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Leapin' Leopards!!!

From today's blog post about Nepenthes fertilization, the following excerpt:

In September, I researched what Orchid-friendly formulas were available to me and selected one made by Dyna-Gro: a 7-8-9 NPK formula, containing no urea. As suggested by many other Nepenthes growers, I did not use it as a root application, instead applying it as a very dilute foliar misting every few weeks. As I continued to research Nepenthes' nutritional needs, I discovered a number of recommendations for Seaweed fertilizers, which could, because of their low nutrient content, be applied to the root zone of the plants. I opted to try Maxicrop's seaweed formula, with a nutrient content of 1-0-4 NPK, applied no more than every two weeks, with generous flushings of plain water in between applications, to remove any accumulated nutrients. (Nepenthes are sensitive to soil conductivity exceeding certain, very low levels, which is why traditional fertilizers, which tend to accumulate salts in the media, become toxic)

And so, my plan was this: occasional mistings with a very dilute Orchid fertilizer (one or two drops in 32 ounces of water) plus once a month I would apply the Maxicrop Seaweed at recommended dilution (One teaspoon per gallon) to the soil/root zone. While it is far too soon to glean anything genuinely meaningful from my experiment, (especially since I started so late in the season) I have witnessed an increase in pitcher size since I began this treatment. Case in point: the photo you see here.
photo-12.jpg


Here is the rest of the article for your reading pleasure: http://nitrogenseekers.wordpress.com/2011/11/29/nepenthes-red-leopard-makes-a-leap/
 
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As you can plainly see fertilizer is bad and doesn't work! :lol:



Nice - your blog entries are what I wish I had the time and energy to make mine into.
 
They look great!! I think you may have changed my mind about the seaweed additive I bought (GO Bio Weed) I just might give it a shot after all:)
 
I water all my neps once a month with maxsea fertilizer and so far it's only been positive results
 
@swords: yup, clearly the case here, although as I noted in my full blog article, numerous other factors may have played a role in the leap in pitcher size. I do feel that the additional nutrients made available had to have contributed to the effect.

@tje25: Good luck. The trick is to err on the side of minimal application, at least at first. You have to watch for signs of toxic effects.

Note: I had to correct an error in the article: the Maxicrop Seaweed is applied at one teaspoon per gallon, not one tablespoon. Never quote dilution rates from remembory!

---------- Post added at 12:56 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:54 PM ----------

@mikefallen: once a month at recommended dilution? Do you apply as often and at the same rate during winter months as well? (Perhaps you grow under lights; I don't: my plants are in a dedicated greenhouse, and so day-length and light intensity drop in the winter months.)
 
I use urea free orchid fert 20-10-10 on my neps 0nce a month at 1/4 stranth with great success, and have experimented with time release osmocote pellets for nepenthes seedlings with spectacular results. Heck, I've even got a N.ventricosa and a N.gracilis growing in miracle grow orchid mix that has a runoff reading of 900 PPM...and they look fantastic!

So far I'm finding that neps are far less sensitive than is commonly said.
 
Now that something to look forward too! For me, the vigorous species show the most increase in size for pitchers when I fertilize them.
 
Very nice, I've always been to lazy to start to use fertiliser on my Neps but after this I'm going to have to give it a go!
 
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I hope you will read my full blog article that this is excerpted from; (http://nitrogenseekers.wordpress.com) I do mention that other factors have likely influenced the sudden increase in pitcher size. It cannot be concluded with certainty that the increase in available nutrients was the sole influencing factor. Nutrient availability likely contributed, but was undoubtedly not the only reason.
 
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