Heli pitchers overfed?

[Exo]

I just had to remove two pitchers from my H.heterodoxa x minor because the base of the pitchers turned brown and dead, and I'm curious of this is due to overfeeding like it is in Sarracenia. The plant had recently captured several box elder bug that were in the growchamber, and the pitchers with no prey seem unaffected. This is a rather annoying issue considering that helis don't exactly grow at warp speed, and my plant will never get very big if it keeps losing pitchers so quickly. Has anyone seen this before, and is it normal?

Thanks.

 

[thez_yo]

I think you should stick to smaller bugs because I've done that too and I think it was from overfeeding

 

[Exo]

I think you should stick to smaller bugs because I've done that too and I think it was from overfeeding

Hmm....my plants are catching them on their own, so they are eating themselves to death, gonna have to give them gastric bypass surgery or something......

 

[thez_yo]

Shove em full of cotton balls like Sarr growers?

 

[Av8tor1]

I dont want to scare ya, but watch it carefully.... pitchers browning (and mushy sorta) from the base can be the first indications of sudden heli death (my own term for it)

if it is SHD, the only hope is drastic.... dig it up, cut the infected away, soak in trichoderma and replant in new substrate.

now dont freak.... just watch for spreading, long term heli growers know this disease well

I stopped having issues with this disease when I started using trich, but YMMV....

 

[Exo]

I dont want to scare ya, but watch it carefully.... pitchers browning (and mushy sorta) from the base can be the first indications of sudden heli death (my own term for it)

if it is SHD, the only hope is drastic.... dig it up, cut the infected away, soak in trichoderma and replant in new substrate.

now dont freak.... just watch for spreading, long term heli growers know this disease well

Ok....good news is that it's been sending up new growth right along and has been growing rather fast (for a heli), so hopefully it is just overfeeding...but I'll keep an eye on it.

---------- Post added at 02:14 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:13 PM ----------

Shove em full of cotton balls like Sarr growers?

They do that?!?

 

[kulamauiman]

I found it was possible to overfeed ceph pitchers. And i see all my sarracenia seem to haev acid reflux or heartburn from over eating this spring. I don't see why helis would be any different.....

 

[Exo]

I found it was possible to overfeed ceph pitchers. And i see all my sarracenia seem to haev acid reflux or heartburn from over eating this spring. I don't see why helis would be any different.....

Yeah..that's what I though...and it never seems to happen to pitchers that haven't eaten...so I kinda had that idea as well.

 

[thez_yo]

Ok....good news is that it's been sending up new growth right along and has been growing rather fast (for a heli), so hopefully it is just overfeeding...but I'll keep an eye on it.

---------- Post added at 02:14 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:13 PM ----------



They do that?!?

Yeah, I saw it in some guide to having show-quality Sarr pitchers without any browning. Let them feed as much as they want when they first open up, but then plug them up come late summer so they don't turn all mucky.

 

[RL7836]

Shove em full of cotton balls like Sarr growers?

They do that?!?

Sure. I first saw it at Botanique (Rob S's place) and it's a good idea if you want a 'show' plant without the mid-pitcher rotten areas typically found in cultivated plants (although I don't remember seeing this in the field). Technically, most people will use the stuff sold for stuffing pillows - so it's probably polyester iirc.

 

[Dexenthes]

My H. heterodoxa x minor had a similar reaction when I first received it. Any pitcher that I fed became brown and rotten within days, it was pretty disappointing.

So I have not actually fed any of them out of fear that they will be lost. So far it seems to be working, though the growth has been consistent and rather unimpressive.

 

[Wolfn]

Heliamphora need to be fed small insects. I had a Heliamphora minor last year and I fed it a large ant and the pitcher died. Today, I stick to one small ant a pitcher. No more than two ants a pitcher

 

[Av8tor1]

Ive fed mine full grown wasps/multiple Cichlid fish pellets/flies...etc, etc, etc with no issues and rapid growth. Like many variables, the maximum amount you can feed is directly related to the plants ability to utilize those nutrients.

Feed/fert rates are variables that will depend on specifc conditions... start off slow and work your way up to find that "sweet spot" for your plant/setup. What is a safe limit for one grower could kill the plants of another.

Av

 

[RL7836]

I had a Heliamphora minor last year and I fed it a large ant and the pitcher died. Today, I stick to one small ant a pitcher. No more than two ants a pitcher

I know many prefer feeding insects (it's the natural thing) but so far, my preference is for very weak orchid fertilizer in the pitchers* on a weekly basis (weekly weakly)(or as my time allows). Using this approach, there is no overfeeding (and the resulting pitcher loss), the pitchers stay hydrated, all pitchers can be fed (even tiny, immature pitchers) and good growth & regular pitcher production follows.

With a little bit higher humidity, the same approach has been working well for rootless divisions.

* I only put solution within the pitchers but due to Heli pitcher anatomy, some often slides out through the long side-slit and makes its way into the media, encouraging growth of non-Heli, green, undesirables ... )

 

[Av8tor1]

I know many prefer feeding insects (it's the natural thing) but so far, my preference is for very weak orchid fertilizer in the pitchers* on a weekly basis (weekly weakly)(or as my time allows). Using this approach, there is no overfeeding (and the resulting pitcher loss), the pitchers stay hydrated, all pitchers can be fed (even tiny, immature pitchers) and good growth & regular pitcher production follows.

With a little bit higher humidity, the same approach has been working well for rootless divisions.

* I only put solution within the pitchers but due to Heli pitcher anatomy, some often slides out through the long side-slit and makes its way into the media, encouraging growth of non-Heli, green, undesirables ... )

+1 so much easier with less issues