FlytrapCare Carnivorous Plant Forums

I’ve seen pictures of pings growing in/on lava rocks. I was wondering 1) how do you propagate them, 2) do you just stick the pullings in the lava rock holes, and 3) how do you water everything (do you mist them or what)?

With regards to propagating pings, do you hold the mother plant and pull leaves off? Doesn’t that damage the dew/sticky-ness of the leaves?

I have a Esseriana Butterwort.

I’ve done it both ways - starting them separately and directly on the rock, with a little other medium and without. I like directly on the rock the best. I don’t generally stick them into holes, I just lay them wherever they can rest, some little ledge for example. As long as the rock wicks water well, you should have no problem. Pumice wicks great, while tephra—the red or black “lava rock” common as aquarium or garden decor) doesn’t, so for that you’d need some porous medium and a “conduit” between it and the water below. That could be either regular medium or some Sphagnum, whatever works for you.

In the first photo below, the R Ellis are actually growing in medium inside a hollowed out pumice rock, while the cyclosectas were started by laying a winter leaf in a little crevice.

The second (a display rock at work) is also a holllowed piece but I filled it with another broken piece of pumice and filled the spaces with a mineral Ping mix. Almost everything there was placed directly on the rock itself. The big blooming plant and larger others were already rooted, while the smaller ones were just pullings. The one on the front right halfway down was a normal carnivorous leaf from the big one.







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Cool!

Wow Bob, thanks for all the detailed information! Both of your rocks look awesome!!

I beg to differ Bob

Wikiwakawakawee wrote:I beg to differ Bob

Wow. Looks like yours is much finer grained than most of what’s available though. I guess it depends on how pressurized the magma was when it emerged. I bought several pieces of tephra and it never wicked more than an inch up!


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Double cool!

Bob Beer wrote:

Wikiwakawakawee wrote:I beg to differ Bob

Wow. Looks like yours is much finer grained than most of what’s available though. I guess it depends on how pressurized the magma was when it emerged. I bought several pieces of tephra and it never wicked more than an inch up!


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I will agree with you there. I picked up some lava rock off the side of the road in New Mexico on a road trip and it was extremely dense and heavy, didn't soak up water very well.

I bought some carved red lava rock at a local fish store though (The pieces you see in the picture) and I'm amazed at how much water it absorbs! I pour water directly onto them and it just seems like a sponge. (I just fill up the containers with water, dont spray or water directly, was just giving you an example)

I do have to ask though, how do you get that moss to pop up on the pumice! I've always loved that look of the pings in moss on a rock. I'm sure I could do it with mine, but dont think i have the right moss for it unfortunately.

very very nice

this type of culture has a limit anyway: the place

Wikiwakawakawee wrote:
I do have to ask though, how do you get that moss to pop up on the pumice! I've always loved that look of the pings in moss on a rock. I'm sure I could do it with mine, but dont think i have the right moss for it unfortunately.

Nothing at all, except keeping it moist. I set the pumice in water and leave it there. The air is full of moss spores and they settle on the rock all the time. The ones that can grow in that habitat, will. The ferns do the same thing. Liverworts also came up; they can be a bit much. I even got selaginella on one.


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Recently started a few ping rocks from lava rocks. Some of the lava rock was dense and nonporous. I only used the lightweight, porous stuff. So far, so good.