Pinguicula - Carnivorous plant

[jay]

This little guy is in with my Fdk. After Dark seedlings. I have some fungus/sphagnum gnats in there and I don't want to put any chemicals on them right now. So I thought I would try one of these little carnivorous plants. I posted a picture when I did my update of the seedlings but thought it should be here.

Well, after 5 days I would have to say that it is doing it's job. You can see the comparison between day 1 and 5. I might just have to get a couple more of these. It gives off a scent that attracts insects. The leaves are a bit sticky, not really to my touch, but enough for the little monsters. When it "catches" a bug it curls the leaves to pool digestive liquids around the bugs.

Picture 1 - The Ping on Saturday.

Picture 2 - The Ping today (Thursday)

Picture 3 - Close up of a gnat that has been nabbed by the Ping. It was fighting to get away with no luck.

These are supposed to flower as well. I am looking forward to that.

[patticake]

How totally cool!

I had sticky traps, but still had the gnats. Finally one morning I was misting my chids, and noticed a huge spider-web. (these are in my basement) I have no more gnats! Mr. spider took care of them! I like the natural way also!

Where did you get that plant? It's awesome!

[Rocinante]

Fascinating, Jay! I know of a little "mom & pop" garden shop in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn that sells carnivores. I've been having a little trouble with fungus gnats in my Dendrobiums. They love that coco husk! You've convinced me, I'm gonna give it a try as well.

[jay]

I actually bought it from Lowe's. Gubler's Orchids is the supplier of carnivorous plants and orchids in this area. There are several places online that you can get them as well. There are several varieties and hybrids. This one cost $5.00.

From what I have read they don't like drafts. I have it in a humidity dome right now with my seedlings. Not sure if it will do well with my open air orchids.

[arleneg]

Thanks for sharing the pics of the Ping. at work.

I checked OSH yesterday. They didn't have any. I might have to check Home Depot and Lowes this weekend. I'd like to trade the fly paper for Pings. Fly sticky papers are very sticky to the touch. They do work. But I don't like it when I bump into it when watering the plants. Yuck.

[patticake]

Originally Posted by arleneg

Thanks for sharing the pics of the Ping. at work.

I checked OSH yesterday. They didn't have any. I might have to check Home Depot and Lowes this weekend. I'd like to trade the fly paper for Pings. Fly sticky papers are very sticky to the touch. They do work. But I don't like it when I bump into it when watering the plants. Yuck.

Arlene, I know just what you mean! One day I was bending over the grow-cart tray, and the ends of my hair got stuck on a sticky paper! I'm glad it was just the ends... Time for a hair trim anyways.

[solay]

It looks like the Ping is working out for you. I have tiny gnats now too and they are multiplying. Time to get some Pings! The plant itself is kinda cute too. Do you see the leaves curl up immediately or is it a slow process? Thanks.

[Rocinante]

Here's a link to another Carnivore website I found:

Beautiful Carnivorous Plants for Sale by Sarracenia Northwest

[made4engineering]

There are epiphytic species of Butterworts Someday I will grow them ... someday

[Andrew]

Originally Posted by jay

From what I have read they don't like drafts. I have it in a humidity dome right now with my seedlings. Not sure if it will do well with my open air orchids.

They do like protected positions but I grow my Mexican Pings in a breezy shadehouse (40-60% humidity) and they grow quite happily. No doubt they'd probably sulk with hot dry winds but I don't think you need to be concerned about growing them with typical 'orchid' ventilation. They should do well. If you've got them in a humid enclosure just make sure you gradually harden them off if you want to grow them with your other orchids. The flowers are quite pretty. The Mexicans are mostly shades of pinks and purples - ~1".

[norris]

Jay,we get Gubler's plants here also. My 2nd orchid came from them. Have you been to the Gubler greenhouse? and I read on their website that you can visit their greenhouse, I would like to do that sometime, I know it is out there in the desert in Landers CA.

[Jennifer]

This is awesome! I need one of these to catch the fruit flies that are always in my kitchen. I generally keep lots of fruit around, especially in the spring and summer. Fruit flies love me, but that relationship isn't reciprocal! I'll keep my eyes out for one of these little guys. Living in Wilmington, NC, we usually have access to a wide variety of carnivorous plants considering a lot of them grow natively here. Thanks for sharing!

[tom499]

They are great plants. The temperate species can be grown outside most of the year, while the mexican pings are more suited to intermediate orchid conditions.

Need a dry winter, just about kept moist. For the rest of the year they should be kept in a shallow saucer if they're in good quick drying media. A heavier media can lead to rot with a water saucer, though like with orchids, good air movement keeps rot down.

Most need good light to grow well. They often make many growths and big clumps can build quickly creating nice flowers which can last several weeks.

I've got a couple of buds coming I type.

[jay]

Thanks everyone. I really wanted to try something other than sprays and chemicals with the seedlings. I know that there is the magic cinnamon extract solution, but I think it was mentioned that cinnamon can stunt growth temporarily and I didn't want to take the chance with these.

I will post pictures if and when it blooms. I may have to try a fly trap as well now.

[bkim]

That's really cool! I'll keep my eyes peeled for these.

[Andrew]

While we're on the subject of Pings, I thought I might post a pic of my latest experiment in my ongoing 'convincing my wife that carnivorous plants are attractive enough to grow in the entertaining area in order to free up valuble space in my shade house' project. This is a compact form of Disa uniflora growing with Pinguicula 'Sethos'. I got the idea when I tried to save on sphagnum by growing Ping leaf cuttings in old Disa mix only to find stray Disa tubers shooting amongst the Pings. I’m growing the pot under Disa conditions. The Ping seems to have adapted well.

[arleneg]

Andrew,

That's creative. The arrangement looks great. I like.

[myorchid]

What a great setup. I love the look of the arrangement! Great job!

[tom499]

That is a very nice arrangement Andrew.

Ping roots are so shallow they won't give the Disa any trouble,and you'll get a lovely display if they decide to flower at the same time.

May have to give that a go sometime

I think CPs are beautiful, but I know they're an aquired taste hehe out of all of them Pinguicula are probably the most angelic, though many of the Utricularia look totally harmless, their trap systems hidden in the soil. All you see are the tear drop shaped leaves and the alien flowers

[Andrew]

Tom,
The shallow root system was the main reason I chose Pings to go with the Disa. Aside from Cephs, which I couldn't see working, there's not a lot of CP's that like early autumn repotting but the Mexican Pings can be repotted at anytime without setback. My main concern with the Pings was with the higher light levels and wetter mix that I grow my Disa in but the Pings seem to have adapted well. It's probably the stronger light that lets them tolerate the wetter mix. They also handle the low concentration fertiliser I give my Disa.

FWIW tuberous Drosera and Australian terrestrial orchids also grow well together in pots, although given they grow side by side in the wild it's probably to be expected. That's probably another thread though.

[tom499]

Yes, lets not mention lovely Drosera just yet

To be almost back on topic, heres P. agnata which opened up today. Bit small but I like it.