FlytrapCare Carnivorous Plant Forums

I have several P. primuliflora and caerulea, but for some reason, the edges of the leaves are curling downward. I've attached a picture of my P. caerulea to demonstrate. I've been growing these plants in very high humidity (sealed terrarium, essentially) and rather high light. The soil is a standard CP mix I bought from a retailer - I believe it contains peat, perlite, and perhaps a few other things. Does anyone know what's going on?

Hey Kevin664! What lights are you using (wattage, colour temperature/kelvin), how close are they to the terrarium and how long are they on for? Sorry for all the questions, I'm hoping this'll help us identify any potential issues.

Is there any form of drainage in the terrarium? Root rot would be a concern if not as Pinguicula have a tendency to develop rot and fungus, although warm temperate Pinguicula (which P. primuliflora and P. caerulea are) are more resistant to this as they often encounter high moisture levels in their natural habitat.

I hope we can resolve the issue very soon!

Hi Grey,

Thanks so much for the response. I am using three soft white compact fluorescent bulbs with 100 watt equivalent (23 actual watts used). They should be producing 1600 lumens each, and the color temperature is 2700 K. They're placed about a foot and a half away from the plants, and they stay on for about 12 hours a day.

There is no drainage in the terrarium, but I've put some pebbles on the bottom so the soil doesn't stay permanently wet. The plant has been looking like this for quite some time (several months), so I don't think root rot is the issue here. Thanks!

Kevin

The wattage and photoperiod sounds really good, I am a little concerned about the colour temperature though. Plants typically need at least one high wattage 6500k (or 6700k) bulb as this mimics sunlight; lower colour temperature bulbs can be used in conjunction with daylight white bulbs but really I think you may need to change one of the bulbs for something whiter.

The drainage layer should take care of potential rot issues so for now I think it would mostly be a light problem. I do confess that I'm not overly apt in artificial lighting however I do have some knowledge; please do not be afraid to seek a second opinion in the artificial lighting sub-section of the forum if you have doubts, we need to make sure you receive the most accurate advice possible.

Thanks so much! I will try adjusting the temperature of the lighting. Do you think it might be an issue with humidity or the fact that there is too much light?

I don't know as though there can be too much light, although P. primuliflora is known to grow in shaded areas in the wild... artificial lighting does not give off all that direct sunlight does, though, so I really don't think it'd be an issue.

Humidity is something to consider as these plants can come from high humidity habitats; do you know the current level of humidity?

Humidity should be close to 100%, since I keep them in a sealed terrarium, essentially.

I imagine that'll be all right then; if changing the lighting doesn't do anything (it may take a few weeks to see results) we can perhaps revisit the water/drainage part and also consider humidity (though I don't really believe that will be much if any of an issue, if I find any information that states otherwise I'll contact you). In the meantime I really do hope the plants pick up!

Thank you so much for your help!

You are absolutely more than welcome; if the plants begin to show negative changes please do let us know.