What's new
TerraForums Venus Flytrap, Nepenthes, Drosera and more talk

Register a free account today to become a member! Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members through your own private inbox!

Ping leaf cuttings

jimscott

Tropical Fish Enthusiast
I have tried different methods of trying to get leaf cuttings to produce new plants. I have put them in capped 50 ml centrifuge tubes and they funguse up. I have placed them on top of the media, uncovered, with the end partially buried, with no success. I have done the baggie and soil media routine and have 25 % success.

What about a placing leaves in a container that has media in it, but is overfilled, so that the leaves are resting on top of the water, uncovered, thus providing local humidity and air circulation?

Would this work for Sarracenia seeds as well?
 
I have only been experimenting with leaf cuttings in this genus for the past two months or so, so I would definitely follow the advice of experts like PinguiculaMan and others on this topic.  However, that said, I can think of two possible problems:

1) Either too little or too much light.  Leaf cuttings need bright, indirect light.  Anything less than this and I have noticed they will quickly be victim to mold and/or fungal attacks.  Any more, and they will quickly wilt and cook.  

2) You may be keeping the medium too wet.  Whatever you use, whether peat, LFS or vermiculite, it should only be slightly damp.  In other words, if you were to pick up a handful and wring it out, it should not yield any excess water.  

Just my two cents,
Corey
 
I have nearly 100% success with Pinguicula leaf pullings. The number one, most important factor = moisture level. If they are kept too wet they will quickly rot and if they are kept too dry they will shrivel up and die before producing a viable plantlet. I put each variety into a community ziploc bag with a small handful of LFS that was completely saturated until I give it a very hard sqeeze in my hand to remove as much water as I possibly can so that the resulting moss is just slightly moist. There is a somewhat different technique that can work too; put the leaves (by themselves) into an empty plastic container and wait, this technique usually produces plantlets as the parent leaf gradually shrivels up. Leaves kept moist enough to slow the shriveling process while the plantlets form, yet not so moist they rot quickly, can sometimes (once plantlets have formed and been removed) be used to form a second batch of plantlets. A good way to make more plantlets most quickly is to use the smaller leaves from plantlets that are on their way to becoming adult size plants. These young plants can recover very quickly, even if most of their leaves are removed for leaf pullings. This process can continue --> even if you only get 4 plantlets from the initial leaf pulling --> this can lead to 16 if you get the same results from the initial plantlets, the next level produces 64 plantlets. These are very conservative numbers --> this process can be extremely productive.
 
Precisely:

[b said:
Quote[/b] (Ispahan @ April 26 2005,4:53)]2) You may be keeping the medium too wet. Whatever you use, whether peat, LFS or vermiculite, it should only be slightly damp. In other words, if you were to pick up a handful and wring it out, it should not yield any excess water.

Just my two cents,
Corey
 
Thank you very much!
 
I have had 100% success so far. I fill a container with LFS (undrained container) up to 0.5 inch under the rim. I fill the container with water about an inch under the top of the LFS. I lay the cuttings on top then cover the whole thing with plastic wrap held on by a rubber band. I have also had success pulling a winter-leaf off and putting it on top of the soil next to the plant.
 
Tonight, after work, I took a shallow container (2" tall, 12" width, 10" length) and filled it with sand & peat, topdressed with LFS. I placed several cuttings of P. agnata & P. gigantea, along with cuttings from several Red Dragon VFT's, a few D. filiformis, and many Cephalotis follicularis. I partially filled it with deionized water and covered with Saran wrap. I placed in a SE-facing window sill for now and will get a rubber band to seal it along the perimeter. Anything else I should do?
 
I hope it works for you, but it still sounds way too wet for Pinguicula leaf cuttings to me, especially if you cover it with plastic wrap.
 
I agree with Ispahan. It sounds like a recipe for rotten CP soup. Let us know how it goes.
 
  • #10
I'm open to suggestions. How many leaves should I try or should I have a second set up?
 
  • #11
The only time I had any success with wet Pinguicula leaf pullings was when the LFS was living LFS. The assumption is that living Sphagnum inhibits undesirable microorganisms.
 
  • #12
I can do that. I have the live LFS.
 
  • #13
I have never had any P. gigantea root for me. Or make new plants (I meant the leaves for this whole thing I can acually grow the plant).
 
  • #14
...now i'm getting a little confused...
so should ping leaf pulls, when placed on a bed of media, be left uncovered so as to keep the moisture level down? with the exception of the-handful-of-sphagnum-in-ziplock-baggie method?
this thread has been most helpful.
-julie
 
  • #15
I always cover mine and they do well on dead LFS. I have not tried live LFS though. Not covering also works, sometimes.
 
  • #16
And there ya have it folks - covered & uncovered, dried LFS & live LFS,.... If I am understanding the big picture, you want some moisture - no too much and not too little. (Sounds like Monty Python and the shrubbery skit or the Holy hand grenade) We don't want things to dry out nor produce mold. As Joseph pointed out, and mentioned by Tamlin, live LFS has naturally therapeutic qualities.
 
  • #17
I have succeeded with Pinguicula esseriana and Pinguicula moranensis by taken a leaf and placing in a pot topped off with dried LFS moss moistened and placing it on a windowsill.
 
  • #18
Steve, was it covered or uncovered?
 
  • #19
I think he meant uncovered. Take a couple leaves and try both ways, Jim. I mean whats 4 leaves for a ping?
 
  • #20
True. I'm trying to imagine how things occur in nature. Do cp leaves get severed by animals and fall in the water or on the swampy soil? It seems to me that when leaves get separated, they are landing on mist media, and obviously exposed to the air. I'm guessing that a moist media, exposed to the air, with live LFS, with normal diurnal lighting best mimics nature.
 
Back
Top