I've grown most Ping's in my time (wish I had some of them now!!) and I
can echo Terry's reply.
Ping's do NOT dislike standing in water as a definitive growth requirement.
European (or more correctly hardy) Pings do seem to dislike standing
water. They like permanent dampness, not wet. This is best achieved
by using a very sandy medium in a CLAY pot, and stand the clay pot in a
container of pure sand. Keep the pure sand moist but never swamped by water.
For temperate species, standing water is not preferred but IS very well
tolerated by most pings if the minimum winter temperature is 10
Centigrade (50 Farenheight). The obvious exception is P. gypsicola
which detests winter (dormant) wetness and must be kep damp to dry,
erring on the side of dryness, until summer leaves begin to emerge. I
accept Terry's comment that too wet while still in dormancy is the
problem but all my experience suggests that temperature is a key contributor.
Regards
Paul