What's new
TerraForums Venus Flytrap, Nepenthes, Drosera and more talk

Register a free account today to become a member! Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members through your own private inbox!

I decided to do a little un-scientific experiment regarding fertilization of Sarracenia seedlings. I have some wild-collected S. purpurea seeds from two different locations in WI, roughly 120 miles apart. So I figured I'd fertilize one of them and not the other, using a Miracid solution as a foliar application approximately every 2 weeks. Obviously, it would've been better to just fertilize half of each location, but I didn't really plan too much for this. There could be inherent differences between the two populations. Anyway, here's the first picture taken today, 2 weeks after the first fertilizer application, and 5 min. after the 2nd. I will update this post every few weeks or so until whenever. I'm not taking any measurements of any kind - just a visual comparison. The tray on the left is from Bayfield Co., from a small boggy area right next to a backroad, on the edge of a small lake. This area was very overgrown with trees and I suspect succession is creeping in and it may not be a suitable Sarracenia habitat 20 years from now. These will be the fertilized seedlings. The tray on the right is from Forest Co., from an open bog habitat surrounding a small lake. This was a very "healthy" looking bog, lots of orhcids and sundews present in the area. These will be unfertilized. Both sets of seeds germinated right around Christmas of 2009 and are currently kept in a greenhouse, in near hothouse conditions. I will move them to my backyard when the weather allows in late Spring, and back to the greenhouse in late Fall.

purps.jpg

Feb. 13, 2010
 
Let us know about the results. I had outstanding results using Osmocote fertilizer pellets.
 
There was an rather extensive study done on this that was published in the ICPS Newsletter last year.
 
Yes, I used the Osmocote last summer after reading that NaN. I had great results by the time my seedlings went dormant in the fall (about 2 months after using it). The rhizomes really got large for seedlings of that age. I will be using it again this spring on most everything! :)
 
There was an rather extensive study done on this that was published in the ICPS Newsletter last year.

i'll have to check that out, i forgot to renew my membership for the better part of the year
 
Here's a new pic, 38 days or so since the biweekly treatments. Pretty much hard to tell any difference yet.

purpseedlings.jpg
 
Couldn't you cut each pot in half, and recombine them, so that plants from each location get both treatments?
Currently, if one grows better than th eother, you won' tknow if it is a difference in treatment or genotype.
 
Couldn't you cut each pot in half, and recombine them, so that plants from each location get both treatments?
Currently, if one grows better than th eother, you won' tknow if it is a difference in treatment or genotype.

yeah, i thought of that after the fact. i've got a more ambitious one in the works that will have controls. just waiting for the seeds to get done stratifying.
 
There was an rather extensive study done on this that was published in the ICPS Newsletter last year.

Does anyone have this article in a digital format:

Brittnacher, John (2009) Soil fertilization of Sarracenia seedlings. Carniv. Pl. Newslett. 38(2):36-41
 
  • #10
Join the ICPS and you can download or buy back issues. The material is copyrighted. Or try a library.
 
  • #12
Join the ICPS and you can download or buy back issues. The material is copyrighted. Or try a library.

Very few libraries carry the ICPS newletter. Few major university libraries carry it, and it is not available through the major archiving databases (Academic Premier, JSTOR, EBSCO, etc). According to worldcat only 30 libraries carry it worldwide. Only one private library in Illinois carries it, and no libraries in Canada carry it.

Unless you join the ICPS, it is a very difficult journal to get.

-Hermes.
 
  • #13
Ok, I initially thought that the more recent issues were not avail for download via the ICPS site. My bad...just needed to dig a little deeper and was able to obtain the issue I was interested in.
 
Back
Top