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Flush For Victory + Fertilizer

  • Thread starter swords
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This post is about flushing your pots, I put it in Nepenthes since that's what I mainly grow but flushing your pots regularly with lots of water works wonders for almost any plant. Flushing increases aeration and oxygen flow in the root zone, preventing anaerobic conditions, it washes away any nutrient buildup and it primes the roots for fertilizer if you're going to fertilize the roots. Note: some succulents will become a puddle of green jelly overnight so be wary of ever fully flushing your cacti & succulents!

Someone told me they would do it more often if it were easier to do in the house. This is my method.

Set a piece of plastic eggcrate cut to size ontop of a 5 gallon pail and get your flushing fluids ready. You see that I clearly mark my jugs with waterproof sharpies on the top and sides so I won't get mixed up on what's in them while I'm working. I mark all my hand held misters this same way.

flush_supplies.jpg

If you're working with small pots you can do several at a time. Just be sure not to fertilize the roots of certain plants who won't like it. It's easier to put groups together who all get pure water or fertilizer flush so you don't forget. This group here 2 plants will get fertilizer root flushes and two won't.
flush_group.jpg

When you flush continue freely pouring water into your pot until you hear it coming out the bottom into the bucket then stop and let it all drain away. If you're going to fertilize you will do the same thing, flush the fertilizer through the soil until you hear it coming out then stop pouring. Once the pots stop dripping place the plants back in your growing location.

If any of your pots sit in water trays now is a good time to replace them with fresh water. Flushing and fresh water changes to the trays will keep peat based pots from getting foul smelling especially in summer weather.

As for the subject of fertilizer these are the products that I use on Nepenthes, Drosera, Utriculaira, orchids, houseplants and really any plants I grow who can be fertilized in one manner or other.

fertilizers.jpg

Left to Right:

Grow More Urea Free Orchid Fertilizer 20-10-20 (Mix powder with R/O water)

Grow More Hawaiian Bud & Bloom Urea Free Fertilizer 5-50-17 (Mix powder with R/O water)

*Without Urea these fertilizers are gentle and are non-burning when used as directed or diluted even further. I use them at about 1/2 label strength. These are also fortified with chelated micro-nutrients which means they are available for immediate uptake by the plants. Add a silica gel packet to the grow more powders or they will eventually become a solid brick. With a packet they will remain as a powder for years.

Superthrive - The legendary "Does it really work or doesn't it?" worlds fair snake oil.
Well, it does work BUT it is not actually a fertilizer, it is an accompaniment to proper fertilization which can yield some pleasantly surprising results such as even small Nepenthes throwing out basal shoots which can be removed and potted up. Or be misted on reluctant dormant node cuttings to coax them into growth. When used in excess as the only "fertilizer" it can really make a mess of things causing deformations and killing the root zone. I only use between 1-3 drops per gallon in my fertilizer flush water.

I fertilizer flush every other week with at least one pure water flush inbetween. On Nepenthes with pitchers I will also use a squirt bottle or an eye dropper to deliver some fertilizer into each of the open pitchers. If the plants receive only nutrition at the roots they will eventually stop pitchering but with feed at both locations you get the benefits of quicker growing Nepenthes who will continue to create ever larger and more beautiful pitchers.

Any carnivorous plants which were fertilized will receive a follow up pure water flush within one or two days so there is no chance of a fertilizer build up as I want them to get the benefits of the immediately available nutrients but not allow any buildup.
 
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Are you using that 20-10-20 orchid fertilizer in the Nepenthes pitchers as well as the roots or do you use separate products for that.
 
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I use the 20-10-20 fertilizer in the pitchers as well as the soil flush. I'm not super careful about how much I use just whatever gets in when I shoot at the open pitchers with a hand held squirt bottle set on stream. I'll also do a foliar mist of this fertilizer over the plants every so often. So far I haven't rotted any pitchers fertilizing this way compared to overfeeding with insects that didn't sink all the way and get fungusy.

I use the 5-50-17 fertilizer a couple times as a root flush for new arrivals, newly repotted plants and newly rooted cuttings since the high phosphorus is said to encourage root growth and help them get settled. If I notice a plant is starting to bloom then I will flush with this one as well.
 
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Thanks for the write up, this is a super helpful guide. I guess its time for me to pick up some urea free fertilizer.
 
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