How we grow Mexican Pinguicula

	How we grow our Mexican Pinguicula
	Basic description

Many growers of these plants warn not to grow them as we do here at Tropical-Mesa. Some will also claim that these Mexican species and hybrids that have a heterophyllous growth habit (different leaf shape that vary with the season), are dormant when in winter leaf form. We do not agree with this interpretation. Many of these species also flower when they are in their winter leaf form, some only flower from their underground, winter rosette. Our understanding is that "dormant" plants do not grow or flower.
However, if you don't feel comfortable growing them as we describe here, don't feel obligated to do it. Descriptions of more typical cultural guidance can be found at many other sites: pinguicula.org, CPUK Forum, or TerraForums as well as many contemporary books published on Carnivorous Plant culture.

Light is the only environmental factor I would consider more important than any other, but they all contribution to the balance - and the balance is the truly important issue. The optimum amount of any factor, light included, must be balanced by all the others. Learning to juggle, is a "must" for anyone serious about growing CP, well. My cultivation techniques focus on providing optimum levels of the most environmental factors possible, in order to encourage the plants to grow and look their best.

It has been officially determined that most all Pinguicula are subject to a crown rot disease which can quickly destroy, even plants that appear healthy. This disease is said to be precipitated/vectored by nematodes, whose attacks are well known to cause problems throughout both the plant and animal kingdoms. Our growing technique incorporates several environmental factors known to affect nematode behavior, including reproduction. We incorporate all this into our growing regimen in order to inhibit the proliferation of nematodes and hopefully the trouble they can cause.

Always keep them wet: Use the tray method of watering, but keep an eye on them, if the tray runs out of water, add additional water, before the pots become dry.

Light: Mexican Pinguicula originate near the equator, even though they usually choose a niche where light intensities are less than the maximum possible, it is still quite a bit higher in intensity than the same exposure would be in a latitude farther from the equator. And, too, their day length changes very little throughout the year. [High light intensity, especially UV is said to inhibit nematodes.]

Temperature: Lows of 50-60F and highs of 85-90F work well for us.

Water: Mineral-free water is not as crucial with Mexican Pinguicula as it is with many other carnivorous plants, but when using the tray method it can still be an important way to keep minerals from building up to toxic levels in their media.

Humidity: Not too critical as long as there is a good supply of water in the trays.

Media: I have successfully grown these plants in many different media, and combinations of media ingredients. Presently I have discovered that most of them do very well in a nearly all-mineral media. My all-mineral media was inspired by Eric Partrat of Pinguicula.org. My media of choice is a mixture of Schultz Aquatic Plant Soil (APS), silica sand, and iron oxide powder. I use approximately equal amounts of APS and silica sand, but after I pre-moisten these two separate ingredients, I sprinkle a little iron oxide on the sand and mix it in until the sand is a uniform color, then I mix the APS and iron oxide coated sand together before use.

Nutrients: We began incorporating iron oxide into our media to combat chlorosis we were experiencing with some of our plants. We heard of others using food prepared and formulated for tropical fish, and decided to try a product called, "freeze-dried bloodworms". We first ground these into a powder and lightly sprinkled them on the surface of the plants leaves and then lightly spritz with purified water to facilitate their interaction with the plants (digestive mechanism). This seemed to have a positive and dramatic affect