FUNGUS GNATS!!!

[Oscarman]

Where are you sourcing you pings from? They look great with some color.

Originally Posted by 31drew31

As mentioned, butterworts (Pinguicula) work amazing at catching bugs, but especially fungus gnats.



Many of the commonly available Mexican Pings are about as hardy as any common house plant. They prefer very airy media (50% + perlite) and can withstand being bone dry even in the middle of the growing season. One of the easiest species is P. moranensis and shouldn't be hard to find, Ive seen them at nearly every orchid show or hybrids containing moranensis. Two easy hybrids are P. 'Weser' and P. 'Pirouette'.

Im not sure where sells Pings in the US, but Wireman will know.

P. 'Pirouette' on the left, and P. moranensis on the right with the flower.



Another variety of P. moranensis


---------- Post added at 03:28 PM ---------- Previous post was at 03:24 PM ----------



Really depends, there are many many different types. Mexican Pinguicula can withstand temperatures in the high 30's when "dormant" and easily into the 90's during the growing months. Preferred range is between 55-80F, but there is always exceptions.

[31drew31]

Originally Posted by Oscarman

Where are you sourcing you pings from? They look great with some color.

Thanks Oscarman. Most are through trades with members of the OCPS forum, a few from Keehns Carnivores and a few from Hawaiian Botanicals. Often on the OCPS forum there are group buys with shops from around the world. Recently they have been from Best Carnivorous Plants or CZ plants, both in the Czech Republic. I have acquired a few this way as well.

Originally Posted by Kailyn

I would be very interested in acquiring some CP's from you Drew. I would probably wait until the end of august though as that's when my job is done for the season and I would be home to take care of them. (My roommate only gets entrusted with the unkillable plants)

Back to the fungus gnat issue, I think i defeated the little buggers but will give it a few weeks to be sure. Everything got re-potted, all pots got washed and roots dipped in a soapy solution. I even kept the plants out of the room they were in to give and lingering adults a chance to die. *fingers crossed* I haven't seen one yet.

Good to hear you've got them under control for now.

PM me whenever if you're interested in some Pings.

[The Orchid Boy]

A nepenthes can be treated almost exactly the same as an orchid. Plant in sphagnum, give phal to catt light, water w/ pure water, and just barely let it dry out. With lower light, tropical sundews just sit them in a saucer of water all the time and watch them grow and multiply like weeds!

[31drew31]

Orchidsarefun: can you post a photo of your plant? All butterworts have a sticky (feels slimey to us) substance on the leaves which catch small flying or crawling insects. As you said though, Drosera are also great at catching gnats. D. capensis is one of the easiest species and is a good candidate for this as well. Thing is, if they dry out good bye plant, this is not the case for most Mexican Pinguicula species.

When there is a big gnat problem, this is how Pings should look (taken from google)

[Kailyn]

What is it the butterworts are potted in? I have no experience with CPs except for a Venus fly trap that shortly died when i was a kid. I am very intrigued though.

[orchidsarefun]

mine are in sphag moss. I water only with distilled water and leave about 1/2in in the saucer constantly.

[31drew31]

Originally Posted by isurus79

I noticed my Drosera lost its stickiness when it got too little light as well. I had a feeling that was the problem, but now I know for sure! Thanks Drew.

If increasing the light doesn't help, a repot and increasing humidity slightly should get them producing dew again. Most Drosera respond very well to root cuttings as well, so I always cut 1-2" off the longest roots for propagation incase the mother plant fails for any reason.

Originally Posted by Kailyn

What is it the butterworts are potted in? I have no experience with CPs except for a Venus fly trap that shortly died when i was a kid. I am very intrigued though.

I pot all my Mexican species in an all mineral mix but they will grow in pretty much anything that stays moist. My favorite mix is 50% perlite, 50% aquatic plant soil (APS). I haven't been able to find APS lately so have been using a mix of perlite, sand and small gravel in roughly equal amounts. I water with the tray method and fill the trays with about 1-2cm of water and allow the tray to dry up for a few days before replenishing the water (distilled or RO only for all CPs). Some Mexican Pinguicula have two phases due to their habitat. Half the year is quite rainy, and the other half they barely see any rain. During the dry season they produce succulent leaves that no longer catch insects. During this time pots are allowed to completely dry out and are watered VERY lightly about once per month. Some people call this dormancy, but the plants still produce leaves and often flower from in the succulent phase so I wouldnt consider it dormancy.

The photo below is an extreme example of the changes in leaf types. The species is P. gypsicola and is the same pot in the photo above at the very front.



---------- Post added at 01:20 PM ---------- Previous post was at 01:14 PM ----------

DOH! I just realized Kailyn that you are the original poster of this thread! haha I just assumed the OP was from the USA when I made my first post.

I have some extra Pings Id be happy to send you when the weather warms up for cost of shipping (usually $15 for XpressPost).

[isurus79]

Originally Posted by 31drew31

If increasing the light doesn't help, a repot and increasing humidity slightly should get them producing dew again. Most Drosera respond very well to root cuttings as well, so I always cut 1-2" off the longest roots for propagation incase the mother plant fails for any reason.

Thanks for the info! I actually threw mine outside in the cold to let go dormant for a few months. I'll probably fire it up again in a week, considering winter ended here in January. lol

[Kailyn]

I would be very interested in acquiring some CP's from you Drew. I would probably wait until the end of august though as that's when my job is done for the season and I would be home to take care of them. (My roommate only gets entrusted with the unkillable plants)

Back to the fungus gnat issue, I think i defeated the little buggers but will give it a few weeks to be sure. Everything got re-potted, all pots got washed and roots dipped in a soapy solution. I even kept the plants out of the room they were in to give and lingering adults a chance to die. *fingers crossed* I haven't seen one yet.

[orchidsarefun]

No gnats...!
Sent from my HTC VLE_U using Tapatalk 2