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my N.ventricosa... WHY?

  • #21
I feed Schultz Orchid at full strength (1/4 tsp in 1 gal water) once every 2 weeks. I just water all my plants with it until water drips out the bottom.
 
  • #22
but then you have to repot more,
and I use the coconut husk stuff that will turn to sludge when I fertilize.
and sphagnum will turns mushy also.
that is why I would rather fertlize the pitchers cause then I wouldn't have to flush my pots.
 
  • #23
well just fertilize then a week later flush with ro water
 
  • #24
Sheesh can we get at least a passive attempt
at proper punctuation and capitalization?
And what's with that structure in your posts?
Are you trying to write a haiku?

but then you have to repot more,
Who told you that? I've had plants in the same pots that have been getting fertilizer for an awful long time, and they certainly don't seem to mind.

and I use the coconut husk stuff that will turn to sludge when I fertilize.
and sphagnum will turns mushy also.
Then use something else. Sphag isn't great and coco husk is one of the worst media choices around. Or, just flush your pots, it's really not that hard.

I'm starting to feel like I repeat the same stuff OVER AND OVER AGAIN. I've said the same thing about fertilizer at least 3x this week, yet it keeps being brought up. Do people just not read my posts or what?
 
  • #25
Sheesh can we get at least a passive attempt
at proper punctuation and capitalization?
And what's with that structure in your posts?
Are you trying to write a haiku?


Who told you that? I've had plants in the same pots that have been getting fertilizer for an awful long time, and they certainly don't seem to mind.


Then use something else. Sphag isn't great and coco husk is one of the worst media choices around. Or, just flush your pots, it's really not that hard.

I'm starting to feel like I repeat the same stuff OVER AND OVER AGAIN. I've said the same thing about fertilizer at least 3x this week, yet it keeps being brought up. Do people just not read my posts or what?

I don't know whats so bad about the coco stuff it has never turned to sludge for me and my plants do great in it.
I like to use sphagnum as a top dressing not in the media.
I could flush my pots I am just thinking of alternatives.
I could put a osmocote pellet in the older pitchers,
that away it wouldn't like burn a new pitcher.
 
  • #26
I don't know whats so bad about the coco stuff it has never turned to sludge for me and my plants do great in it.
I've already explained why on this forum at least 10 times. Look around for it.

I could put a osmocote pellet in the older pitchers,
that away it wouldn't like burn a new pitcher.
Seriously....do you not read anything I say? Click back a page and you'll see this:
Osmocote isn't too reliable. Some of the pellets are stronger than others, some crack and release everything at once...etc, etc. While it didn't kill anything, I found most of my plants that were treated with Osmocote ended up with burned pitchers/leaves.
You could just use an old pitcher in case that burns, OR, instead of experiencing leaf burn months later from the Osmocote, you could just fertilize with organic fert through the pitchers, or inorganic/organic fert through the soil. Again, how many times have I said that same thing (even within the past week)? DM....read. Seriously. We're going in circles here.

PS: Your posts read like one giant run on sentence, and I'm still not entirely sure why you insist on hitting the enter key after every "sentence" that you type. Do you surf TF from an ipod or something?
 
  • #27
hahaha no I don't I will not hit enter after every sentence. I heard terracycle is good that is an organic fertilizer it made form worm castings.I believe Clint uses terracycle and I have seen it an the store.
 
  • #28
I did. If they made it in a concentrate I'd still use it, but buying it by the 2 liter bottle, pre-diluted, got old, fast.

What was I about to say.... Oh, right. Ron is right about foliar feeding. I used to spray when I was new to fertilizing, now I put fertilizer water in the pitchers. THAT is foliar feeding since the pitcher actually the leaf, and the "leaf" is an extension of the petiole, as Ron said. Also important, is that the leaves (petioles) are hydrophobic in most species, so the water just runs off. I'll still go to my grave disagreeing with Ron about fertilizer degrading LFS more quickly :) Or at least that's been MY personal experience.

I have wondered whether once a week at quarter strength is better, worse, or equal to twice a month at half strength. I'm thinking, since I just top off what's evaporated ever other week, that once a week with 1/4 strength would give less nutrients per month (since less evaporates over the course of one week, compared to what evaporates over the course of two weeks) that 1/2 strength.
 
  • #29
hmm sounds fishy.
I know that that maxsea seaweed extract works well but would it make my growing area smell?
 
  • #30
Use Neptune's Harvest Fish/Seaweed blend at half the recommended strength for houseplants twice a month through the soil. Theres not much smell to it at all. I grow outside and don't flush the pots (except naturally when it rains), but if you grow indoors, you may or may not have to, can't say since I'm not an indoor grower.

You should see a huge difference in all your Nepenthes after a couple months.

http://www.neptunesharvest.com/
 
  • #31
Thanks,

I'm gonna try the Osmocote beads in pitchers first and try a diluted orchid fertilizer a little later I think.

But all this fertilizer talk got me to thinking, "How do Neps do it in the wild?" Obviously they capture the right amount and right kind of insects and the like for healthy growth. So what (and why) are they lacking in "captivity"??
 
  • #32
In the wild they are most likely filled with bugs as they live in the tropics. Also, as none of us are using soil imporedt from... say... Borneo, we are just trying to replicate what they have naturally. Besides, wild neps don't have people standing over them monitoring every little thing that happens and wishing they would grow faster.

I noticed the same yellowing problem with my ventrata a while back and started feeding orchid fert into the pitchers and now it is growing very green and happy. I think I am even possibly over fertalizing them as I do it sometimes every week. But I am also sort of new to neps so if anyone can see a fatal flaw... let me know.

Isaac
 
  • #33
I think I am even possibly over fertalizing them as I do it sometimes every week. But I am also sort of new to neps so if anyone can see a fatal flaw... let me know.
If the leaves or traps start going brown/black prematurely (i.e. you're losing a lot quickly instead of 1 or so leaves a monthish) then you're overfertilizing. Otherwise, if the plant is looking better and not dying, just keep doing what you're doing until you see a problem. Plants that grow quickly need more fertilizer, so ventricosa would need more than lowii.

In the wild these plants also grow in ultramafic/serpentine soils, which give them an infinite supply of micronutrients not contained in peat (like magnesium).
 
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