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Do Butterwort leaf pullings grow slowly?

tommyr

Gardening freak!
I've been attempting to start new plants of 'Gigantea', 'Aphrodite' and 'Alfred Lau 13' and man they are growing VERY SLOWLY. Is that normal? Under a T5 light about 3-4 inches away. anything I could do to speed things up even a tiny bit? I'm relativly new to starting these.

Thanks for any advice!

Tom
 
Foliar feeding with 1/16 tsp-per-gallon-strength fertilizer is a good start, provided you have good light and high humidity.
 
Foliar feeding with 1/16 tsp-per-gallon-strength fertilizer is a good start, provided you have good light and high humidity.

I have been dropping a bit of 1/4 strength 20-20-20 on their tiny leaves but don't notice a difference. Forgot to add that it's a standard 50/50 peat moss / Perlite mix. Maybe too much peat?
 
They need alkaline soil. You need to add limestone for these plants to thrive.

Additionally, your mix may not have enough air for them. If there's no air, they won't grow good roots.
 
They need alkaline soil. You need to add limestone for these plants to thrive.

Additionally, your mix may not have enough air for them. If there's no air, they won't grow good roots.

Makes sense. Going to have to get some APS I think. Maybe add some Mir-A-Cal to the mix It's supposed to increase PH.
 
They do not NEED purely alkaline soils, the ones I grow do fine in peat/perlite mixes. Though I do lean greatly toward perlite in the mix which does have a more basic pH.
And they will grow faster under a good fert regime, though you should be careful with the kind you use, since some fertilizers can irreparably burn the plants. Maxsea is a good choice.
 
They do not NEED purely alkaline soils, the ones I grow do fine in peat/perlite mixes. Though I do lean greatly toward perlite in the mix which does have a more basic pH.
And they will grow faster under a good fert regime, though you should be careful with the kind you use, since some fertilizers can irreparably burn the plants. Maxsea is a good choice.

Ahhh, funny you mention that! I started putting a little Maxicrop on the leaves. Maybe that will help.
 
They need alkaline soil. You need to add limestone for these plants to thrive.

Additionally, your mix may not have enough air for them. If there's no air, they won't grow good roots.

...or crushed coral or egg shells... I also pulverize freezed dried bloodworms and sprinkle on the leaves.
 
...or crushed coral or egg shells... I also pulverize freezed dried bloodworms and sprinkle on the leaves.

Thanks Jim! time for a trip to the pet store!
 
  • #10
I think it most likely depends on the plant. My Pirouette pulling seems to be growing pretty fast, almost as fast as the mother plant.

My generic Mexican Ping pulling was successful, and one of those leaves fell off accidentally and that started a new plant as well! That one is growing slower.
 
  • #11
They do not NEED purely alkaline soils, the ones I grow do fine in peat/perlite mixes. Though I do lean greatly toward perlite in the mix which does have a more basic pH.
And they will grow faster under a good fert regime, though you should be careful with the kind you use, since some fertilizers can irreparably burn the plants. Maxsea is a good choice.
1) Mexican pings need access to calcium. It has an impact on meristematic growth. What happens at the meristems? Offsetting, root tip growth, and flowering. Those are increased when plants can get Ca.
2) a high pH retards the development of Fusarium, which causes crown rot

They don't *need* it, but you're just asking for trouble if you grow them in a situation outside a terrarium, where they are confronted by disease constantly.
 
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  • #12
Interesting.... every one of my plants has divided ridiculously recently, they flower on and off all year long, and there are roots galore on all of them. Does perlite contain notable levels of calcium then?
 
  • #13
I think the growth rate can be effected by the individual leaf, I have had moranensis and rectifolia pulling's taken at the same time from the same plant, then after a couple months a few were close to an inch, others not even half, all in the same pot, so same conditions.
 
  • #14
Pings: care and cultivation

Perhaps 95% of these tropical heterophyllous species come from Mexico. They generally flower twice per year and exhibit different leaf types in summer and winter. The plants are further divided into calciphilious (calcium-loving), and calciphobic (calcium-hating). P.gypsicola and P.heterophylla are examples of the former, while P. colimensis, P.cyclosecta, P.ehlersia (sic.), P.esseriana, P.moranensis, P.rotundiflora, and P. zecheri are examples of the latter. The calciphilious forms appreciate high pH media (either vermiculite based, or with an addition of limestone or gypsum to the planting mix). The calciphobic species appreciate a standard, acid CP mix like peat/sand.
 
  • #15
Well, that clears up plenty of the debates here....
 
  • #16
Well said, 'Not a Number'.
 
  • #17
They basically grow, fast or slow, depending on the conditions they are given to grow in. If all limiting factors are optimal, I would expect they will grow quite rapidly. I've had seedlings reach maturity in just a few months (about three), from germination and others, given poorer conditions, take more than one year for the same degree of growth. I often keep plantlets, initiated from leaf-pullings simply sitting around in ziploc bags or disposable plastic cups. Those grow almost not at all, and can persist for up to several years, in that same state. However, if I plant them up and give them good growing conditions, they too can reach maturity in less than three months.
 
  • #18
Thank you Joseph.
 
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