Grow-A-Long — Ping-A-Ling

I made them out of hypertufa. They are sized to fit along the back of the large trays that I keep my other pings in. There are holes in the mini troughs and I keep the tray topped up with water.
 
Drilled a hole through the tufa for the hose from the mini water pump.
Not sure I like it... the little water sounds have me going to the bathroom!
Any ideas on how to reduce the water flow from the pump? The little sliding door on the pump is already fully closed.

https://flic.kr/p/2qQTA7o
 
maybe use a longer hose hidden underneath the rock, the head pressure should slow the water down. or clamp the hose.
 
Joanie said:
Drilled a hole through the tufa for the hose from the mini water pump.
Not sure I like it... the little water sounds have me going to the bathroom!
Any ideas on how to reduce the water flow from the pump? The little sliding door on the pump is already fully closed.

https://flic.kr/p/2qQTA7o
Click to expand...
You could try an aquarium water control valve. It's a valve you attach between two pieces of hose and can adjust the water flow. I haven't used one in a long time so I don't know what's all out there these days.
 
A little bit of cotton batten tucked in the end of the tube should work. Keep an eye on the pump to make sure there's no overheating.
 
Would an aquarium airstone hooked up before the hole (maybe enlarge the hole inthe bottom of the Tufa to fit it in) work?
- Another thought is to glue gun a dab of "glue" inside the hose (or Tufa) to reduce the diameter of flow. You can adjust the diameter size inside the hose while the glue is hot using a piece of wire or utensil. Leave enough space at the end of the hose to cover the pump fitting. A possible negative outcome is higher water pressure. Trial required.
- Also, what about gluing some small Tufa chips in a staggered manner inside the drilled hole? This would allow the flow to continue but force it to bounce off the chips (think of rapIds or a fish ladder).
- Ear plugs!
You are innovative Joanie and a solution will click for sure.

What are the dimensions of the container? I just bought a mini pump for the project, but think I'll need to upsize the container.
 
Thanks everyone!
Suggestions are working:
  • buried the hose under gravel
  • shortened the length of the hose inside the tufa
  • and stuck a tufa chip in the top
https://flic.kr/p/2qRs7hM

The glass container is 8" x 8" x 8".

I printed this little bridge, but decided against it. If anyone would like to use it in their Ping-A-Ling, send me a dm with your address and I'll drop it in the mail for you. It's approx two small olives long.

IMG_1582.jpg
 
That looks great Joanie! I really like the water flow idea. Sure beats stagnant algae water in trays.

I added P. crassifolia, P. calderoniae and 5 different P. laueana clones to one of my ping rocks. Most are still tiny from pullings. They seem to adapt/attach better to bare rock that way.
PXL_20250312_014703661~2.jpg
 
Here's an update on mine, still thinking about what pings to put on my rocks besides the Johanna.
IMG_9987.JPG

The water wasn't wicking all the way to the top of this rock so I drilled down a bit and filled it with a sand/peat/pumice mix.
IMG_0009.JPG

IMG_0007.JPG


Trying both kinds of rock I got. The smaller one wicks up water super fast.
 
kcskou said:
By different clones you mean they are genetically different? That is in and of itself kinda impressive :) Did you source their parents from 5 different origins?
Click to expand...
Correct, they are 5 genetically different entities. I should have said 5 different cultivars as that's what they are. They are also clones though. There are a bunch of different named laueana readily available in cultivation. The named cultivars from seed collected by Alfred Lau are "SP1", "SP2", "SP3", "CP1", "CP2", "CP3", "Sierra Mixe", "typical", "crimson flower" but there are also the BCP ones like Narrow Flower and Undulate Geranium Flower. I also believe that BCP Golden Eye is likely an anthocyanin free form of P. laueana.
 
Smilodonichthys said:
Correct, they are 5 genetically different entities.
Click to expand...
I was following along and counting the red ones and found way more than five - are there a couple clones of each cultivar of laueana?

Thanks to your high res photos, I am reminded of my love for Where's Waldo.
20250313_040840.jpg


At risk of digressing and break up the thread (I may PM you to pick your brain when I prepare to transplant my pings to pure pumice in a couple weeks if you don't mind haha), how do you know what cultivar of laueana you've got? I got a laueana from Brad's Greenhouse, but the cultivar name was not mentioned anywhere. I checked other nurseries like Curious Plants and also found a laueana listed without a cultivar name. You would think no cultivar means 'typical', wouldn't you? But probably need to confirm with the documented traits.
 
kcskou said:
I was following along and counting the red ones and found way more than five - are there a couple clones of each cultivar of laueana?

Thanks to your high res photos, I am reminded of my love for Where's Waldo.
View attachment 32254

At risk of digressing and break up the thread (I may PM you to pick your brain when I prepare to transplant my pings to pure pumice in a couple weeks if you don't mind haha), how do you know what cultivar of laueana you've got? I got a laueana from Brad's Greenhouse, but the cultivar name was not mentioned anywhere. I checked other nurseries like Curious Plants and also found a laueana listed without a cultivar name. You would think no cultivar means 'typical', wouldn't you? But probably need to confirm with the documented traits.
Click to expand...
There are multiples of each on there. It's funny that you posted the photo of them circled like that because that's how I keep track of the pings on my rocks. I was taken aback at first wondering how you got one of my unposted photos. Whenever I put a new grouping on a rock I take a photo and then edit it by circling them and adding text. The edited photos then go into an album of the associated rock. The actual edited photos are too large but this is kinda what they look like:
PXL_20250309_222517491~3.jpg


Absolutely, PM me any time. I'd be happy to answer any questions. Though what works under my conditions may not work as well in yours.

What I do when I get a new plant is label it with a number which is associated with notes on where I got it ,cultivar name, collection location data if it has any and anything else that might be interesting. Even if I get a double of the same cultivar from a different source it gets a unique number.

I feel it's important to try and be accurate with plant identity. I will never label something based on my own interpretation of traits unless it came labeled that way. I'll just label it as the species or just P. sp. with a number and then sometimes try to get more info by asking the person I got it from. There are many pings that are mislabeled and passed around as something they are not and I don't want to be someone who does that. I respect that Brad just labels his as P. laueana. I don't think that most people care about more info than that anyway.

There are good reasons to just label as P. laueana. Most times growing from seed will not allow you to give the resulting plants the cultivar name. There are exceptions though like with Darlingtonia 'Othello' where any anthocyanin-free Darlingtonia is considered 'Othello'. When a cultivar is registered it'll say how the cultivar name applies and whether the name only applies if it is a clone or not. Carnivorous plant cultivars are registered in the International Carnivorous Plant Societies newsletter/journal.

I don't think that it is the same as with fly traps where typical means not a cultivar. With laueana I'm pretty sure it is a cultivar selected from seed collected by Alfred Lau. I'm guessing 'Typical' refers to an individual plant that was representative of the typical laueana.

I kind of went on a rant with this one and I apologize if it was too long and off topic. You might even know most of this already.
 
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kcskou said:
I was following along and counting the red ones and found way more than five - are there a couple clones of each cultivar of laueana?

Thanks to your high res photos, I am reminded of my love for Where's Waldo.
View attachment 32254

At risk of digressing and break up the thread (I may PM you to pick your brain when I prepare to transplant my pings to pure pumice in a couple weeks if you don't mind haha), how do you know what cultivar of laueana you've got? I got a laueana from Brad's Greenhouse, but the cultivar name was not mentioned anywhere. I checked other nurseries like Curious Plants and also found a laueana listed without a cultivar name. You would think no cultivar means 'typical', wouldn't you? But probably need to confirm with the documented traits.
Click to expand...
I should also mention that unless the plant is a registered cultivar named 'Typical' it should be written as "typical". The '-------' with capital letters only refers to registered cultivars. Anything else should be written as "-------" without capitals.
 
Smilodonichthys said:
I kind of went on a rant with this one and I apologize if it was too long and off topic. You might even know most of this already.
Click to expand...
Doesn't read like a rant to me - I appreciate you taking the time to share your knowledge - I did learn something new and though it may seem tangential to the ping-a-long, it still serves its original intent of driving engagement.

I am sure there are others who may find this thread later and feel intrigued and inspired by the level of craftsmanship displayed - and by craftsmanship I mean having an opinion based on principles and an exacting approach towards a subject matter - which most may not care, but to reach the few who would care if they had known such level of expertise was possible, could mean the difference between keeping a craft alive and it becoming a lost art.
 
So I've acquired (what I think is) a very pretty rock for ping-a-linging purposes.
IMG_8051.jpeg


...However, it does seem to have a fair bit of rust in it. Do any more experienced growers have a feel for how much my pings will hate that? In some sense, it's like the opposite of having dissolved salts. But in another sense, maybe CPs still don't like it.

While at the aquarium store buying rocks, I also impulse-bought some U. graminifolia that I have only the vaguest idea how to care for, so I may end up trying to incorporate that as well.
 
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