FlytrapCare Carnivorous Plant Forums

Hi,

I hope to be getting a few mexican pings within a week or so. My first ones.

Anyway, I know they need to be on very loose, alkaline soil, like sand and crushed coral. My question is, can they be grown outdoors, like a temperate plant, or are they indoors only? Can they handle full sun if outside during the warm months? How cold can they get?

I know specific plants will have different needs, but if there are any good references I can use, that would be great.

Thanks in advance!

Blaine

Hello Blaine!

Mexican Pings can be grown outside in a temperate climate but not too cold or freezing. They love cool indirect sunlight and lots of water. They go dormant when you place them in a hot and dry place and this is their normal dormancy trigger. Unlike VFTs and Sarrs, Mexican Pings have a summer dormancy.

hb

Hey Hb,

Thanks for the info. If you grow them in sand / crushed coral, how do you keep them watered? Just water them every day or two?

They have a very shallow root system, so You can plant them in almost anything. I planted mine in an Abalone shell; looks pretty and I heard that they like a little calcium.

See My Post I just did

http://www.flytrapcare.com/phpBB3/viewt ... =33&t=2911

I have mine in peat and sand.

Gary

John Brittnacher of the ICPS lives here in Ashland and he has some HUGE Pings. He claims that they do better in less acidic soil, so he uses agricultural lime to raise the pH a bit. I've never seen pings as large as his in any photos I've seen. I guess more acidic soil stunts their growth a bit?

I've never grown them, so I can't offer any knowledge from experience.