P. medusina, dormancy question

[Candice324]

Is it a must for P. medusina to go through dry dormancy to survive? If so, are they grown similar to how you'd keep cactus or succulents? I like the way the leaves look like hair strands, and was planning on getting one

 

[Wolfn]

Is it a must for P. medusina to go through dry dormancy to survive? If so, are they grown similar to how you'd keep cactus or succulents? I like the way the leaves look like hair strands, and was planning on getting one

I haven't grown one, and after reading about them, I probably won't. Personally, I love the thin leaves too, but a dry winter dormancy is a must. The soil must apparently be kept bone-dry in which case the plant disappears underground as a bulb, similar to an onion.

I would personally get a P. moctezumae because that has thin leaves and is able to grow year round.

 

[jimscott]

Those are the 2 most difficult species for me to keep alive for more than half a year.

 

[chezilla]

I have had mine for a few years in a large violet pot. The grow on a rack in front of a window, low humidity. With morning sun a some sort of plant light with a four prong bulb I got a garage sale. They will for no apparent reason start to grow shorter leaves until they get to the little bulb stage. When they do that I drain the water in the bottom part of the pot and wait for them to start growing again, takes a month or two. They are not bone dry but I don't water them much if at all. They also often grow little plantlets at the tips fo the leaves. I make sure I propogate a few of them in case anything goes wrong. I have not gotten them to flower though.

 

[Candice324]

OOooooo I see... thin leaves must have something to do with something that loves to be dry? This can be a good thing for me as I always forget to water them quote often- and die eventually!(just for houseplants).
I already bought the P. medusina plants but I figured they might come in as a bulb instead of a plant!
so maybe I shouldn't water them at all? maybe occasionally?

I did get P. moctezumae (a clump of small plants), and i keep them slightly moist. but I think P. medusina looks sorta scarier(in good way!) than P. moctezumae, and I hope I can keep them alive

---------- Post added at 12:59 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:58 PM ----------

I have had mine for a few years in a large violet pot. The grow on a rack in front of a window, low humidity. With morning sun a some sort of plant light with a four prong bulb I got a garage sale. They will for no apparent reason start to grow shorter leaves until they get to the little bulb stage. When they do that I drain the water in the bottom part of the pot and wait for them to start growing again, takes a month or two. They are not bone dry but I don't water them much if at all. They also often grow little plantlets at the tips fo the leaves. I make sure I propogate a few of them in case anything goes wrong. I have not gotten them to flower though.

Do you have a picture of your P. medusina?? I wasnt able to find anyone who has kept this plant for several years, and would love to see how your plants look

---------- Post added at 01:55 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:59 PM ----------

I haven't grown one, and after reading about them, I probably won't. Personally, I love the thin leaves too, but a dry winter dormancy is a must. The soil must apparently be kept bone-dry in which case the plant disappears underground as a bulb, similar to an onion.

I would personally get a P. moctezumae because that has thin leaves and is able to grow year round.

are they more succulent than p. moctezumae? I have P. moctezumae, and their leaves are thin and flat. P. medusina looks like more rounded, and chubby, like a cactus

---------- Post added at 01:58 PM ---------- Previous post was at 01:55 PM ----------

Those are the 2 most difficult species for me to keep alive for more than half a year.

HHHMmmmmm,, have you ever kept a cactus or succulents? I do well with those after I realized that they don't need much watering. if I don't water the plant at all, it might do well, do you think? but cacti doesn't go through dormancy, and what if I mistakenly think the plant is dead when its not??

I really want to know how to properly take care of this plant- as I already bought one, and its on its way. I's assume that it will arrive as a onion bulb. what's the 2nd most difficult plant?

 

[kulamauiman]

this year they have manage to keep going longer than usual. most of the time it come up end of summer to fall and sticks around for a few months and vanishes. This year it has persisted long enough for me to get additional plants started from the keikis that start on the leaf tips,

Mother plant starting to go dormant

plantlets started from the keikis from the leaf tips

Once they go dormant i drain the water tray and occasionally top water . then return to watering a fill the tray when the leaves return.

 

[jimscott]

In better days:

P. moctezumae

 

[Baylorguy]

Well Jim, you got yours to flower, which is much more than mine did... haha... Mine expired in about 2 weeks. I think I'll try both of these though, since I nailed down the conditions to where i haven't lost a plant in over a year now. I find good air circulation and lots of light are key.

 

[jimscott]

It died last year, unfortunately. So did the P. medusina. This is the best i could do with it:

 

[Candice324]

this year they have manage to keep going longer than usual. most of the time it come up end of summer to fall and sticks around for a few months and vanishes. This year it has persisted long enough for me to get additional plants started from the keikis that start on the leaf tips,
Once they go dormant i drain the water tray and occasionally top water . then return to watering a fill the tray when the leaves return.

can you still see any part of the actual mother plant after they go dormant? or do they completely disappear from the pot into an onion shape?
also, what is your soil mix that you are using for P. medusina? Do you keep them on a drier side? they look really really healthy and happy!

It died last year, unfortunately. So did the P. medusina. This is the best i could do with it:

your P. moctezumae died after flowering?? is this picture of a P. medusina seedling? were you able to save any of the plant?
I definitely want to keep one species of the Mexican ping that has thin hair like leaves... I am torn between P. gypsicola, P. moctezumae, and P. medusina. Well, P. medusina is already on its way, but I was thinking maybe P. gypsicola is easier than P. medusina, or P. moctezumae


[Edit: The genus part (first part) of plant names is always capitalized, even when abbreviated. Correct spellings of plant names can be found at CP Database or CP Photo Finder.]

 

[jimscott]

Indeed, P. gypsicola is the easiest of the bunch!

 

[kulamauiman]

all the foliage above ground will vanish when it goes dormant. It does die back to a small bulb about the size of a tiny onion. it is probably some weeks off. But i can see that it hasn't made any new leaves in a while.

When it is actively growing i keep it very wet. Media is a mixture of sand (coarse) Aquatic Plant Soil (APS), and a little peat and vermiculite. Could probably go full on APS. Will test kitty litter next. cant get APS too easily here in Maui.

 

[Candice324]

all the foliage above ground will vanish when it goes dormant. It does die back to a small bulb about the size of a tiny onion. it is probably some weeks off. But i can see that it hasn't made any new leaves in a while.

When it is actively growing i keep it very wet. Media is a mixture of sand (coarse) Aquatic Plant Soil (APS), and a little peat and vermiculite. Could probably go full on APS. Will test kitty litter next. cant get APS too easily here in Maui.

Ooo I see- they do disappear off the surface I wonder how one would know the difference between 'dead' and 'undead/dormant'? Do you dig into the soil to check? I usually toss when something dies off the pot.

I did a bit of search, and some peeps use some sort of rock made out of plaster mixture with peat and perlite and moss and put P. gypsicola that way; I've ordered some plaster and peat so I can make a special pot for the P. medusina, and P. gypsicola. I wonder if P. medusina would work in those plaster peat pots?

---------- Post added at 08:29 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:26 PM ----------

Indeed, P. gypsicola is the easiest of the bunch!

i think you are right about that one- P. moctezumae looks like its yellowing leaves- is this normal? Its currently in slightly moist sand/peat moss/perlite mixture but doesn't look like its happy. The person I got it from kept it in 100% peatmoss.

I also got some P. gypsicola- since I will have all three plants soon, I will keep growing whichever that ends up surviving under my growing condition.
sooooo did you end up losing both P. moctezumae and P. medusina??

 

[Joseph Clemens]

I was wondering if you've had any experience growing Mexican Pinguicula. Are you able to maintain, bloom, and propagate any of the "easier" species or hybrids?

I would have to admit that there is often no natural progression of experience, from easy to difficult. Some growers only seem able to succeed with plants that most other growers consider impossible. I myself, have good confidence for growing a large variety of CP, but consistent success with some particular species continues to elude me.

 

[Candice324]

I was wondering if you've had any experience growing Mexican Pinguicula. Are you able to maintain, bloom, and propagate any of the "easier" species or hybrids?

I would have to admit that there is often no natural progression of experience, from easy to difficult. Some growers only seem able to succeed with plants that most other growers consider impossible. I myself, have good confidence for growing a large variety of CP, but consistent success with some particular species continues to elude me.

no, mot much for the Mexican species- well...I've had P. primuliflora, and kept it for 6+ months before I had gone away for three weeks(for work) and it had died from drying out(this was last year)- until then it was doing great. I've purchased another, along with few others this year to give it another try. If anything counts at all, I've kept multiple cultivars of African violet! for several years; I do leaf propagation time to time, but not often, due to growing space limitation. I've been quite successful at having it bloom constantly, and maintaining it that way.
But I am doing extensive research and reading on how others have grown different species of Mexican pings(at least for the ones that interests me), and hoping to learn from them

 

[Dexenthes]

I had a P. medusina for a few months, maybe two or three. It almost never grew at all, and then died back to what I didn't consider a bulb at the time... It looked very rotten. I was very frustrated with how little success I had with such a healthy plant at first!

It kind of threw me off Mexican Pinguicula altogether for a while, now I'm thinking about getting some easier species, but I still plan on growing P. medusina in the future. I bet it would make excellent hybrids!

And nice plants kula ! Yours might be the best I've seen (without scouring photofinder).

 

[jeff 2]

suite

for me these filiform mexican species ( P. medusina- P. heterophylla - P. sp. tonala-- P. gypsicola - P. moctezumae) are difficult in cultivate .

have you try the temperate ( P. longifolia- P. valisneriifolia) more easy ?

for all the filiform mexican I use a mineral alcalin substrate and for P. gypsicola and P. medusina pure gypsum with river sand .

P. medusina- P. heterophylla - P. sp. tonala - P. gypsicola have need a dormancy in a dry substrate , P. moctezumae , if we see their 'in situ' ecology no, seems to me more near the summer ping temperate condition.

actually my P. heterophylla - P. medusina are in onion , my P. gypsicola in winter rosette - my P. moctezumae allways in leaves

P. gypsicola is the more easy of these filiform .

jeff

 

[jimscott]

sooooo did you end up losing both P. moctezumae and P. medusina

??

Yes.

 

[Candice324]

All of my plants are under 110W power compact light that a lot of Aquarist use to grow freshwater plants. They are 6700K and 5500K, and I have two of 55W lights under a separate reflector.

here is my community pot that contains various species of Mexican pings

my warm temperate pings(P. ionatha, P. plainfolia-all the one in the back, recovering from shipping shock, P. primuliflora, and P. lutea)

these are my African Violet leaf cuttings- they are similar to mexican pings in a way that they tend to crown rot easily if you over water them.

I joined this forum recently after months of lurking through various threads on topic- and I wanted to start it out the right way by avoiding a few obvious(to those of you) mistakes one(like me) can make.

I might ask things that might sound 'stupid' to all of you, but if I don't know something I will ask.

On the side note, I should've done more 'asking' before purchasing some of more difficult species(P. moctezumae, P. medusina, P. gypsicola).

 

[kulamauiman]

P. medusina was the only mexican ping that survived in my initial attempt to grow the outdoors. The rest all slowly succumbed to too much light. Even in an area with partial shade most of the day they still had problems. Growing some seedlings of other mexicna pings outside under lexan is suggesting to me that my upper elevation , excessive UV light conditions maybe to blame. under leaxan they are growing just fine. P. medusina OTOH didn't seem to mind the conditions outside, but can see that the amount of full sun was giving them issues as the pups being produced on the leaves would never thrive. I have added more shade to their growing area and can see vast improvements. Hoping to be able to move some of the other species outside as well and tezt.