Peter D'Amato has told me that only the winter leaves are suitable
for budding. I have however budded summer leaves of P. gypsicola X
agnata, and P. moranensis x ehlersia. Barry, I just mailed you some
P. moranensis `G' leaves for you to try budding. I just a recycled
fast food salad container, with clear plastic top, as my budding
chamber. I have a vermiculite/perlite mix in there that I plant the
plucked leaves in, then I put the lid on and put the area in a warmish
area with a bit of flourescent light. Some of the leaves rot, but
others take. I (and Rick) gave up on using ANY peat in our Mexican
pings due to rot and fungus mite problems. Our plants have been doing
much better since we did that. Of course one has to account for the
fact that there is no food in the mix. So we give foliar sprayings
once or twice a month with a MirAcid mix. The plants love it. Under
a lot of flourescent light the plants get fantastic colour too. The
next thing I'm planning is to wire some pings to a piece of oak bark
to get an epiphitic planting.
>>
>>I am always pondering a trip down to Oaxaca and that area to look for
>>Pings. I have been through only a few Mexican Ping habitats, but have
>>never had the opportunity to stop (although each time, as I rode the Mexican
>>bus through the mountains near Guadalajara, I kept my face pressed longingly
>>against the glass looking out!).
Hmm. It never occurred to me to try that. Mexico isn't THAT far
from where I live.