TerraForums Venus Flytrap, Nepenthes, Drosera and more talk
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I usually tray water. Once or twice a month I'll water from overhead. Overhead watering seems to encourage moss growth in the pots. Like pingman, I'm not a fan of moss growth with my Mexican Pinguicula.
top and tray. my pings seems to go nuts once i give them a nice soaking lol.
especially my sethos, agnata, and x titans.
uhghgggg pings all hitting growthspirts like mad right now...i sense alot of repotting and plant moving coming along lol
Here's a thought; instead of keeping an inch or so of water in the tray, why not just top water a little bit every day, enough to saturate the media to the surface. The water drains out and the surface dries somewhat while the lower portion of the pot remains moist.
I almost always top water since tropical Pinguicula are rarely found growing in constantly waterlogged conditions in nature. They are not bog plants like Sarracenia and some Drosera. I think the fact that this type of Pinguicula can be raised with the tray method and sometimes even thrive is indicative of their good nature and ease of cultivation. I like to met mine dry out *slightly* between waterings. If the foliage is too large and completely covers the pot, making top watering awkward, then I will water from the bottom by leaving the pot sitting in water for only 30-45 minutes or so. In my experience, tap water works just as well as distilled/RO/rain water. These plants are not picky.
I used to use the tray method exclusively but frequently lost a lot of plants due to rot, even under intense fluorescent lights. I have even started growing some of my plants in clay pots to allow them to dry quicker.
Moss growth doesn't really bother me. If I am dealing with smaller pings and/or leaf pullings, then I will just repot to fresh media if the moss growth gets out of hand.
I never put more than 1/2" of water and let it dry out between waterings. In the winter I fill to 1/4" and let them dry a day or two between waterings. Never waterlogged.
There are different methods to tray watering other than keeping constant high levels of water.
What you do depends on the species, experience and personal preferences. I've found no difference between top watering or watering from the tray other than the amount of moss growth. My personal preference is not to have the moss.
I've noticed in the pots that I top water allowing the water to stir up the soil, I have less moss than in the pots where the soil stays in place when I water.
I had a problem with slime so i stopped top watering and started watering by the tray method only. I usually put a inch of water in the bottom of the tank and do not water again untill the water is gone for a couple of days. When my plants go into summer rosettes i put them in another pot to raise them up a half inch and then they get less water but do not dry out. I use the tall 2 and 4 inch pots so even when the water is an inch deep the plants are 3 inches from the water.
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