My first experience with MaxSea and Nepenthes

[ramdacc]

Hey guys. I don't know if this will be of benefit to anyone reading or not but just in case it is, I thought I would share a few photos of a plant that I used some MaxSea 16-16-16 on about 3 weeks ago. I separated one of my Nepenthes mirabilis var. echinostoma plantlets from the others (all around 6 months old).
Below is said plant.

I watered just the corner of the pot where the plant is growing, and also sprayed the leaves, and some got into the pitchers. After 3 days the plant looked a bit ... withered so I flushed the soil and leaves and pitchers out with a bunch of water and it perked right back up.

Notice, in the corner of the pot that received the fertilizer there is an abundance of c.b. growing, which is what I expected. But the moss is also growing in this pot ONLY where I fertilized. I thought sphagnum moss was hyper-sensitive to fertilizer(?).

Also notice the new, nearly-developed leaf is a lot longer than the previous leaves that have already fully pitchered.




Now here's a picture of the other plants that the above plantlet was germinated with, from the same seed pod.

Notice the coloration on the above plantlet is a dark green, whereas the unfertilized plantlets are very pale. While I wouldn't consider these plantlets in poor health, they are much smaller than the recently-fertilized plant. I know they are over-crowded....






Lastly, a photo of a tray with several different types of nep. seedlings:

Again, you can see that the plantlets at the top of the photo are quite a bit more pale in color and generally smaller. Also notice the only nep seedling pot that has sphagnum moss growing in it, is the pot that got fertilized and only where the fertilizer was applied. Any thoughts on that?

If anyone is wondering, I mixed 1 teaspoon to 1 gallon of water (distilled of course). Then flushed the soil and leaves heavily after 3 days.

 

[Vbkid]

Ramdac, firstly, thanks for the great pictures showing the clear results of your fertilizing, keep us updated!
Second, are your seedlings in open air? whats humidity and air flow like? Any problems with mold or gnats or anything?

 

[Whimgrinder]

1) The recommended rate for Nepenthes is 1/2 tsp per gallon, not the full teaspoon suggested on the label for "normal" plants.
2) Although I myself can attest to the fact that Maxsea works well, you are kinda comparing apples to pomegranates if you are testing the fertilizer on a plant that has been repotted and isolated from its siblings, which remain quite crowded. For truly meaningful data, you need to repot at least two plants into their own pots and perform the test on these, using one as a control.

 

[Jcal]

I've just replanted a few of my seedlings that are the same age as yours. While whimgrinder has a valid point, I have not noticed a huge growth spurt from replanting alone. I find your results intriguing.

 

[Fred P]

I use Maxsea all the time on my Sarrs and it works wonders!

 

[Whimgrinder]

I've just replanted a few of my seedlings that are the same age as yours. While whimgrinder has a valid point, I have not noticed a huge growth spurt from replanting alone. I find your results intriguing.

Repotting in itself will not result in a growth spurt, but reducing the competition of other plants sharing the same root space will.

 

[richjam1986]

It's cool to see how the ferts affected the Sphagnum growth. I don't know that I've ever seen such a clear representation of that, so thanks for the pics! Obviously, like all plants, moss needs its nutrients too; so it would understandably benefit from increased nutrients. Just like you can overfertilize neps, however, you can also overfertilize the Sphagnum. It's all about using the right amount.

Edit: And I concur that your should half the fertilizer concentration. You shouldn't see the initial negative effects with a lower concentration.