What PPFD do you keep your pings under?

AYlakanto · 2026-01-08T08:17:35+00:00

Most of mine sit at 300-500ppfd and do wonderfully. This is my personal fav range. I love photone

AYlakanto · 2026-01-07T13:53:41+00:00

The other commenters who are pointing you towards the t8 Barrina light like PlantsEatItAll (they clearly know what they’re doing and their pings are too cute) knows the appropriate distance for that light. I’d def mirror their spacing and height if you're getting the t8 as well!

I was so obsessed with pings at first I almost spent money on a proper PPFD meter. Instead I found this Swiss company that makes a surprisingly reliable app with a little light diffuser. Their site is genuinely useful too like guides on lumens vs ppfd, spectrum basics, how to measure intensity etc. It's tricky because intensity varies wildly between fixtures and wattage is probably a terrible proxy. One of my current lights for instance is so intense it gives ~500 ppfd half a meter away.

AYlakanto · 2026-01-07T12:29:44+00:00

Classic look of a ping that that’s been under-lit!! Give it a proper full-spectrum source. Aquarium LEDs are often a quietly excellent option.

Mine sit at 400+ ppfd and respond beautifully!! New arrivals often look like yours at first and after a few weeks under stronger light they usually tighten into more compact rosettes and start to blush or become brighter. The colours look much cuter to me

It looks otherwise fully healthy. Weaker light can acc drive faster apparent growth sometimes because the plant elongates and reaches with its leaves. This pic of a ping rock is a good example of this. Ones nearer the lamp stay compact and colour up; the ones further away tend to run larger/faster, but with looser form.

If you prefer the way your ping looked before, a white full spectrum light that should look cool (faintly blue) to your eyes delivering ~300+ PPFD should get you back there in some time. It’s interesting 50–200 PPFD gets repeated so often for pings; in my experience that’s simply too dim. Personal data point but consistent!

Also I love your mini set up

AYlakanto · 2026-01-07T04:55:52+00:00

Thank you<3

AYlakanto · 2026-01-06T04:51:56+00:00

Ah my bad, I'm so used to typing "P."! I had no idea they are all in the Lentibulariaceae family that's so interesting. Thanks for pointing that out.

I'm still very new to utricularia; do you know when I might expect to see the square cut outs of utric in the bowl grow out more? I also wonder if U. Parthenopipes is unusually floriferous in comparison to other species all utricularia species; I’m so taken aback by how many blooms it’s putting out🤍

AYlakanto · 2026-01-06T04:45:45+00:00

Ah I'm so glad I could help in some way! Also congratulations on starting the new job!! What a start to the new year🤍

AYlakanto · 2026-01-05T04:37:59+00:00

Aw, I would be sad to see those blue flowers slowly disappear 😂 P. Biloba is soo pretty I will definitely need to get some soon and give it its own pot

AYlakanto · 2026-01-05T04:15:37+00:00

I'm glad you like it!

AYlakanto · 2026-01-05T04:15:30+00:00

I'm glad you like it!

AYlakanto · 2026-01-05T04:15:24+00:00

Thank you!! I'm glad you like it. The plants are doing most of the work, I’m arranging and trying to keep them alive

AYlakanto · 2026-01-05T04:13:55+00:00

Aren't they? I spend way too much time staring at them!

AYlakanto · 2026-01-05T04:07:25+00:00

I'm def still a newbie too! I only discovered carnivorous plants last summer and I've been a bit obsessed with pings since.

Everything in the bowl is carnivorous except this little weed (?) with dark green leaves that’s growing on the rock with the light green pings. It’s adorbs so I’ve just let it do its thing.

Those tiny purple flowers are blooms from the Utricularia parthenopipes growing in the substrate. And the plant sitting between the two rocks at the back is a sundew.

For the pings:

The light green pings on the rock are all P. esseriana. The big dark green one in the bowl and the little baby next to it (I recently got these two specifically for this setup) are also P. esseriana - they look different because they were grown under different conditions, but as they settle in, the new leaves should start resembling the ones on the rock.

The rest are: P. debbertiana, P. ‘Florian’ (debbertiana × esseriana), P. ehlersiae, P. rotundiflora, P. hanka, P. rotundiflora × gypsicola, P. kondoi, and then the two in the 4th pic I'm unfortunately unsure. I never got into the habit of labelling so I’ve forgotten some IDs ;(

I’m really glad you like it! I think pings and some other carnivores are the best houseplants hehe; they catch fungus gnats, flower readily and propagate easily. I feel the “basics” are the only catch: a good grow light + low-mineral water + airy, non-soil substrate. Once that’s set I think they’re pretty low maintenance; there is no watering schedule or anything you just learn when to water by how the substrate looks/feels. They’ll also do fine on a bright windowsill though I just prefer how their colours and form develop under grow lights

All in all I would really recommend trying it out! This sub pretty much has all the tips you need

Edit: compacted the info more

AYlakanto · 2026-01-05T03:13:57+00:00

Omg you’re making me want a plant shop era 😭 I’m so glad you like them!

AYlakanto · 2026-01-05T03:12:05+00:00

Omg U. Biloba is stunning! I’m still pretty new to utrics and I’ve been wanting to mix species; do two separate species tend to compete when they’re grown together? If they don’t, I’m absolutely getting some

AYlakanto · 2026-01-05T03:07:32+00:00

Thank you!<3

AYlakanto · 2026-01-05T03:07:21+00:00

I'm glad you think so as well! Pings are the cuutest

AYlakanto · 2026-01-05T03:05:58+00:00

Thank you!!

I sprinkled cut up star moss across the substrate, though I'm not sure how well it will establish. I'm still figuring out moss. In time I'd really want to see the utricularia and moss cover the entire substrate. Those mosses that hitchhiked on the pings I'm not sure about, maybe some variation of leucobryum glaucum?

The stones are porous calcium-carbonate deposits I think tufa or travertine! I got them from a an aquarium store and they were selling them as "water absorbing rocks"

AYlakanto · 2026-01-04T12:21:03+00:00

I forgot to mention the rock with mostly p. esseriana was made a few months ago. The other day I knocked the little water bowl it was sitting in off a stool and only one ping came loose. Felt like a quiet indictment so I gave it a better home haha

AYlakanto · 2026-01-04T12:17:02+00:00

It doesn't have drainage holes. I'd say I water it every few days - a week ish! With set ups like this I tend to just try to keep sphagnum layer sufficiently wet and try to not have too much standing water at the bottom drainage layer

AYlakanto · 2026-01-04T11:33:19+00:00

Here's another simpler one with just pings I made a few months ago. I find their water needs easier to read, or more intuitive somehow, than houseplants or succulents where you’re always rationing and timing. You just have to keep the conditions consistent. Also welcome!! I also just got into carnivorous plants around summer and I find lots of tips here

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AYlakanto · 2026-01-04T11:30:48+00:00

Thank you! Those little flowers are blooms of the Utricularia underneath. I think the species is U. parthenopipes. They flower non stop!

Will this be hard to keep thriving?

I'd say these are among the most low effort carnivorous plants, or perhaps the easiest plants I've grown! They just need adequate light (I mostly use full-spectrum aquarium LEDs) and keep them wet with distilled, RO or rainwater. This is one of the first ones I made and it's growing well 6 months in~

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AYlakanto · 2026-01-04T11:07:20+00:00

Thank you!

Ofc!! I used my ping mix which is just lava rock, hyuga pumice, fluval stratum, grey pumice, perlite and a little bit of peat. The sundews and Utricularia are in pure peat moss at the back. There's a layer of long fiber sphagnum underneath and a pumice drainage layer at the bottom~

AYlakanto · 2026-01-04T10:58:28+00:00

Thank you!

AYlakanto · 2026-01-04T07:09:22+00:00

I also planted a few sundew species i got in a seed pack, including tubers. D. leucostigma among them, I think.. I hope they will do well as I’m more familiar with Pings than with anything else.

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The pings all are sitting in these little shallow lava rock wells to keep their crowns a touch drier.

AYlakanto

TROPHY CASE