Oh no please help!! Browning of ping leaves, not sure why?

[gardengirl13]

OK I don't belong to any carnivorous forums so I hope those of you here who do grow them can help me!

I started with 6 plants and all were doing very well. My flytrap made it through dormancy last winter even though I'm not sure I did it right, this year it's doing ok, but I am worrying about my pitcher plants a bit due to lack of a good sunny spot for them in the basement. But that's not why I'm here right now.

Out of the 6 indoor plants I got in summer 2014 2 were pings, 3 were drosera and then a nep. I told myself that if I could grow them well for a year I'd treat myself to more since they are just so fun to grow! Well this fall I did just that. Although my growing changed a lot! Oh well. I went from a dappled window with grow lights above them (Ray's LEDs) to now just the LEDs since our windows, even though west and east facing are burning EVERYTHING. I have the majority of the carn plants in a 20L tank, it has gravel on the bottom with water, then shelves where the plants sit in saucers, then above them the lights. Everyone seemed real happy so I bought another drosera and 2 more pings, then came across a site who is well known for their pings and got 4 more from them. I also repotted everyone too since it had been a year and a couple were outgrowing pots. I've had the last bunch for a few weeks now and one of them started getting grown leaves. Not your typical browning bottom leaves this was almost like sunburn or drying out. I emailed them and they suggested looking for fungus gnat larvae or mold/fungus. I couldn't find anything. They then said to check the temps and humidty right by the plants. I told them it's 59% and 68*. The leaves are slightly tinged on all the plants which means they're all getting enough light. He asked about water, distilled only. He said to try watering from the bottom on the pings and top watering only occasionally. so I will try that. But now just this morning a second of those 4 is getting brown leaves. I'm devestated. I don't know what's wrong or how to fix it! I pulled the plant and it has very plump white roots, new roots coming in. Everything is healthy. No bugs. I do have gnats, but they seem to stay in the amaryllis then as flying bugs get trapped by the carn. For the first two weeks they had nothing and I had to go into the other room and get the gnats and kill them and put them on their leaves. Now after another week or two everyone has may 2-5 gnats so it's not like there are TONS.

Please any ideas what this can be??? The first guy to get this was my most excited about purchase! I can't lose him! The second one also will be great, his leaves turn slightly reddish which they did after two weeks for me! And he has crimson flowers!

PLEASE HELP!!!

I'll post photos in a bit.

---------- Post added at 03:22 PM ---------- Previous post was at 03:15 PM ----------

[Leafmite]

The top part of your ping looks very healthy. Since your roots are good, your medium must be okay (sometimes the stuff contains fertilizer or is the wrong pH--I always mix my own for all of my plants).
Could you have touched those leaves or something else have damaged them during the potting process? I know I have damaged the bottom leaves when I divide mine but it hasn't seemed to hurt the ping at all.
Hopefully, one of the experts will help you. I just have two pitchers, two fly traps and the many divisions of the noID ping. Good luck!

[gardengirl13]

I could have touched them since they shipped bareroot. They might have gotten a smidge of water on them, but when that happens I normally blot it off a bit to prevent rot. The crown looks good on both, so it's not anything like brown heart disease, or whatever that is. The soil I got from the one place I order plants from it's free of anything bad. I was hoping maybe it was dying off the carnivorous leaves and the succulent leaves would be coming in, I've never had a ping go into dormancy before since I bought the ones that didn't require it since I'm new to this. But the few new ones I got will go into dormancy. I can't find photos much but what I do see doesn't look like this. sigh. I hope I can save these guys!

And yeah I went from one nepenthes (which didn't survive a move 2 years ago) to getting a flytrap locally 2 years ago to getting another nep of the same kind then I got the 3 sundews and 2 pings last summer. I feel in love! Now I have 2 more pitcher plants a Miranda and a truncata (?) and even a Heliamphora to try!! I'm worried about that one! It's supposed to be pretty hard to grow! The nectar spoon thingy already got brown on it! sigh, but the plant itself looks ok so far! Along with 8 pings now! I also have two american pitcher plants one is more sensitive then the other so I plant on keeping him in a container and bringing him in every winter. I plan on getting more since we have a swampy area below our house that will make an excellent bog garden! Still not sure if I'll do that or just do containers with them and put everyone in the basement over winter.

But yeah I'm addicted to CP now too! ha ha!! But the last few I got are ones I've really wanted and are slightly hard to get since they sell out so fast! The first one to get this browning in the right light will have lilac colors leaves!!!!! sigh.

[Whimgrinder]

I see the tag in the photos states this is P. laueana, which requires a dry winter dormancy. Have you provided the proper conditions for the dormant period? If not, this plant is likely trying to put itself to sleep simply out of stress (from remaining in active growth for too long)
Cultivation guide for this species here.

[gardengirl13]

Yeah the three I got out of the 4 I think want a dormancy. But the guy I got them from said to try to water from below. But I'm not sure. It's not squishy, it's dry. But not like succulent dry, like crispy dry.

---------- Post added at 05:09 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:04 PM ----------

Also he said it could be the fungus gnats. But I'm not seeing any larvae. The roots look super healthy too, I thought the larvae eat the roots which kills the plant. At first it seemed like it was the leaves touching the soil, but on the laueana it's higher up, but not the middle.

I don't know any insecticide that actually works on fungus gnats, I am thinking of using something on them just in case (on the soil not the leaves.)

I'm so worried. Yeah these were kind of expensive plants that have, since I bought them, sold out again. But I really loved how they looked. I would wait until spring to try again due to weather and shipping, but I really want these guys to live.

Not 100% saying this yet, but it is two out of the 4 I bought from this company. They are rumored to be a very good company. He is being helpful in trying to help me figure out what it could be too. But none of the other plants are doing this, and they'll all close together. Wouldn't it spread to others to then if it's the gnats?

[Whimgrinder]

OK, to clarify the matter: You acquired these plants about 18 months ago, right? Have they had a six month dry dormancy in that time frame? Pinguicula typically express dormancy by losing most of their summer leaves and forming "hibernacula" which is a tight cluster of "proto-leaves" at the growing point. It should be obvious.

This is what P. laueana hibernacula looks like:



Did you read the document I linked for you? Specifically: "From October to April, It is important to let the media drying completely (no watering) but with an atmospheric humidity of about 80%.

The mentioned months are indicative and can change according to your own growing conditions. In fact, when this Pinguicula begins to produce its non-carnivorous leaves, you have to stop watering and let the pot drying out completely. Inversely, when the plant begins to produce in early spring its carnivorous leaves, you have to progressively start watering again the pot."

[Leafmite]

My ping doesn't go dormant so I cannot help you there (the two divisions under lights are blooming like mad...this should stop in February due to a lack of 'nutrition'). I haven't tried the kind that go dormant.

Correction...looks like you are getting some expert help! Yay!!!!

I got into them when I had a severe fungus gnat problem (I have a few plants that take a low pH soil--peat and need to stay consistently damp) and I bought the Butterwort. I was impressed how quickly they solved the problem.
I just winter my VFT's in a south-facing window. I leave them outside until the new, low growing leaves emerge, then put them in the window. The low-laying leaves remain the trend during the winter. This has worked well for the past couple of years. They always look pretty terrible in the spring but bounce back quickly and are soon doing a brisk business with their traps.
Good luck with your CP's!

[orchidsarefun]

I keep my pings each in a saucer of water, about 1/2 inch and only refill about 3 days after the water dries. Never water from the top. I would however also try and follow specific species cultural guidelines. Mine do well in a South facing window as well as under lights, they aren't fussy for me.


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[estación seca]

If you're going to grow plants, you need to give them what they want. Some tropical pings are evergreen but most NEED a dormancy or they die. Please read the expert advice above.

[Leafmite]

Originally Posted by estación seca

If you're going to grow plants, you need to give them what they want. Some tropical pings are evergreen but most NEED a dormancy or they die. Please read the expert advice above.

Just curious...which ones do you grow and how do you grow them?
I have had my ping for nearly five years and it certainly thrives without any type of rest. It is most likely some type of hybrid and very easy...perfect for fungus gnat control. I bought it from an orchid vendor who used for the same purpose. It wouldn't be very useful if it only was effective during the summers.