Expert: Sarracenia Northwest - 3/22/2011

Question
Hi there, I am growing Pinguicula laueana which I've had almost a year now. Unfortunately, I don't have a picture. I bought it from you and it is still in its original soil. I live in Provo, Utah, but it has been grown inside under grow lights the whole time at around room temp. During the summer I kept the soil moist to wet but well drained and in late fall I put it over a pool of distilled water with a wick to suck up the water, which only kept the soil very slightly damp in the bottom of the pot, but completely dry on the surface. I've allowed the whole pot to dry out a couple times.  I gradually decreased the photo period from 16 hours in the summer to 12 hours in the winter. What has me stumped is that although the plant stopped producing mucilage, and the leaves are slightly smaller, it hasn't produced the true succulent leaves that It had when I first received it, making me worry that it hasn't had a proper dormancy and will grow poorly this year. Does it need cooler temps to trigger a full dormancy? Do Mexican Pings NEED a full dormancy? What would you suggest I do ?
Thanks,
Richard

Answer
Hi Richard,

In our greenhouse their dormancy is triggered by both short days and nighttime temperatures in the 50's.  Since they are more of a tropical plant, they don't seem to need the dormancy as much as more temperate species, but many will go dormant when their biological clock tells them to no matter what you do.  Also, not all will go dormant.  P. moranensis and P. X Aphrodite in our nursery rarely go dormant if day-length stays long enough.

Overall I would just bring your photoperiod back up, and begin watering them normally again.  They will probably begin growing larger leaves again when they are ready.

Good Growing!

Jeff Dallas
Sarracenia Northwest
http://www.cobraplant.com