Question
PING
Hello there! Its currently winter here in New Zealand in the Southern hemisphere. I had just recently bought a pinguicula moranensis mexicana from another CP grower. The problem is, I have no idea if the leaves are winter leaves or summer leaves. It looks like it has both of the 2 forms. I have attached a photo. Can I propagate the plant? If so how?
Thank you for your time,
Much appreciated
Francis!
AnswerHello Francis,
Yes, you are correct, the plant is going dormant and has its carnivorous growing season leaves that will soon die back, and has tiny dormant season leaves in the center. Make sure to keep the plant a little on the dry side, no water in the tray and just a slight addition of water to barely moisten the soil for the next couple months. As the length of sunlight, or photoperiod, increases, increase the amount of water a little until the plant breaks dormancy and grows normal leaves again. The big carnivorous leaves will die back in dormancy, leaving the tiny winter bud in the center.
These plants are easy to propagate from what is called leaf pullings. Basically, you can just uproot the plant, it will have almost no roots in dormancy and short roots even during the growing seasons, and pull down on two or three healthy leaves (the leaves are loosely attached and will pop off sometimes with a root attached), even the tiny dormant leaves, and pot them separately in the same mix of soil as the adult is growing in. Just place the leaf pullings as flat against the soil as you can and keep them moist. In low humidity you can place a humidity dome over them to increase productivity, but is not necessary in humidity of at least 40 to 50 percent from my experience. The leaves will reamin alive for over a month and will eventually begin growing tiny buds on the bases, sometimes resulting in three or more new plants per leaf. Sometimes the leaves will not take and simply die off. The adult plant will be just fine loosing a couple of leaves and being uprooted even in dormancy so long as it is healthy. Just repot it when leaf pulling is completed and continue caring for it as usual.
You can also just wait for the adult to break dormancy and just let it grow for a year or so. It will divide new plants off its base and eventually grow into a clump of plants that can be uprooted and pulled apart with minimal difficulty. Just make sure each plant has good roots and is large enough, at least half the adult size, before removal from the clump so it has enough strength to survive on its own. Just pot each divided plant in its own pot at that point.
These plants do just fine with no dormancy. Just grow it indoors in a well lit window or under strong florescent lighting of about 6000 lumens intensity about 8 inches from the leaves and keep it just moist all the time with only a fraction of an inch of water in a tray under the pot. Water after a few days after the tray is dry and after the top soil feels a little dry. Pinguiculas can suffer root rot in too much standing water, so that is why the precaution about watering. As the plant is dormant now, just let it go through dormancy as is until seasonal cues wake it up. They need to stay a bit dry during dormancy, so just water it sparingly every so often just enough to keep the soil barely moist, then leave it to dry some for a few days between waterings. It is a balancing act with watering Pinguiculas, so just make sure the plant has water, just never too much. If you water a plant in growing season too little, it will begin to prepare for dormancy and grow smaller leaves, so they will let you know what is too little in their own way.
Christopher
