Spare Collomia and Pinguicula plants

[David Pilling]

Do the larvae attack bulbs? I thought they mostly lived near the surface but read on the internet they can attack the base of cuttings as well.

For what it is worth, I'm talking about bulbs I'm growing from seed, so tiny, few roots and one leaf like a blade of grass, the bulb being almost on the surface. Typically the leaf is severed at ground level and the bulb is full of holes.

Google tells me to use Provado Vine Weevil killer, and this seems to work as long as enough is applied. I'm also going to try its advice in the future - yellow sticky traps, a topping of sand, not using peat and better drainage, and I'll be growing some Pinguicula.

[Lesley Cox]

By the way, this page leads to many pinguic delights!!
http://www.humboldt.edu/~rrz7001/Pinguicula.html

Oh, so THAT's where Cephalotus (our Krzysztof) comes from.  And such beautiful hairy seeds too.

[SueG]

Sue: http://www.pinguicula.org/pages/plantes/pinguicula_laueana.htm

Here you can find information how to grow P. laueana. I know that Mexican Pinguicula have dry rest time. They produce than much more compact rosette. And after some time, about 3-4 weeks you can water it more and it should start growing again. They aren’t very hard to grow. Still When I kept mine in Terrarium it didn't flower. It is much better to grow them in full sun, but outdoor they didn't do well. The best is to have a low humidity green house and keep them there.

Hmm - this is all very thought provoking, mine is happily flowering on what look like the winter rosette and despite it being what passes for late summer here (15 degrees is not summer temperatures even in Northumberland  ) is showing no signs at all of producing the insect eating summer leaves. What is happening is that other little rosettes are appearing around the main rosette so something must be right as it is growing. If there is ever any daylight when I'm at home I'll try and get a picture as the flower is quite something.

Thanks again

Sue