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OSMOCOTE Testing on Nepenthes SUCCESSFULLY!
- Thread starter MrAga73
- Start date
nepenthes gracilis
Nepenthes Specialist
Not Osmocote, but I have been using fertilizer for a couple of months. No controls, so it's not a scientific experiment. However, it seems that the leaves that have started growing since fertilization began are larger than they would have been without the fertilizer. The first two plants are in 4 in. pots, and the third plant is in an 8 in. pot. Admittedly, the perspective of the third plant makes the new leaf seem even bigger than it is relative to the older leaves. The first two photos are taken from directly above the plants, so the perspective is neutral. I have to wait and see how the pitchers turn out.
Hi everybody! Mr. Aga
I think it will be useful to add my bit here. The reinwardtiana that mr. Aga is growing was in fact mine. N. reinwardtiana is not always an easy plant, being an intermediate, and that specimen is what remained of some cuttings that I gave away here and there. That bit was condarned to remain small like that for years, being one of those little, useless plants which will come out from the wrong part of the stem, you know. And infact it remained quite small for at least 2 years (I think Aga received it after some other grower wasn't very lucky as well with it).
Then I went to work at Borneo Exotics. And I came back, of course, with the Osmocote ghost deep inside me. Now, don't get me wrong: Osmocote, like Miracid and sometimes Peters, Miracle Gro, Orchid fertilizers etc, have been succesfully used for cp for decades (I still remeber my Slack, Pietropaolo and other books talking about it). So it's not a great news. And infact I told you Mr. Aga "yes, you can see if it works with this kind of problems, with those nepenthes plants which usually will never grow, those which if you're lucky will just give you the palm-tree effect. But don't go around shouting it's a miracle, be careful, because it's not".
But yes, it works. Those small, very bad specimens can become serious plants. I did the same with all my cuttings and all of those which where never growing, started growing like crazy. It's not a miracle, it's just fertilizing. Be careful, osmocote has been tested (at Borneo Exotics it was quite seriously tested, and it's used by many other large and small scale producers) and it works better than others, but it has anyway some side effects. First of all after 6 months/1 year, you've to change the soil of your plants, as it will be completely rotten. Maybe you could use an inorganic compost, but I've the impression that with it you loose the effect of the fertilizier, as it will just give back to the soil the nutrients it lacks being inorganic (and usually quite heavy).
I suggest you to use the osmocote if your plants are young (it's not nice to move a plant from a 30 cm pot, especially Nepenthes!), they're growing in the right environment but they need a good start as they're not moving. Then it's really effective. Remember, water AT LEAST once every other day from above, or the osmocote salts will remain in the soil and they will ruin soil and plant.
If you didn't know it - just to shout "miracle!" once again
- if you spray your heliamphoras with foliar orchid fertilizer (I always did it following the instructions on the label, never diluted more than that) they will grow much faster and bigger, 2-3 times more than before. And Nepenthes the same, they also like the orchid foliar feeding at the normal strenght.
At this point the discussion would become endless, and the proof is the topic with hundreds of replies that you find a few pages back: "fertilizing nepenthes: yes or not? with what and how much" or something like that...
Marcello
ps. by the way, yes, every pellet has a different color because it contains a different element. I made an experiment at BE, growing 10 plants for every color (10 plants only with yellow, 10 only with blue etc). For the results I hope Rob will show up into this topic...
I think it will be useful to add my bit here. The reinwardtiana that mr. Aga is growing was in fact mine. N. reinwardtiana is not always an easy plant, being an intermediate, and that specimen is what remained of some cuttings that I gave away here and there. That bit was condarned to remain small like that for years, being one of those little, useless plants which will come out from the wrong part of the stem, you know. And infact it remained quite small for at least 2 years (I think Aga received it after some other grower wasn't very lucky as well with it).
Then I went to work at Borneo Exotics. And I came back, of course, with the Osmocote ghost deep inside me. Now, don't get me wrong: Osmocote, like Miracid and sometimes Peters, Miracle Gro, Orchid fertilizers etc, have been succesfully used for cp for decades (I still remeber my Slack, Pietropaolo and other books talking about it). So it's not a great news. And infact I told you Mr. Aga "yes, you can see if it works with this kind of problems, with those nepenthes plants which usually will never grow, those which if you're lucky will just give you the palm-tree effect. But don't go around shouting it's a miracle, be careful, because it's not".
But yes, it works. Those small, very bad specimens can become serious plants. I did the same with all my cuttings and all of those which where never growing, started growing like crazy. It's not a miracle, it's just fertilizing. Be careful, osmocote has been tested (at Borneo Exotics it was quite seriously tested, and it's used by many other large and small scale producers) and it works better than others, but it has anyway some side effects. First of all after 6 months/1 year, you've to change the soil of your plants, as it will be completely rotten. Maybe you could use an inorganic compost, but I've the impression that with it you loose the effect of the fertilizier, as it will just give back to the soil the nutrients it lacks being inorganic (and usually quite heavy).
I suggest you to use the osmocote if your plants are young (it's not nice to move a plant from a 30 cm pot, especially Nepenthes!), they're growing in the right environment but they need a good start as they're not moving. Then it's really effective. Remember, water AT LEAST once every other day from above, or the osmocote salts will remain in the soil and they will ruin soil and plant.
If you didn't know it - just to shout "miracle!" once again
At this point the discussion would become endless, and the proof is the topic with hundreds of replies that you find a few pages back: "fertilizing nepenthes: yes or not? with what and how much" or something like that...
Marcello
ps. by the way, yes, every pellet has a different color because it contains a different element. I made an experiment at BE, growing 10 plants for every color (10 plants only with yellow, 10 only with blue etc). For the results I hope Rob will show up into this topic...
Hello Marcello,Hello to everyone!
I am agree with you.
Osmocote does sure make more effect on "unluckies" plants and on YOUNG plants because it can bring them in proudly way to reach their mature state.
I have buyed an osmocote for acid terrains so...do you really think this osmocote we are using can deteriorate so quickly the acid life of the moss?
We all know that we can keep nepenthes also even 5 years in their native soil...but I hardly can believe that using osmocote we can really cut life of acid soil to only 6 months.
Somebody has experiences for this question?
CAN OSMOCOTE REALLY SHORTEN SO MUCH SOIL LIFE PH ACIDITY?
Sure...I would also like some opinions of Robert from Borneo...
Mr_Aga
Milan - ITALY
I am agree with you.
Osmocote does sure make more effect on "unluckies" plants and on YOUNG plants because it can bring them in proudly way to reach their mature state.
I have buyed an osmocote for acid terrains so...do you really think this osmocote we are using can deteriorate so quickly the acid life of the moss?
We all know that we can keep nepenthes also even 5 years in their native soil...but I hardly can believe that using osmocote we can really cut life of acid soil to only 6 months.
Somebody has experiences for this question?
CAN OSMOCOTE REALLY SHORTEN SO MUCH SOIL LIFE PH ACIDITY?
Sure...I would also like some opinions of Robert from Borneo...
Mr_Aga
Milan - ITALY
Aga, my dear old friend, mygodyourenglish !!!! Read the message twice before posting, I do it too...
A clear sign that your soil is getting worse is all the moss that is growing on the sphagnum. Algae and moss on the compost are a sign of the process of rotting (and of many other things...), but they need to extend to great part of the soil surface before you can consider a plant at risk.
How fast the soil will last depends from your growing conditions. In Sri Lanka they use coconut fiber and they always have 70 percent humidity and 35 degrees in the lowland and 10-25 in the highlands. They use osmocote brand "x" and they repot every 6 months if I'm not wrong (the fiber seems to be not very long lasting but at the same time it comes away more easily from the roots when you repot, if compared to peat, and the plants almost don't suffer any stress).
Here we use peat (more long lasting), we use osmocote brand "Y" and our conditions are less extreme. That's why I say 6 months/one year. Also consider that bigger pots will last longer. A pot of 5 cm will last a few months (that's also why I suggest to use Osm only with smaller plants that need to be "woken up". With the old ones a few insects and foliar feeding are effective, and you don't have soil problems. Plus, small plants can be "woken up" and repot once every year without much stress).
I think the best solution at the moment - considering the variability of factors - is to check periodically our little plants and give an answer regarding OUR particular conditions. You'll clearly see signs if the soil is not good anymore, don't worry. The leaves yellowish a little bit, have burnt tips etc. I saw that happening at BE a few times, with too late repottings. So just check our plants and in a few months we'll give our audience an answer. My plants in 6 cm pots at the moment have a lot of algae but are growing fine!
Marcello
ps. Your reinw looks great, time to feed it with some serious chicken ?
A clear sign that your soil is getting worse is all the moss that is growing on the sphagnum. Algae and moss on the compost are a sign of the process of rotting (and of many other things...), but they need to extend to great part of the soil surface before you can consider a plant at risk.
How fast the soil will last depends from your growing conditions. In Sri Lanka they use coconut fiber and they always have 70 percent humidity and 35 degrees in the lowland and 10-25 in the highlands. They use osmocote brand "x" and they repot every 6 months if I'm not wrong (the fiber seems to be not very long lasting but at the same time it comes away more easily from the roots when you repot, if compared to peat, and the plants almost don't suffer any stress).
Here we use peat (more long lasting), we use osmocote brand "Y" and our conditions are less extreme. That's why I say 6 months/one year. Also consider that bigger pots will last longer. A pot of 5 cm will last a few months (that's also why I suggest to use Osm only with smaller plants that need to be "woken up". With the old ones a few insects and foliar feeding are effective, and you don't have soil problems. Plus, small plants can be "woken up" and repot once every year without much stress).
I think the best solution at the moment - considering the variability of factors - is to check periodically our little plants and give an answer regarding OUR particular conditions. You'll clearly see signs if the soil is not good anymore, don't worry. The leaves yellowish a little bit, have burnt tips etc. I saw that happening at BE a few times, with too late repottings. So just check our plants and in a few months we'll give our audience an answer. My plants in 6 cm pots at the moment have a lot of algae but are growing fine!
Marcello
ps. Your reinw looks great, time to feed it with some serious chicken ?
Hello Marcello!
My dear friend! i know...now you are really in better conditions for nepenthes growing! Please give a kiss to all those beauties thereeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!
Time to give our friends another little update :
Finally I am able to feed the reinwardtiana because pitchers are big enough!
Second news...: sphagnum does seem not to love so much osmocote....not it is yellow and not anymore green like before.Anyway..no problems at all because the Nepenthes is rooted in Acidmoss.
The first leafes now are beginning to grow outside the vase! ^_^
I am so happy!
Some of you FERTILIZE NEPENTHES WITH OSMOCOTE DIRECTLY INTO PITCHERS...: Some direct experiences?
Enjoy the photos!
Mr_Aga
Milan - ITALY
My dear friend! i know...now you are really in better conditions for nepenthes growing! Please give a kiss to all those beauties thereeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!
Time to give our friends another little update :
Finally I am able to feed the reinwardtiana because pitchers are big enough!
Second news...: sphagnum does seem not to love so much osmocote....not it is yellow and not anymore green like before.Anyway..no problems at all because the Nepenthes is rooted in Acidmoss.
The first leafes now are beginning to grow outside the vase! ^_^
I am so happy!
Some of you FERTILIZE NEPENTHES WITH OSMOCOTE DIRECTLY INTO PITCHERS...: Some direct experiences?
Enjoy the photos!
Mr_Aga
Milan - ITALY
nepenthes gracilis
Nepenthes Specialist
Thank you for the reply...
but tell me...: do you think that if I would ADD POISON into the pitcher the plant could die?
Is this possibile? Someone has already try if we can poison a plant trough its pitchers?
If I would add too much osmocote into the pitchers the biggest damage that I could receive is only the premature dead of the pitcher? Is it right what I am say?
Please give me your personal opinion!
Mr_Aga
Milan - ITALY
but tell me...: do you think that if I would ADD POISON into the pitcher the plant could die?
Is this possibile? Someone has already try if we can poison a plant trough its pitchers?
If I would add too much osmocote into the pitchers the biggest damage that I could receive is only the premature dead of the pitcher? Is it right what I am say?
Please give me your personal opinion!
Mr_Aga
Milan - ITALY
nepenthes gracilis
Nepenthes Specialist
Well I most certainly wouldn't add poison of any kind into the pitcher or near the plant at all....don't know why you would. If you want to poison a plant just spray it with herbacide! But, if you are asking if it would be possible to poison it via too many Osmocote pellets in a pitcher, your answer it no. The pitcher will die due to the large concentration of fertilizer in the fluid, it wouldn't harm the plant at all...less than poison it!
Nepenthes_gracilis,
my question is another : ( I was not able to let me understand).
If for example I put some soap ONLY into one plant pitchers....in your opinion what would happen?
The pitcher would die or the entire plant?
Are Nepenthes able to absorb from "what falls into their pitchers" only what really needs for its grow ?
This is my question,do you have any idea?
Mr_Aga73
Milano
my question is another : ( I was not able to let me understand).
If for example I put some soap ONLY into one plant pitchers....in your opinion what would happen?
The pitcher would die or the entire plant?
Are Nepenthes able to absorb from "what falls into their pitchers" only what really needs for its grow ?
This is my question,do you have any idea?
Mr_Aga73
Milano
[b said:
My understanding is that nepenthes pitchers selectively translocate ("absorb") substances impermeable to plant cell walls via transport channels. Cell wall-permeable substances can enter the plant passively.
I would imagine that most soaps (surfactants) 1) could not be absorbed and 2) would eventually kill the pitcher. Thus, the pitcher would die but the plant would not absorb the soap and thus survive.
I've never tried adding soap to a pitcher so this is just an educated guess.
AND SO NOW IT IS THE END OF A LONG STORY :
Forum of Petflytrap : Just have a look at this plant!
Now this Nepenthes is a very beautyfull plant!
Did you remember 6 months ago? It is incredible,isn't?
Yes...OSMOCOTE did its work very fine!
It helped the plant to come out from sufferences!
If you have nice pictures just post here in this tread.
See you and big greetings from Italy!
Mr_Aga
Milan - ITALY
Forum of Petflytrap : Just have a look at this plant!
Now this Nepenthes is a very beautyfull plant!
Did you remember 6 months ago? It is incredible,isn't?
Yes...OSMOCOTE did its work very fine!
It helped the plant to come out from sufferences!
If you have nice pictures just post here in this tread.
See you and big greetings from Italy!
Mr_Aga
Milan - ITALY
Hey Gang,
Thought I'd add my 2cents worth as I also played with Osmocote and did have somewhat of a control group....
These are 15 month old (since seed was laid) N. ventricosa x khasiana seedlings (suspect ID on the Khasi as I've never viewed the adult male). They were potted up individually in about September/October 2005.
When potting I added Osmocote to 6 of the new seedlings at a rate of 3 pellets per plant placed double the leaf distance from the plant.
The Osmocote is for Australian Natives and has a N
:K of 15:4.4:10. Pellets are all the same colour.
Results are in the photos:
Photo 1. are some of the hybrid seedlings that did NOT get Osmocote:
Photo 2. are the same seedlings, but that DID get Osmocote (note that the one in the middle back did not):
Photo 3. shows some pure N. ventricosa seedlings. The one on the left got none and the 4x on the right were treated the same as the above hybrids. However, all 5 were potted some months earlier and are a good 6 months older than the hybrids:
In terms of the Neps, its quite clear the difference in growth. Both the leaves and pitchers are substantially larger in those that received Osmocote. What is not quite as clear is the colour. Those with Osmocote are MUCH greener and look healthier and more robust overall.
In terms of the soil... you can see that moss is the less favorable variety in the pots WITH Osmocate. I suspect that the potting mix is also breaking down much quicker in those with Osmocote, so although they are growing bigger and faster, they will also be forced in to repotting earlier.
So I think that fixes the control issue, at least in these two very hardy varieties of Nep.
I am also about to do the same treatment to half of the following seedlings I have ready for their first potting:
N. ventricosa x alata (striped)
N. ventricosa x (albomarginata x vietchii)
AJ
Thought I'd add my 2cents worth as I also played with Osmocote and did have somewhat of a control group....
These are 15 month old (since seed was laid) N. ventricosa x khasiana seedlings (suspect ID on the Khasi as I've never viewed the adult male). They were potted up individually in about September/October 2005.
When potting I added Osmocote to 6 of the new seedlings at a rate of 3 pellets per plant placed double the leaf distance from the plant.
The Osmocote is for Australian Natives and has a N
:K of 15:4.4:10. Pellets are all the same colour.Results are in the photos:
Photo 1. are some of the hybrid seedlings that did NOT get Osmocote:
Photo 2. are the same seedlings, but that DID get Osmocote (note that the one in the middle back did not):
Photo 3. shows some pure N. ventricosa seedlings. The one on the left got none and the 4x on the right were treated the same as the above hybrids. However, all 5 were potted some months earlier and are a good 6 months older than the hybrids:
In terms of the Neps, its quite clear the difference in growth. Both the leaves and pitchers are substantially larger in those that received Osmocote. What is not quite as clear is the colour. Those with Osmocote are MUCH greener and look healthier and more robust overall.
In terms of the soil... you can see that moss is the less favorable variety in the pots WITH Osmocate. I suspect that the potting mix is also breaking down much quicker in those with Osmocote, so although they are growing bigger and faster, they will also be forced in to repotting earlier.
So I think that fixes the control issue, at least in these two very hardy varieties of Nep.
I am also about to do the same treatment to half of the following seedlings I have ready for their first potting:
N. ventricosa x alata (striped)
N. ventricosa x (albomarginata x vietchii)
AJ
Hi Aaron:
Very nice experiment. this is something i would have done myself, if i had more time to play with my neps.
I would like to congratulate you for your effort
I think the most difficult part is to interpret the results.
It is obvious that Osmocote has improved the growth and general well being of some of your seedlings. However, nothing in life is absolute
Not all plants that received osmocote have developed and grown at the same rate otherwise, all plants should have doubled in size and not just the majority. As a matter of fact, there are a couple which look just as those in the osmocote-free group.
It's always good to note that even though the Osmocote treated plants have outgrown those which did not have any.
the most dramatic effect seen is a "doubling in size" in the plants treated with this fertilizer.
The only feasible conclusion i can draw at this stage is that if a plant has the genetic predisposition to grow more vigorously than another, osmocote will definitely help. But if the plant has the genetic predisposition to be "a runt" there is very little that osmocote can do.
Gus
Very nice experiment. this is something i would have done myself, if i had more time to play with my neps.
I would like to congratulate you for your effort
I think the most difficult part is to interpret the results.
It is obvious that Osmocote has improved the growth and general well being of some of your seedlings. However, nothing in life is absolute
Not all plants that received osmocote have developed and grown at the same rate otherwise, all plants should have doubled in size and not just the majority. As a matter of fact, there are a couple which look just as those in the osmocote-free group.
It's always good to note that even though the Osmocote treated plants have outgrown those which did not have any.
the most dramatic effect seen is a "doubling in size" in the plants treated with this fertilizer.
The only feasible conclusion i can draw at this stage is that if a plant has the genetic predisposition to grow more vigorously than another, osmocote will definitely help. But if the plant has the genetic predisposition to be "a runt" there is very little that osmocote can do.
Gus
Gus,
The smallest of the treated plants is, at minimum, equal to the biggest of the untreated (irrespective of how the pics may make it look). In fact in those pics there is only one treated specimen that is small enough to say it is equal to the largest untreated specimen.
It is also possible that the smallest treated specimens were substantially smaller then the larger untreated ones when they were posted up. So although they may appear the same size now the treated may have still increased more in size proportionally to the untreated.
However, as you noted, genetic variability also plays a role. Growth rates are of the plants not even close equal in either of the two samples. Even prior to potting up there was a clear differential in size between the smallest and biggest of any individual plant from the same seed batch and in the same seed tray.
As for time to do it.... was nothing really. I had the seedlings sitting there, so figured why not throw some Osmocote in and see what happens. It was certainly never intended to be anything overly scientific. It was more just happenstance when I ended up with so many seedlings from the same seed batches and had enough for a small sample size of each.
So all other possible variables aside, its still pretty clear what effect the Osmocote is ‘capable’ of having on this hybrid and species.
Maybe I should get the vernier out for the next test batch to make sure I get accurate measurements in leaf and pitcher size increased proportional to the starting size
AJ
The smallest of the treated plants is, at minimum, equal to the biggest of the untreated (irrespective of how the pics may make it look). In fact in those pics there is only one treated specimen that is small enough to say it is equal to the largest untreated specimen.
It is also possible that the smallest treated specimens were substantially smaller then the larger untreated ones when they were posted up. So although they may appear the same size now the treated may have still increased more in size proportionally to the untreated.
However, as you noted, genetic variability also plays a role. Growth rates are of the plants not even close equal in either of the two samples. Even prior to potting up there was a clear differential in size between the smallest and biggest of any individual plant from the same seed batch and in the same seed tray.
As for time to do it.... was nothing really. I had the seedlings sitting there, so figured why not throw some Osmocote in and see what happens. It was certainly never intended to be anything overly scientific. It was more just happenstance when I ended up with so many seedlings from the same seed batches and had enough for a small sample size of each.
So all other possible variables aside, its still pretty clear what effect the Osmocote is ‘capable’ of having on this hybrid and species.
Maybe I should get the vernier out for the next test batch to make sure I get accurate measurements in leaf and pitcher size increased proportional to the starting size
AJ
