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Cyclosecta problems. Dieing or Dormancy?

Brie

Sarracenia freak
So i'm getting concerned here.. I love my cyclo and its one of my fav plants, Im getting worried about it... Dont wanna lose it :(

The only thing that has changed is I moved my pings from being 18" or so away from 4 T5s, to a shelf where they are 12" away from 4 T8s. Would that be enough to trigger dormancy? The light cycle is still the same.. The only other thing i've done is add a black volcanic rock topper, that was rinsed and rinsed and rinsed again to get as much crap out of it as possible. The dieing leaves looked almost eaten, I pulled one out and lifted up the leaves on the plant and looked under them, all that moved were some springtails. Would they be eating the ping or its roots? Should I spray? I have some Bayer spray...

This is what it looked like exactly a month ago, on 9-24
6178724649_edf4c68483_b.jpg


And this was just taken today. The ring of exposed sand you see is how big the plants used to be, I put the rock on as a topper shortly after the first photo, up to the edge of the leaves. So that shows how much the plants have shrunk.
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Edit: for some reason I missed the smaller plant ??? so removed post.

Dont have a clue whats going on with that one, but looks a little light starved IMO.

Thought Id include a photo of my large plant that is going dormant (notice the leaves without the drool edges):

842408c6.jpg
 
Blurg.... Im going to repot all of my pings into a more mineral media with lime and a bit o gypsum and iron oxide, then move em back up to T5s.... but its prolly gunna be a week or so, gotta wait for the pots I ordered to arrive.. hope it doesnt die. erg. :spazz:
 
If you're worried about losing them, take 5-10 pullings from the large plant and then if you lose them its not a big deal.

If the other pings are doing fine I would only pot a few to test the new media in case they hate it then you haven't lost all your precious plants, but that's just me.
 
Not sure what's happening with them, but if the worst happens send me a p.m. I believe I have an extra I could spare for shipping.
 
They're probably in transition from carnivorous leaves to succulent leaves. These plant will sometimes slow down growth and not switch over smoothly to succulent leaf growth (i.e. just stop growing for a bit). The carnivorous leaves are so thin when the grow old and die they turn virtually into tissue paper or "onion skin".

Are you talking about lime (Calcium Oxide or Calcium Hydroxide) or limestone (Calcium Carbonate)? These don't need high alkalinity and lime can be caustic (don't get it in your eyes). Seashells and coral are Calcium Carbonate. Gypsum should provide the calcium they may or may not need.
 
Edit: for some reason I missed the smaller plant ??? so removed post.

Dont have a clue whats going on with that one, but looks a little light starved IMO.

Thought Id include a photo of my large plant that is going dormant (notice the leaves without the drool edges):

842408c6.jpg

I am sorry for hijacking the thread but do all pings loose their drool edges when the go dormant? Do they still retain the dew? One of my pings starts to look like that one in the pic: denser and "hairier" foliage, but these new leaves still have dew..
 
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Not all mexican Pings will go dormant, and sometimes its just slower/smaller growth. Here is an example of my esseriana, it has no drool edges, slightly hairy but still dewy and catches flies (not sure if they are digesting them and gaining nuterients or not though)
792175b9.jpg


gracilis doing the same thing:
ba3ceabb.jpg


and the ever so hairy immaculata:
554dc74c.jpg


And here are some 100% dormant gypsicola that are hairy with no dew:
bd9e6f0d.jpg

Brie: if you would like these taken down and posted elsewhere please let me know :)
 
As long as your pings are well established and have been doing fine, I would't worry about it. Chances are they are simply switching over to succulent form. If the worst happens, let me know and I can send ya one :)
 
  • #10
They don't look good and don't look like they're going dormant. I'd grab a half dozen of the freshest leaves and start some pullings.

How old are they? I find some plants just die a natural death after a few years under the lights.
 
  • #11
This is my first season with em, Mach gave them to me..

Literally the ONLY thing that has changed is moving them down a shelf. From up on the top shelf under T5s, to being on the second shelf under T8s
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  • #12
suite

attention with this substrate to the rot

for me your substrate is not adequat, too wet , use a substrate more airy ,like this one :cat littier /river sand 50/50

in dormancy the substrate must be dry or slightly wet .

cyclosecta is not a gypsum specie and add iron bring nothing .

I would do ,for prevention some leaf cuttings ,easely to this specie

jeff
 
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  • #13
I would also note the number of fungus gnats on the plants. These little buggers are not benign! The larvae will destroy healthy Pings eventually. Particularly if the plants are stressed a bit at the roots if the mix is too compact/wet.
 
  • #14
I would also note the number of fungus gnats on the plants. These little buggers are not benign! The larvae will destroy healthy Pings eventually. Particularly if the plants are stressed a bit at the roots if the mix is too compact/wet.

I've always wondered about that, but i've been told mixed things.. that they wont harm a healthy plant, but some people, such as yourself, warn that they will eat the roots. I can definitely say that there are some fungus gnat larva in there.. Will repotting to a more mineral media help knock back any future fungus gnat problems ya think? I've been contemplating going to an all mineral media but kinda worried about it shocking everything and losing some. But with this guy I guess I have nothing to lose... I've put a few pings that I recently picked up in a higher mineral mix, 2:1:1 APS, coarse sand, peat... And I like the looks of it, and looks like it still wicks up water from the tray nicely.
 
  • #15
I've always wondered about that, but i've been told mixed things.. that they wont harm a healthy plant, but some people, such as yourself, warn that they will eat the roots. I can definitely say that there are some fungus gnat larva in there.. Will repotting to a more mineral media help knock back any future fungus gnat problems ya think? I've been contemplating going to an all mineral media but kinda worried about it shocking everything and losing some. But with this guy I guess I have nothing to lose... I've put a few pings that I recently picked up in a higher mineral mix, 2:1:1 APS, coarse sand, peat... And I like the looks of it, and looks like it still wicks up water from the tray nicely.

To discourage gnats you may also try putting a layer of sand as top layer (0.5 to 1cm) if you don't want to repot to all organic media immediately. This helped me when I just had primuliflora.
 
  • #16
suite

for the sciarides the adult insect is not dangerous but their grub yes .

these grubs love peat but hate minerals substrates .

also change the substrate and let the substrate dry or slightly damp in dormancy

jeff
 
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  • #17
Changing your mix and allowing the pots to dry more between waterings will probably help on the gnat larvae. You can also drench with Bt. I use a product for gnats but I think someone said the same strain of Bt is in the mosquito dunks? If that's the case you can just put one into a jar for a day or two and try drenching with the liquid.
 
  • #18
So its def. confirmed that its dieing from being eaten by fungus gnat larvae.. The cyclo has no roots left, and i've been lifting up the leaves to find larvae chewing on them too.. So I'm definitely buying some Mosquito Dunks and adding a bit to each water tray, as soon as I get paid next. Ugh. I'm repotting everything tomorrow, so hopefully that will help..
 
  • #19
Just let the medium or at least the top couple of inches dry out completely for a few days. Fungus gnats need moist soil conditions to survive and they live near the surface. This is the common remedy for houseplants and fortunately you can get away with it. Most Mexican Pinguicula need very little water. After that just add maybe 1/4 inch of water to the tray and let it dry out a couple days before watering again.

If there is enough humidity in the air you can get away without watering them hardly at all. My P. cyclosecta is outdoors and I water it maybe once or twice a month.
 
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  • #20
Yeah I think one of my problems is overwatering.. I've always kept like, an inch of water in the trays. heh. Didnt realize 1/4" or so was all they needed.. I mean, I let it dry up and wait a few days to refill it, but yeah.. prolly way too much water.
 
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