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By Fishman
Posts:  867
Joined:  Sat Jun 13, 2015 8:16 pm
#275606
My early birthday present finally arrived thanks to family who has seen my wishlist..
Cascade Carnivores really made sure this delicate thing made it to my doorstep unharmed and they did a fabulous job. Tbh, ive never seen such careful packaging! I will update in a week or so of its progress and pics. One of two things will happen: it will either be nice and dewy with more intense coloration or it will be dead. Im hoping for my first option, as i have been wanting one ever since i fell in love with it on their website. Thank you family, and thanks for selecting a very nice one MR. West. It is wonderful :)
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By KategoricalKarnivore
Posts:  1769
Joined:  Wed Aug 24, 2016 5:00 pm
#275609
Lookin good. Hope it stays that way.
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By coffeenflowers
Posts:  119
Joined:  Fri Aug 05, 2016 6:06 am
#275639
Looks great! Do pings usually come with so many leaves when you buy them or is it species specific? I'm just wondering because pings I purchased recently are small and I wondered if that is normal or something about the place I bought them from.

What is your potting mix?
By Fishman
Posts:  867
Joined:  Sat Jun 13, 2015 8:16 pm
#275647
coffeenflowers wrote:Looks great! Do pings usually come with so many leaves when you buy them or is it species specific? I'm just wondering because pings I purchased recently are small and I wondered if that is normal or something about the place I bought them from.

What is your potting mix?
Some do, but you are correct in that it is a species specific thing. The medium was also purchased for me as a gift from Cascade Carnivores as well as the plant. The medium is (if i may quote):
"We like the fact that this mix doesn't contain any peat moss, and is therefore environmentally friendly. And we love the fact that our Pinguicula plants develop superior root systems in this mix. Contains an aquatic planting medium based on arcilite, a common clay-based mineral used in soil-less planting mixes. Also includes horticultural silica sand and a very small amount of iron oxide. There are no seeds in this mix. It is a soil-less potting mix only."-Taken from Cascade Carnivores.
Im trying it out to see if it works. Looks good in person. Doesnt look like its going to clump up so i do like that. I dont think watering via tray method is going to work though, and that is my only concern thus far, especially when its carnivorous leaves are out. In succulent season it'll be superb! I'll just have to experience it and see how it goes. Will be updating in a week or two.
By Earthy
Posts:  1292
Joined:  Tue Oct 14, 2014 4:58 pm
#275674
That's the all-mineral mix I use, and I can say that yes the pings produce a healthy, impressive root system in it. My pings have roots over an inch long and they are just healthy happy pings lol...and the way I combated the possible watering issue is a thin layer of LFS in the bottom. Not only does it hold water like a reservoir for the medium to take up but it also keeps the medium in lol. ...
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By Grey
Posts:  3255
Joined:  Mon Jul 26, 2010 3:48 pm
#275676
The clay should (in theory) be porous enough to absorb or retain some water, but not as much as peat, of course. As Earthy says, a thin layer of LFS in the bottom can help with that. I love the look of this mix and would love to get my hands on some for my Pings. I have some coconut fibre based medium that I'd like to try with my Pings in the future (trying to be a little greener) so I will see how that goes; may also infuse it with orchid ferts.

Anyway, this is a lovely, lovely Ping and I wish you all the best with it! Happy early birthday to you -- I'd have been ecstatic with this as a present, too!! :-D
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By Fishman
Posts:  867
Joined:  Sat Jun 13, 2015 8:16 pm
#275678
Earthy wrote:That's the all-mineral mix I use, and I can say that yes the pings produce a healthy, impressive root system in it. My pings have roots over an inch long and they are just healthy happy pings lol...and the way I combated the possible watering issue is a thin layer of LFS in the bottom. Not only does it hold water like a reservoir for the medium to take up but it also keeps the medium in lol. ...
Thats great news. I did the same thing by lining the bottom with lfs. As soon as i saw how dry it was when i took it out of the bag, i knew immediately that i was going to lose it out the bottom of the pot if i didnt line it lol. Awesome stuff, and its good to hear from someone else who uses it that confirms it works well. It cetainly has an appeal to it visually
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By coffeenflowers
Posts:  119
Joined:  Fri Aug 05, 2016 6:06 am
#276062
How have you decided to water? I was worried about my pings and repotted into a turface/sand mix, but I'm not sure how to approach watering. From overhead? Once or twice a week? It seems hard to judge the amount of water that remains based on weight.

Crystal
By Grey
Posts:  3255
Joined:  Mon Jul 26, 2010 3:48 pm
#276064
Overhead watering will be fine as long as you are mindful of the leaves. :-) You will likely find that the mix dries out a lot quicker so twice a week may be a good starting point, as long as the mix isn't staying moist all the time it should be fine.

Alternatively, you can sit it in deep water for a little while to allow the medium to absorb some of it. Inorganic media can be tricky because it isn't always very absorbent. I do know of people who keep their Mexican Pings sat in water when using inorganic mixes because, otherwise, they'd dry out instantly. Thankfully, Mexican Pings are highly resistant to drought and so you have lots of time to experiment and find a method that works for you.

I've grown Mexican Pings on pure perlite, which is quite absorbent, so watering once to twice a week from the bottom was adequate; I've also used a large piece of tufa which never absorbed enough water to keep the plants at the right moisture so I'd target water them but it was rather frustrating. It was a big piece of rock, though, and I imagine that it would have absorbed more water had I have kept it sat in a deep tray of the stuff but that also would have meant mould as my windowsill is rather cool and damp in the autumn and winter.
By Fishman
Posts:  867
Joined:  Sat Jun 13, 2015 8:16 pm
#276098
coffeenflowers wrote:How have you decided to water? I was worried about my pings and repotted into a turface/sand mix, but I'm not sure how to approach watering. From overhead? Once or twice a week? It seems hard to judge the amount of water that remains based on weight.

Crystal
In the new mineral mix i have been using, i have been bottom watering. I am not noticing any moisture coming to the surface, or near the plant or its roots . I refill the tray everyday just in case. Just to be safe, I use a syringe to apply a few drops of cool water around the plant without getting it wet . Since these are tolerant of drought-like conditions, im not too worried about having damp soil. Ill just water overhead for a few weeks and see how it responds. So far, the plant is not waterlogged, and the soil is near dry and the plant looks fine. By "fine", i mean near the same as it was when i received it last week.
By Fishman
Posts:  867
Joined:  Sat Jun 13, 2015 8:16 pm
#281632
Little update as of today, not much has really changed for this guy here. It still pretty much looks the same, but it has a few more leaves, and quite a bit more dew. It has caught several gnats since i first got it. As long as it doesnt decline, i suppose hes happy. Waiting for leaf propagation experiment results now...
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