cosmoker: A selection of November's flowers

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cosmoking
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A selection of November's flowers
« Thread Started on Nov 26, 2007, 5:46am »
Pinguicula laueana "Scarlett Flower-Pillarbox Red"






Close up of the flower:



This plant is one of my favourite of all Pinguicula. It is a very good clone, with strong, saturated colour combined with a very pretty flower shape and longetivity; the flower shown has opened 2 weeks ago, and I predict it will stay fresh for at least another 2 weeks. Note the red and green coloured foliage; this plant could probably be grown for its leaves if it did not flower, for they are very ornamental. Certainly a jewel in my crown and among the jewels that shines the most! Note the flower colour is somewhat false in the images; the actual colour is a more deep red.

This is not a good Pinguicula for lowland conditions or Tropical regions; in nature, it grows in the Mexican highlands and to flower it needs a sharp drop in temperature at night to around 5 Celcius in order to trigger flowering. It also requires a dry Winter with cool to cold night temperatures.I have previously grown the plant indoors on a windowsill, but it did not flower until I moved it into the Carnivorous part of my greenhouse where the lows are around 5 or 6 Celcius.

Pinguicula "Tina"





A lovely hybrid between Pinguicula agnata and zecheri. It can be a bit of a shy flowerer, but if the conditions are correct it will flower reliably several times a year. It usually flowers in the Spring and Summer, but I find that it flowers the strongest around this time, just before and during Winter( November to early January) It is an easy plant to grow, but like P. laueana, it needs cool nights with a cool, dry Winter rest.

Pinguicula gracilis:







I apologise for the bad quality in the second photo, but the flower is a very bright white colour and light kept reflecting off it(as seen in the first photo) and the only way I could get a picture of the true colour of the flower was to take it in dark conditions, which meant the quality of the whole photo would suffer.

Pinguicula gracilis is a lovely little miniature; a fully grown plant is a little smaller then Pinguicula esseriana, which is perhaps the best known miniature Pinguicula in cultivation. Pinguicula gracilis is a little gem which is easy to grow and propagates readily from leaf cuttings, but it also needs a cool, dry Winter rest to grow well, and although I am not certain, I suspect a night temperature drop is needed to trigger flowering.

Pinguicula "Tina" with Pinguicula "Apassionada":



This photo was taken in my greenhouse. P. "Appasionada" is a trouble free plant that has grown on my windowsill for years, flowering readily, but it has now been moved into the greenhouse for convinience. It is a very easy plant to grow, but still needs a cool, dry Winter rest. It has already started to die down for the Winter; notice the tuft of dead leaves around the base.

Pinguicula gigantea in comparison with P. laueana:



Thought I'd include this for those who want to see the "King of Pinguicula." The plant is bigger then P. laueana, but P. laueana is fully grown, whereas the P. gigantea is under half of its adult size! It will eventually span 12 inches accross. P. gigantea is an easy Pinguicula to grow, but because it grows in the Mexican highlands it will need cool night temperatures with a dry Winter rest. This giant among Pinguicula, the biggest in the genus, was once thought to be a form of Pinguicula agnata. It is one of the only Pinguicula to be sticky on both sides of the leaves (Some forms of P. agnata are also sticky on both sides, as well as P. vallisneriifolia) I have observed that it is a very god insect cather; throughout the Summer its leaves were continously covered in dead gnats, while the other Pinguicula caught less then half of this amount.

Hope you enjoyed the pics, and if you have any questions, feel free to ask.

Dino



« Last Edit: Nov 26, 2007, 6:28am by cosmoking »Link to Post - Back to Top Logged David
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Re: A selection of November's flowers
« Reply #1 on Nov 26, 2007, 1:55pm »
Thanks for sharing the pictures. I did not knwo Pings could be so big and beautiful. The flowers are huge on your Pinguicula laueana "Scarlett Flower-Pillarbox Red".

Another source of poison... Now I need more antidote!
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Re: A selection of November's flowers
« Reply #2 on Nov 26, 2007, 2:00pm »
Thanks, Dino for sharing the pics and the information.

The problem I run into growing Pings here is the heat during the hot months. Fortunately, the very few hybrids I have are quite heat tolerant as long as they are kept indoors away from bright light.
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Re: A selection of November's flowers
« Reply #3 on Nov 26, 2007, 11:14pm »
David,

The flowers are not that big, notice the comparison of the "Tina" flower with my hand? The laueana flower is about the same size

Cindy,

How much water do your Pinguicula get? All of mine are grown in full sun, and although the sun here is not as strong as the sun in Singapore or Malaysia, the Carnivorous part of the greenhouse does get very hot-often over 30 Celcius in the Summer.

I find that if they are constantly wet and standing in water throughout the Summer, the heat and the sun has no effect, and I find that they grow best in such conditions. The plants become more vigorous and robust as well as flowering better.

Dino


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Re: A selection of November's flowers
« Reply #4 on Nov 26, 2007, 11:28pm »
Dino,

How cool are the nights for summer?
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Re: A selection of November's flowers
« Reply #5 on Nov 27, 2007, 12:07am »
Outside its usually around 10 Celcius, but inside the greenhouse its around 12-14.
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Re: A selection of November's flowers
« Reply #6 on Nov 27, 2007, 10:17am »
We are 33C in the day and 30C at night during the hot months.
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Re: A selection of November's flowers
« Reply #7 on Nov 28, 2007, 6:05am »
Hi Cindy,

I do not see a reason why most Pinguicula would not adapt to those temperatures and grow moderately well, provided that they are kept wet and standing in water. However, they will not necessarily thrive or flower.

If you are still concerned about the heat, I reccomend you go for the species which are used to getting warm to hot nights in their native habitats-exampels include Pinguicula emarginata and Pinguicula primuliflora(from what I have seen, people in your area are already having great success with the latter)

Good luck!

Dino

« Last Edit: Nov 28, 2007, 6:06am by cosmoking »Link to Post - Back to Top Logged Robert
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Re: A selection of November's flowers
« Reply #8 on Nov 28, 2007, 6:57am »

Quote:Thanks for sharing the pictures. I did not knwo Pings could be so big and beautiful. The flowers are huge on your Pinguicula laueana "Scarlett Flower-Pillarbox Red".

Another source of poison... Now I need more antidote!

David, Camera wide angle having a perspective view does make it bigger too,esp if objects are placed nearest to the lens-flower in this case.

Dino,some measurements of flower against the plant to keep everyone guessing,please