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By Fishkeeper
Posts:  781
Joined:  Sat Dec 03, 2016 10:59 pm
#294923
I have a Hygrolon living wall in the works, build thread here http://www.dendroboard.com/forum/parts- ... hread.html if anyone is interested.

Long story short, I'm going to be planting things in a soft plastic mesh that's very effective at wicking water. The roots of anything planted in it will stay damp constantly, but will have plenty of aeration. I'm assuming CPs will grow fine in this stuff, since it doesn't have any minerals in it. I really want either a sundew, a ping, or an extremely slow-growing nep in this, partly because they're cool and partly in order to eat up any fungus gnats that turn up. I also plan to keep at least one type of bladderwort, to see what they think of the substrate.

The trouble is, I'm very limited as to what light I can provide. It's a safe bet that the lighting from the window will suck, and the fire marshal is very strict about what electronics can be used. The only thing I can use is a small reading lamp and the best LED bulb I can fit in said lamp. The bulb in question is a 100W LED that puts out 5000K and 1680 lumens, and I can put the bulb very close to the plant.

Plant requirements:
Will grow in inorganic material
Will eat fungus gnats at a considerable rate
Will live and grow properly with the aforementioned light
Doesn't require dormancy, or requires dormancy that can be very easily accomplished with no temp control (i.e. just move the light further away for the winter)
Relatively unfussy about exact humidity and temperature, in particular alright with colder nights
Is very unlikely to reach over 4-5" across in the next ~4 years

I know I won't get any good colors under that light, but I at least want something that'll be healthy instead of just existing without dying. I want growth- just not dying is kind of depressing.
By fattytuna
Posts:  749
Joined:  Sun Jan 22, 2012 4:00 am
#295039
For Drosera, the only species I can think of that would grow normally in low light is D. adelae. I'm not sure if it would like the substrate though, perhaps making some plugs out of live sphagnum moss inserted into the mesh would help?

I'm no expert on Pinguicula but i've heard that some species can grow in low light and almost any media. Perhaps P. gigantea but you'll have to ask someone more knowledgeable on the genus.
By Fishkeeper
Posts:  781
Joined:  Sat Dec 03, 2016 10:59 pm
#295071
I'm trying to avoid organic substrates as much as possible, so there's nothing that will break down and fewer places for fungus gnats to grow.
What is it that the sphagnum provides that the Hygrolon doesn't? As far as I can tell, aside from the antibacterial/antifungal properties, the Hygrolon functions like an artificial sphagnum. There are no nutrients, of course, but that's hardly a concern with sundews.

P. gigantea do seem like they might do well, but they get rather big for this setup. The living wall is going to be 12" across, so a Ping that can get nearly 6" across is a bit too large.

I know pings tend to like a drier substrate, and I can make a small hollow behind some driftwood to fill with perlite or some other inorganic mixture, if they'd grow better in that. That seems like it might also be helpful for allowing their dryness-induced dormancy.

I'm looking up epiphytic Pings, the ones that like to grow on tree trunks. Any suggestions there?
By w03
Posts:  393
Joined:  Tue Jul 15, 2014 12:46 am
#295551
P. hemiepiphytica isn't too hard to find, but I'm not sure how well it does in low light. P. mesophytica is around too but again I'm not sure about the light level.
I would definitely recommend P. emarginata despite the fact that it's not really an epiphyte. It stays pretty small, can deal with low light, and naturally grows on perpetually wet rock faces. It's also basically immune to browning heart disease which is a nice touch.

Theoretically D. schizandra might be ok in low-ish light, and so would D. adelae. I would be careful about putting Drosera on non-organic substrates in general. I'm not sure what it is (acidity? residual nutrients?) but I haven't had much success growing them in anything that wasn't based in some way on peat or LFS.

In terms of Utricularia, I'd imagine most of the leafy ones from sect. Foliosa or sect. Orchidioides would work. People grow these on Hygrolon and other weird substrates with some regularity. You'll need to fertilize them once in a while though (I had U. calycifida growing on scouring pads for a while, but it died off from nutrient deficiencies). The smaller ones like U. nephrophylla would probably work well. U. jamesoniana is also worth considering since it doesn't like super bright light anyway and you seem to have consistent HL conditions, but it tends to like things a little wetter than the pings you'll be growing (unless it's P. emarginata). U. alpina and the other classical Orchidioides tend to get kinda huge, so be careful. They would technically be suitable but it seems like you don't have that much space.
By Fishkeeper
Posts:  781
Joined:  Sat Dec 03, 2016 10:59 pm
#295615
I'm gonna give P. Primuliflora a try, since they have a reputation for being weeds and are easy to get ahold of. If they don't do well for me, I can take them out, bring them home over the weekend, and put them in a more conventional pot. I think I have a decent shot at keeping them healthy, though. I'll plant them higher up on the wall so they'll stay a bit less wet and will be closer to the light. Should I root them in live sphagnum, do you think? They should get some gnats for food, and I'll give them fish food if they don't catch many bugs.

I really like the looks of P. emarginata and its care requirements. Anyone know a source?

I thought about D. Adelae, but I don't think they'd do well in this setup, and they get a bit too big besides.

Ooh, thanks for the bladderwort suggestions. I'm gonna try U. Sandersonii and U. Longifola in thicker sections of foam down near the water where they'll stay really wet, and I'll look for a source for the other guys. I can definitely keep them a lot wetter than the pings if they stay in the bottom section of the wall, and I need something to fill in the area right above the water anyway.

Does anyone happen to have small bits of a suitable Ultric for sale? I'd want to start out with small pieces, so I can get them tucked into little gaps in the Hygrolon.

How would I go about fertilizing bladderworts? Highly diluted orchid fertilizer solution? Some sort of weak manure tea?
By slinx
Posts:  62
Joined:  Fri Jun 16, 2017 7:00 pm
#295635
Pinguicula primuliflora is a temperate species so it isn't an ideal indoor plant, and should be outside during winter for its dormancy. Drosera adelae seems ideal (you can always cut it back and give the cuttings to your friends) although it can't hold a candle to any pinguicula when it comes to catching gnats.
By Benurmanii
Posts:  2000
Joined:  Fri Aug 07, 2015 4:34 pm
#295657
slinx wrote:Pinguicula primuliflora is a temperate species so it isn't an ideal indoor plant, and should be outside during winter for its dormancy. Drosera adelae seems ideal (you can always cut it back and give the cuttings to your friends) although it can't hold a candle to any pinguicula when it comes to catching gnats.
P. primuliflora is a warm temperate, and while a mild winter will definitely benefit its long-term health, it is most tolerant of its group (of US warm temperates) of surviving without any sort of cooler winter period.
By slinx
Posts:  62
Joined:  Fri Jun 16, 2017 7:00 pm
#295662
Sure, but a 'surviving' plant usually doesn't look very good, and Fishkeeper is intending to keep the plant there for four years. It could work out well for the first two, but after that it won't be very sightly.
By Fishkeeper
Posts:  781
Joined:  Sat Dec 03, 2016 10:59 pm
#295677
How cold would a "mild winter" be? This is an old building, the room is probably going to get kind of chilly in the winter.

I could put a Ping in a pot next to this setup and then move it somewhere colder for winter, too, that would work.

Anyone know where I could get some baby D. Adelae? I don't want to have to deal with trying to get an adult's roots to fit into this setup, I'd much rather start with a baby plant that I can fit into a nice little pocket of live sphagnum so it can grow into the Hygrolon.
By Benurmanii
Posts:  2000
Joined:  Fri Aug 07, 2015 4:34 pm
#295693
slinx wrote:Sure, but a 'surviving' plant usually doesn't look very good, and Fishkeeper is intending to keep the plant there for four years. It could work out well for the first two, but after that it won't be very sightly.
P. primuliflora replaces itself fast enough that this is not an issue. The plantlets it produces will quickly overgrow any plants. You probably wouldn't want to grow any other American section Isoloba, by primuliflora should be a fine candidate of the wall is wet enough.

I have some emarginata, Fishkeeper. PM me if interested.
By Fishkeeper
Posts:  781
Joined:  Sat Dec 03, 2016 10:59 pm
#295805
You know, the P. Primuliflora wouldn't need to stay on the wall, since they have such stringy roots. They have a year or two before they need dormancy, right? I could pull adults out in the fall and put them in a pot where they could go dormant, and leave just the babies that would be fine staying awake for the winter.
By Benurmanii
Posts:  2000
Joined:  Fri Aug 07, 2015 4:34 pm
#296090
Fishkeeper wrote:You know, the P. Primuliflora wouldn't need to stay on the wall, since they have such stringy roots. They have a year or two before they need dormancy, right? I could pull adults out in the fall and put them in a pot where they could go dormant, and leave just the babies that would be fine staying awake for the winter.
P. primuliflora's "dormancy" is more of a slow in growth. Ideal temps would be days in the 50s to low 60s, nights in 40s to near freezing. P. primuliflora will replace itself fast enough that this doesn't matter. P. primulfilora roots are also not like the thin, stringy roots of Mexican Pinguicula, they are thicker, and with fairly prevalent root hairs.
By KategoricalKarnivore
Posts:  1769
Joined:  Wed Aug 24, 2016 5:00 pm
#296098
Fishkeeper wrote:
Anyone know where I could get some baby D. Adelae?
PM Fishman he has some he is trying to get rid of.
By Fishkeeper
Posts:  781
Joined:  Sat Dec 03, 2016 10:59 pm
#298374
I tried two Pings on the wall, P. primuliflora and P. emarginata. The primuliflora wasn't staying wet enough and had to be repotted, but the emarginata seems to be doing well so far. It's unfolded a flower bud that it had on arrival, and it's growing new leaves. No color on the new leaves yet, but I'm not sure if that's because of the lighting or just because they're new leaves.

Decided against using D. adelae, they get too large and I'd much rather have the ping.

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