity growing conditions, I would definitely try on rock and other stuff for fun, though.


I have mine sitting on my windowsill haha, not too much humidity here either, though if you're uncomfortable with risking the whole plant you could always do a leaf pulling or a division


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## SFLguy (Jun 18, 2016)

PaphLover said:


> I've seen your photos of this and it is quite beautiful when grown this way. No messy dirty water from the soil spilling out of the pot. I have been looking for larger pieces of lava rock myself since I saw a photo of your setup.


I'm glad you like them 
I don't know where most people get them but I got some pretty big chunks at an aquarium supply store though I've been looking for tufa for a while


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## SFLguy (Jun 18, 2016)

To be fair though, esseriana is a much smaller species


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## Happypaphy7 (Jun 19, 2016)

Can these plants be propagated by leaf cutting like certain Begonias and African Violets??

Tell me more, please!

I can certainly divide. It has divided itself into six or seven now. 



SFLguy said:


> I have mine sitting on my windowsill haha, not too much humidity here either, though if you're uncomfortable with risking the whole plant you could always do a leaf pulling or a division


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## Wendy (Jun 19, 2016)

Yes they can. Stick a leaf in moss and watch it go. (assuming you're talking about pings)


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## Happypaphy7 (Jun 19, 2016)

Yes, Wendy, pings. 
Does it have to be rather a fresh new leaf?
And where do new plantlets form? Along the edge or near the cut cute as in AV??
And how long a wait? 2 months?? I think that's how long my AV took.


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## SFLguy (Jun 20, 2016)

Happypaphy7 said:


> Yes, Wendy, pings.
> Does it have to be rather a fresh new leaf?
> And where do new plantlets form? Along the edge or near the cut cute as in AV??
> And how long a wait? 2 months?? I think that's how long my AV took.



No but you'll have a higher success rate with newer leaves. The new plantlet will form where it was previously attached. I wouldn't cut the leaf, instead I'd pull a leaf off.
It can take up to two months, sometimes more sometimes less depending on the conditions


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## Wendy (Jun 20, 2016)

SFLguy said:


> No but you'll have a higher success rate with newer leaves. The new plantlet will form where it was previously attached. I wouldn't cut the leaf, instead I'd pull a leaf off.
> It can take up to two months, sometimes more sometimes less depending on the conditions



This ^^^


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## Happypaphy7 (Jun 21, 2016)

I see. So it's very much like how AV works.

Thanks.


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## SFLguy (Jun 22, 2016)

Glad I could help


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## Happypaphy7 (Jun 22, 2016)

Btw, do you have red leafed variety?
Some are not as nicely colored. 
Do you know if that is affected by environmental factor or is it individual difference?


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## Carkin (Jun 22, 2016)

I love pings!!! Yours is gorgeous! 


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## SFLguy (Jun 22, 2016)

Happypaphy7 said:


> Btw, do you have red leafed variety?
> Some are not as nicely colored.
> Do you know if that is affected by environmental factor or is it individual difference?


Most can get reddish, pink, etc leaves, just give them more light


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## Gilda (Jun 23, 2016)

Happypaphy7 said:


> Can these plants be propagated by leaf cutting like certain Begonias and African Violets??
> 
> Tell me more, please!
> 
> I can certainly divide. It has divided itself into six or seven now.



This is an old thread about my ping....yes, leaf prop works ! This is in an african violet mix.

http://www.slippertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=7423


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## Happypaphy7 (Jun 23, 2016)

Thank you, Gilda!

I guess I'll go buy a big bag ( only one size at HD but cheap lol) of AV mix soon. 
With peat moss, it should work well. It basically looks like what it is already growing in.


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## Happypaphy7 (Jul 14, 2016)

A couple of weeks ago, two smaller growths fell off when I accidentally hit them. 
Good thing that happened because the roots of these were basically up in the air, and wouldn't have lived too long that way.

Now they are potted up individually.
One in s mall pot to give away, and one in a larger pot to stay and so I don't have to bother repotting for a long time. lol

didn't have any good mix handy, so I just used sphagnum moss.


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## SFLguy (Jul 15, 2016)

Mexican pings may not do too well in lfs because it's too wet

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## Happypaphy7 (Jul 15, 2016)

Are these Mexican??
These came with no name, but someone once suggested that this maybe a hybrid of this tropical species that starts with m. can't remember. 
morenesis or something. lol

I'll keep my eye on it.
I may be better off buying something to plant them in.
At least one of them, which was in better conditions to begin with, is looking great sending up flowers and leaves. The other one, not so much.


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## SFLguy (Jul 16, 2016)

Yes, these are considered Mexican Pinguicula

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## Happypaphy7 (Sep 15, 2016)

*An Update*

So it has been about two months.
The mother plant just loves to divide herself into more pieces.
Now it is made of about 14 growths. 
I notice the flower size is about half as big, which is strange.

One of the little division is in bloom as well.

I kinda miss when this plant was just one big piece with wide flat leaves.


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## Happypaphy7 (Sep 15, 2016)

By the way, I don't see fungus gnats any more in the growing area.
I wonder if I need to catch little insects outside and stick them on the leaves, or should I begin to fertilize lightly??

I have not seen any bugs on the leaves for a long time now, and getting a bit worried.


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## SFLguy (Sep 19, 2016)

If they aren't getting any nutrients then some Pinguicula do start losing size, what you could do is dilute some orchid fertilizer to maybe 1/4 strength and put some drops on the leaves, but try it on only one leaf first because they can be pretty sensitive and burn if it's too strong


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## Happypaphy7 (Sep 19, 2016)

I actually tried very light fertilization once last month because there has been no bugs on the leaves for very long time.

It is just so hard to find small enough insect for these, and I'm not sure if I really want to go outside looking for small bugs for this plant.
Or go to a petstore and buy a little jar of fruit flies, but then I'm afraid of losing them in the air once I open the jar. lol


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## Happypaphy7 (Sep 19, 2016)

by the way, do you see the reduction in size of individual growths like this as the plant divides itself into many segments??

I don't quite like the way it looks actually.


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## SFLguy (Sep 19, 2016)

Happypaphy7 said:


> by the way, do you see the reduction in size of individual growths like this as the plant divides itself into many segments??
> 
> I don't quite like the way it looks actually.



My plants aren't really clumpers (probably because of the way i grow them)


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## SFLguy (Sep 19, 2016)

But they could be getting smaller because they're focused on dividing or they may be competing with the other divisions for light or maybe even just general competition for nutrients. I'm not really sure actually, maybe asking on one of the Facebook pages would get you a better answer?


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## Happypaphy7 (Sep 19, 2016)

I don't know. 
It seems like this is normal for it. 
I just miss when it was one big plant with wide flat leaves.


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## Brabantia (Sep 26, 2016)

I grow Pinguicula in a mix 75% peat moss / 25% coarse sand with great succes since many years. The flowers color intensify when they are cultivate colder.

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## Don I (Sep 30, 2016)

That is a nice one. The rosettes look really good.


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## Happypaphy7 (Dec 24, 2016)

Update in three months.

It has now twenty growths packed in there. 
A couple two growths in the center are getting larger pushing other out. lol


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## SFLguy (Dec 24, 2016)

Very nice!


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## KyushuCalanthe (Jan 8, 2017)

Nice!


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## Don I (Feb 1, 2017)

That's a nice one.
Don


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## SlipperFan (Feb 1, 2017)

Sweet.


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## Happypaphy7 (Mar 20, 2017)

*Update*

Still in its old pot with old mix.
I need to divide and put this guy into fresh mix.
There are nearly 30growths packed in there and it is overflowing!


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## SFLguy (Mar 21, 2017)

Happypaphy7 said:


> Still in its old pot with old mix.
> I need to divide and put this guy into fresh mix.
> There are nearly 30growths packed in there and it is overflowing!



That's quite the ping haha
Is always great seeing how well it's doing for you!


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## Happypaphy7 (Aug 3, 2017)

Looking through last year's pictures, I'm surprised how good of a grower this thing is! 

Now it's packing nearly 30 growths!
I am yet to put my butt in gear and relieve this guy a little sooner than later.
The ones around the edge of the pot started to walk over and out, and some are dry and dead. probably no room for roots. 

Bursting into bloom at the moment.
Sorry about the terrible photo.


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## SlipperFan (Aug 3, 2017)

cool!


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