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By Benurmanii
Posts:  2000
Joined:  Fri Aug 07, 2015 4:34 pm
#280318
Light
P. nahuebutensis seems to be quite tolerant of a wide range of lighting. I've kept my P. nahuelbutensis outdoors in full sun, indoors under T5HOs, as well as under T8s. All options seem to work equally well, although I've noticed that full sun doesn't pair well with hot temps (80 degrees and up) if the plants had been damaged by dry winds over the winter. P. nahuelbutensis can develop a red/bronze color if it gets many hours of full sun. I believe I only get about 6 or so hours of full sun on average while my plants are outdoors, so some of mine develop a bronze color. I have pictures of the plants in-situ in very exposed spaces where they were nearly red. Higher light also seems to help in getting the flowers to develop a light pink color. Typically, they are white/light lilac.

P. nahuelbutensis grown under T5HOs (2017). These are kept in my basement, so temps under the lights are low 80s max. I bring my nahuelbutensis and other cold-temperate Pinguicula under them for the summer to keep them cool. The nahuelbutensis always look good this time of year, as the dryer conditions outdoors prevent the dew droplets from getting large:
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P. nahuelbutensis seedlings grown under T8s:
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P. nahuelbutensis growing outdoors in full sun, photographed in late April/early May of 2019:
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Photos of P. nahuelbutensis in-situ where the plants get lots of direct sun (Photo credits: Pablo Villegas Cabera)
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Climate/Dormancy
P. nahuelbutensis comes from a temperate latitude of Chile (Nahuelbuta National Park). As such, it should be given a cold, near or below freezing winter, and a cool summer. If the plants are not given a winter period to slow down growth, the plants appear to collapse, although sending out many offshoot plants in the process:

Picture of plant collapsing, likely due to a lack of a cold period. It died completely not long after the photo was taken. The second flowering plant started to collapse as well, but ceased when moved into colder temps
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A maximum of 50-55 degrees Fahrenheit during the day seems to be appropriate to get P. cnahuelbutensis to enter a full dormancy. P. nahuelbutensis seems to be able to handle temps into the high teen very easily. They overwinter with their carnivorous leaves, as they are a homophyllous species. The leaves are very resistant to freezing temperatures:
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Where I live in Portland, OR, we often experience strong, dry winds from the Columbia river gorge whenever it freezes. P. nahuelbutensis is quite sensitive to drying out during freezing temperates. Care must be taken to protect them from winds and dry air during periods of freezing, else the plants may end up looking like this:
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Fortunately, freezing winds only seem damage older foliage. Here are the plants 3 days after my freezing wind incident, note how even smaller plants recovered their desiccated leaves.
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The best way to protect P. nahuelbutensis from damage during freezes is to have them be covered in snow or ice, they always emerge looking great as the snow melts:
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Once temps start warming up and the plants resume growth, the plants that are large enough should start flowering. A friend of mine who grows P. nahuelbtuensis says that his plants will flower all the way through spring and summer, as long as temps remain cool. Typically, flowering begins around April-May for me, and stops in late June.

Damage from freezing winds seems to set the plants back through spring, note how small the flowering 2017 plant is compared to 2016.
Spring 2017
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Late summer 2016
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Substrate
This section is a lot more straight-forward. In the wild, P. nahuelbutensis grows in wet, acidic, mossy environments. I have had great success with a 1:1 mix of lfs and perlite when used to plant adult/near adult plants. Small plants and seedlings do not root very well in lfs since it has a lot of air pockets, resulting in perpetually small plants. This also applies to P. chuquisacensis ,so I would imagine it would apply to the whole section Ampullipalatum. For this reason, I only recommend using 1:1 mix of perlite/pumice and peat, or a 1:1 mix of perlite/pumice and well-milled or minced lfs.

Watering
This Pinguicula is not like Mexican Pinguicula. In its natural environment, it grows wet year-round. When it comes to watering, as long as you are keeping the pot wet, you should be good. You can even keep the water level up to the pot height (though I wouldn't submerge the plants for extended periods of time).

Propagation
P. nahuelbutensis is one of the few Pinguicula that is self-fertilizing. One does not need to play bee to pollinate its flowers. As far as leaf cuttings/pullings go, I have not heard of anyone attempting them for this species. There is not much of a point to try leaf cuttings/pullings, as the plant produces plenty of seed on its own. P. nahuelbutensis also reproduces asexually via short stolons near the base of the plant. Sometimes, the stolon may reach out a few centimeters. Occasionally, a plant may divide. I have only seen division occur durring flowering, see below:
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Plant that emerged from a rather long stolon (you can also see it in the last photo):
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When I sow my P. nahuelbutensis seeds, I place them on the media of choice with the pot sitting in at least a few mm of water. The humidity where the pot is kept is usually around 50% to 60% RH. The fastest P. nahuelbutensis seeds have germinated for me was after 14 days or so had passed. The seeds seem to germinate faster with warmer temps. For quick germination times, I recommend days around 80 and nights in the high 60s.

It should be mentioned that seed germination time seems to vary from person to person. I've had friends whose seeds did not germinate until over 30 days had passed, despite not having very cold days and nights. If you've received seeds of this species, do not give up on it if you've been waiting a long time!
Last edited by Benurmanii on Sun May 12, 2019 1:53 am, edited 14 times in total.
Benurmanii, Benurmanii, Benurmanii and 6 others liked this
By mo_carnivore
Posts:  556
Joined:  Thu Jun 23, 2016 6:20 pm
#283725
So, do these plants actually go dormant? How cold would you have to keep them to have them live well to the next year? Would they need as much light in the winter? So, in summary... could they do okay by a drafty south-facing windowsill in the winter? :)
By Benurmanii
Posts:  2000
Joined:  Fri Aug 07, 2015 4:34 pm
#283726
mo_carnivore wrote:So, do these plants actually go dormant? How cold would you have to keep them to have them live well to the next year? Would they need as much light in the winter? So, in summary... could they do okay by a drafty south-facing windowsill in the winter? :)
They do go dormant, but they maintain the same summer leaf type. Well, I actually notice small amounts of growth even during freezing temps. Apparently, they can be completely covered in snow during the wild, so I don't think they actually need light during winter (if temps are cold enough). That is when they may go to a complete stop. They may do fine on your windowsill, but I really don't know what is the maximum winter temp to get these to survive long-term. I lost one of my adult plants, and I am quite certain it is because it was going into its second year without a winter. If you get lots of snow during the winter, you may want to try keeping them outside during then. They handle freezing very well, but they will be damaged by freezing winds, which will dry the foliage. Snow acts as a great insulator for temperate plants and will protect them from drying too. Unfortunately, it snowed a ton a few days ago and I missed my chance to put the plants outside to see how they like the snow (my mature chilensis have been in the garage because where I live we mostly get freezing dry winds and no snow).

If you can't get them to go dormant, you may be able to maintain your collection via seeds. They mature pretty fast. If you can get yours to flower, then it is easy to get lots of seeds to sow as backup.
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By DeadlyCarnivore
Location: 
Posts:  437
Joined:  Sun Oct 23, 2016 6:17 am
#283959
Benurmanii wrote:
mo_carnivore wrote:So, do these plants actually go dormant? How cold would you have to keep them to have them live well to the next year? Would they need as much light in the winter? So, in summary... could they do okay by a drafty south-facing windowsill in the winter? :)
They do go dormant, but they maintain the same summer leaf type. Well, I actually notice small amounts of growth even during freezing temps. Apparently, they can be completely covered in snow during the wild, so I don't think they actually need light during winter (if temps are cold enough). That is when they may go to a complete stop. They may do fine on your windowsill, but I really don't know what is the maximum winter temp to get these to survive long-term. I lost one of my adult plants, and I am quite certain it is because it was going into its second year without a winter. If you get lots of snow during the winter, you may want to try keeping them outside during then. They handle freezing very well, but they will be damaged by freezing winds, which will dry the foliage. Snow acts as a great insulator for temperate plants and will protect them from drying too. Unfortunately, it snowed a ton a few days ago and I missed my chance to put the plants outside to see how they like the snow (my mature chilensis have been in the garage because where I live we mostly get freezing dry winds and no snow).

If you can't get them to go dormant, you may be able to maintain your collection via seeds. They mature pretty fast. If you can get yours to flower, then it is easy to get lots of seeds to sow as backup.
So the lowlest temp they can handle is 2-3 Fahrenheit? It can get to -18 where I live during the winter, but I want to try growing the seeds I got from a giveaway outside this year, is that too cold?

Sent from my SM-G935V
By Benurmanii
Posts:  2000
Joined:  Fri Aug 07, 2015 4:34 pm
#283965
DeadlyCarnivore wrote: So the lowlest temp they can handle is 2-3 Fahrenheit? It can get to -18 where I live during the winter, but I want to try growing the seeds I got from a giveaway outside this year, is that too cold?

Sent from my SM-G935V
The lowest temp they experience where they grow naturally seems to be around 17 degrees Fahrenheit. They may be able to handle temps lower than that. If you get snow cover, it may insulate them enough that they can handle those extremely cold temps. As we know, there are many temperate plants that can handle temps lower than what they would experience in their habitat.

In regards to the seeds, I would sow them in a warm place now so that they can start growing immediately. They can skip half a winter safely. Just make sure they get a rest next year.
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By DeadlyCarnivore
Location: 
Posts:  437
Joined:  Sun Oct 23, 2016 6:17 am
#283973
Benurmanii wrote:
The lowest temp they experience where they grow naturally seems to be around 17 degrees Fahrenheit. They may be able to handle temps lower than that. If you get snow cover, it may insulate them enough that they can handle those extremely cold temps. As we know, there are many temperate plants that can handle temps lower than what they would experience in their habitat.

In regards to the seeds, I would sow them in a warm place now so that they can start growing immediately. They can skip half a winter safely. Just make sure they get a rest next year.

Okay, thanks! Will plant them as soon as they arrive.



Sent from my SM-G935V
By Benurmanii
Posts:  2000
Joined:  Fri Aug 07, 2015 4:34 pm
#342871
Huntsmanshorn wrote:Thank you Benurmanii! This seems to be excellent guide that I'm sure will prove very useful. I have some seeds coming shortly, may I ask what germination rate I can expect?
It's hard to say really. For me, I always get about 100% germination. However, I know that a good portion of people I give seed to struggle to get any germination while others have no problem, despite sowing them in what should be ideal conditions.
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