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Post by shoggoths on May 25, 2013 12:42:18 GMT -5
Really nice plants DVG. The red color is really great. I'm not sure if I should start a new thread for this but I think that small pings also do better with some compost. Here's a test I've done. Top left : nothing, only 100% mineral mix. Top right : worm casting adds to the mix Bottom left : Fertilizer Bottom right : Compost + fertilizer In the meanwhile, I also had bad result with too high fertilizer concentration. What do you think ? Pinguicula rotundifolia test par Shoggoths, sur Flickr
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Post by dvg on May 25, 2013 15:02:08 GMT -5
Hi Shoggoths, I've moved your post into its own thread, because I think this one deserves attention. It's very interesting to see the differences in growth and size of your pings in their respective mixes. And it backs up this link: www.omnisterra.com/botany/cp/slides/pings/pings.htmIf you scroll about half down the page from the link above and find the List of Tropical Heterophyllous species heading, some of the pings are listed as either calcium-loving species or calcium-hating species. P. heterophylla and P. gypsicola are listed as calcium-lovers while P. colimensis, P. cyclosecta, P. ehlersia, P. esseriana, P. moranensis, P. rotundiflora, and P. zecheri are listed as calcium-hating species. I've noticed that my P. moranensis don't much care for my all mineral mix and they spend a lot of time in succulent mode in that mix. So I've started to add more compost to my media mix for certain species, even adding in earthworm castings. I've found that a blanket coverage media mix for all Mexican species doesn't yield the best overall results for each species, so I try to research them each, when possible. Those are some very impressive results that you've shown there Shoggoths - thanks for taking the time to share them here. dvg
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Post by 31drew31 on May 25, 2013 20:41:59 GMT -5
Wow Martin! Were the pings the same size to start? The two on the right look really impressive! Ive added some milled LFS into some media and it has worked ok but not sure if Ive seen much of a benefit yet. P. moranensis has grown much better in mix with a small amount of organic media (peat) than all mineral for me too and can remain succulent for a long time. Ive tried to avoid using peat in new mixes but will have to try a few other things. Its interesting they list cyclosecta, elhersiae, esseriana and moranensis as calcium hating species. Ive have these four growing on some tufa rock since Dec 2011. Older photo: www.flickr.com/photos/66871944@N08/8104656439/
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Post by hal on May 25, 2013 21:40:32 GMT -5
I find that moranesis and gigantea do pretty well in a 50% peat mix. P. moctezumae also likes it peaty and consistently wet.
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Post by Apoplast on May 26, 2013 10:09:30 GMT -5
Bounjour Shogg - Great experiment! Thanks for sharing! I keep a little peat in the mix for most of my mexi pings and they seem to do pretty well. I mean I am no you, Drew, Doug, or Hal, but they get by well enough. Do you think that peat is functionally equivalent the worm castings for providing organic matter? Or could there be a different property of the worm casings that is an improvement on peat?
And thanks for providing the link to that page DVG! I found it very useful reading.
Nice tuffa planting Drew! Not that it will necessarily be a source for me but where did you get your tuffa rock? Aquarium store? E-Bay?
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Post by shoggoths on May 26, 2013 19:36:34 GMT -5
Tks guys, Tks for the link DVG, I'll read it closely. Yes Drew, they were all the same. Very tiny but the one on the bottom left suffered from the fertilizer and shrink a bit. About the cyclosecta, that could explain the difference between my plants: P1070521 par Shoggoths, sur Flickr P1070522 par Shoggoths, sur Flickr Same pot size, which one has compost in it ? Your plants grow nicely on the rock but perhaps would have been bigger in another mix? Effectively, my gigantea looked giant for the first time and it does so since I add compost to the mix. I've follow your advice for the moctezumae so I'll see the result this Fall. Sorry Apoplast, I can't say. Like Drew, I don't like to add peat in my mix so I search for alternative. My compost is made from black tea leaves so I was convinced I was on something but in the end, perhaps it is only a question of adding organic matter to the mix. Also, I find that adding OM really help the mother plant making out shoots. I usually never have out shoots in pure mineral mix.
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Post by 31drew31 on May 26, 2013 22:03:18 GMT -5
I bet the top one Mine in pure mineral media flowers and grows ok, but not like it did at the start. Maybe it needs a repot and when I do I plan to try a few different things.
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