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First time with Pings. Just bought Pirouette, Tina, and Esseriana

I am under the impression that they are very easy to grow. I'll prob keep them in doors in the kitchen with filtered sunlight through out the day. If i follow general ping directions there shouldn't be many surprises right?

Thanks !
 
In general they are considered pretty easy. However, pings, more so than other CPs, are notorious for turning to mush very quickly if overwatered without enough light.

What soil/light/watering are you planning for them?
 
just my sunny kitchen window, I've always noticed whitish looking light always shine through that window through out the whole day. I'll try that area first and if no go then I'll think of some where else. Distilled water, and I am gonna give them some soil mix I bought from an online store that was meant for cephalotus. I think it just has peat, sand, and perlite.

I am hoping they'd just thrive in my kitchen ^_^
 
Peat/sand/perlite might work, but there's also a good chance that it won't. Mexican pinguicula are generally easy to rot out in peat mixes. In any case, many, if not most inhabit alkaline soils in the wild.

Personally I think that chunky inorganic mixes are much better for pings, but everyone has their preferences. APS (Schultz Aquatic Plant Soil / Turface) seems to be the go-to soil, so that would be something to add to your shopping list.

Also, I keep mentioning rot, but it's not really an exact science. It's more the combination of factors that affect the growth of rot-causing pathogens (nematodes and fusarium/other fungi). Excess water and stagnation increase pathogen growth, while good watering practices, bright light, ventilation, and so on inhibit pathogen growth. Disease happens when one or more of these fall out of balance.
 
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what kind of pots would you recommend?

how do you keep your pings healthy?
 
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Normal plastic pots should be fine.

I haven't grown pings since restarting. The advice above are a few points from both previous experiences and advice others have given. There's some really experienced Ping growers on here who will give much better, more detailed info than I can give, so wait for them. :)

Joseph Clemens wrote a very comprehensive guide here: http://www.terraforums.com/forums/showthread.php/105097-Cultivating-Mexican-Pinguicula
(It's also stickied at the top of the this board).
 
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After much experimentation with media, I've settled on pure APS/Turface for my Mexican Pinguicula. It's by far the best choice for these plants. I think a lot of the rot issues people have stems from not allowing these plants to dry out during dormancy. I stop watering mine from about December to February to allow them a fully dry dormancy. Some species like moranensis, moctezumae, hemipiphytica....don't seem to need the dry dormancy period.
 
I use sand, perlite, and egg shells:



 
My Pinguicula plants do very well in a sphagnum peat/sand mix of about 50/50, usually with more emphasis on sand. I use well water for mine and they do fine. The well water here is highly filtered, so I am sure that reduces the mineral content. I recently visited a nursery that waters them with unfiltered well water and the plants were quite robust. I have heard that Mexican Pinguicula can even be watered with city water, but I would not try it.

As far as other environmental aspects go, they are shaded by other plants or in windows that do not get a lot of midday sun.

I have Pirouette and Esseriana (and MANY others) in my collection, they seem to do fine.
 
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They are just in ceramic pots and are pretty much treated like all of the other plants in the house. I have some new ones coming in soon, so I wanted to wait until they get here before I photograph the collection.
 
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