Help w/ an Ailing Sans. Pinguicula Please

20 years ago

Hi All,

I've got a lovely Sans. Pinguicula that's been fine for the 2 yrs. since it was given to me. I took it out to a Meeting 3 wks ago & it's suddenly started a rapid decline. Since I was taking it out in the elements & it's still winter in NYC, I kept it dry a wk beforehand. Turns out the wk I took it out was probably the coldest couple of days we've had here almost all winter.

Anyway, I noticed abt a wk ago, that its outer leaves were slightly yellowing & a bit wrinkled. Seems to be progressing fast (& I forgot when I last watered it). So I unpotted it, I found its finer roots were dry & crunchy so I pulled them off. Its thicker roots seems OK, all firm & solid to the touch, no softening that I could find.

So I dusted the roots w/ rooting hormone (for the fungicide) & potted it into a shallower pot, put in mix in the bottom inch or 2 & all pumice the rest of the pot full. A couple of days later I lightly watered the outer perimeter of the mix, but it still appears yellowing to browning (actually a kind of ochre color).

I don't really have a source to replace this plant & I really like it a lot; the prospect of its dying is bumming me out.

Any thoughts or suggestions please? It does have a pup on a stolon which I'm going to detach this wknd, in hopes that I'll be able to save that at least.

And to think I just gave a talk on Sans (the Meeting to which I took it to show), which went really well; ironic that this beautiful plant is deciding to bite the dust.

Could weather in the 30s (just while in transit) have really damaged it this much? TIA.

Karen the Perplexed

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Comments (4)

dufflebag2002
20 years ago
You have the plant in your warm apartment, yes? If so you may water it thoroughly. I would also add some coarse sand and perhaps about 10-20% cactus mix. I need to research and see if this plant can tolerate some humidity.
I'm so dry here it is hard to judge. In our hot summer, I water once a week, in the winter just barly enought to keep it alive. It sounds to me that it need some fertilizer, go slow with this until you see it starting to green up. This is a gray green plant naturally. Hugs, Norma
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Original Author
20 years ago
Well Thanks for trying Norma, unfortunately my lovely Sans. bit the dust completely. I potted up the remains of its leaves which I'd peeled off it & separately potted up the central core just in case anything still had a smidge of life left in it.

The good news is that I detached the pup & potted it up, separately, so far so good.

Yes, it's in my warm apartment, where I generally keep all my Sans. watered & active all year long, they seem to want that.

Very good to see you back my dear, big hug back attcha.

(PG) Karen
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dufflebag2002
20 years ago
Karen I have a new baby Pinguicula coming along, it is so tiny let me wait until Sept and see how big it becomes. In your weather, I don't know what to tell you how to keep it alive. Even here I let mine go dry before watering again and have the fan going 24/7 I have had some mushy leaves, I pull them out as soon as I see them. I'm also glad to hear from you, and thank goodness I have the company of all my friends on the forums. Norma
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Original Author
20 years ago
Hiya Norma,

Sorry to be a while, I hadn't looked back here at Sans. in some time.

The irony of my lost Pinguicula is that for the 2 yrs. I had it, it was just fine. I watered it maybe twice a month & it was just fine (in a C&S mix w/ extra pumice), no mushy leaves, no discoloring or any other signs of unhappiness. (Jeff had brought it w/ him on his last visit to NYC & it was a particularly handsome & regal looking specimen.)

Its surviving pup which I had detached, looks OK but is doing absolutely nothing, just sits there looking at me.

Hope your pup does well, I envy your growing climate & greenhouse. Nice to see you around my dear!