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Carnivorous Plants/Declining Pinguicula Moctezumae
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Question
I have a P. Moctezumae that I purchased at one of your 2009 open houses.
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When I first brought it home, I did not understand the proper care of this
plant and I put it in standing water; it started to rot. Based on your advice, I
repotted it into a self-watering pot and it improved. It put out new leaves,
and it does catch small gnats and insects. However, it never regained its
original vigor and never flowered again. I realize that it may be undergoing
some sort of winter dormancy now, but it seems to me that it is slowly, slowly
declining. It's losing leaves faster than they are being replaced. I have the
plant situated on a shelf under fluorescent shop lights (distance is several
inches), and the shelf is also close to a south-facing window. Is there
anything else I can do to improve the health of this plant?
Hi Robert,
P. monctezumae can be a fussy customer under the best of conditions. Since you are experiencing a very gradual decline, you could have a couple different things happening.
First, check to see if you have any fungus gnat activity. If you are seeing little flying black gnats around your plants, dig up and inspect the soil. If you see little white wormy larvae, you'll need to transplant. Treating with an insecticide such as imidacloprid would help also. Fungus gnat larvae eat butterwort roots. We lost quite a few plants over the summer to this.
If you are not seeing any pests, your plant probably needs more food. Try spraying the leaves lightly once a week with an orchid fertilizer mixed at 1/4 teaspoon per gallon of water. Mexican pings greatly benefit from foliar fertilization. Just like orchids, the saying, "weakly and weekly" is a good rule of thumb.
Your light levels sound good, and the African violet pot is great at keeping the soil evenly moist.
Let me know if any of this helps.
Good Growing!
Jeff Dallas
Sarracenia Northwest
http://www.cobraplant.com
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Answers by Expert:
Sarracenia Northwest
Expertise
If your plant is showing poor growth, discoloration, abnormal leaves or possible infestation, the growers at Sarracenia Northwest can help! Carnivorous plant experts Jeff Dallas and Jacob Farin will help you diagnose the problem and get your plants on the right track. Their no nonsense approach has helped thousands of growers all over the world. They can help you too!
Experience
With over 40 years of combined experience, Jeff and Jacob has definitely taken a straight forward approach to growing carnivorous plants. They have encountered many types of diseases, abnormal growth and infestations related to carnivorous plants, and they know what it takes to get plants looking beautiful and healthy again.
Education/Credentials
Authors of Secrets to Growing Beautiful Carnivorous Plants for Your Home and Garden and producers of the Grow Carnivorous Plants! DVD Series. They also produce a monthly video podcast to illustrate how plants cycle through the seasons.
No terrariums. No myths. No nonsense.
Just the straight facts from guys who grow and propagate
thousands of carnivorous plants each year.
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PLEASE READ BEFORE SUBMITTING YOUR QUESTION: We no longer answer how-to questions (i.e. How do I propagate...?; How do I grow...?). Instead, we help growers by diagnosing a specific plant problem and offering solutions (i.e. Why is my sundew not producing dew?; Is now a good time to divide my Sarracenia?; Why are the traps turning black?; What's a good substitute for perlite?; Why didn't my seeds germinate?; Can you identify this carnivorous plant for me?) For general plant care, please read our care sheets on our main website: http://www.cobraplant.com/caresheets For business questions: http://www.cobraplant.com/contact |
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