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How to fertilize a pitcher?

  • Thread starter Zhen_77
  • Start date
A few days ago I bought a fertilizer for orchids 5-4-6 and I would like to fertilize a Nepenthe, in what proportion would I have to dilute it and how much fertilizer would have to put in the pitcher? :hail:
 
I'd go with whatever the fertilizer instructions say or 1/4 teaspoon of fertilizer diluted in 1 gallon of distilled/deionized/RO/rain water, whichever results in a less concentrated solution. Once you have that stock fertilizer solution, fill the pitchers to around half-full (though I've completely filled small pitchers with no problems). After you've done this a few times and established that the concentration of fertilizer you're using isn't too strong for your neps, you can increase the concentration if you want (e.g. 1/2 teaspoon instead). Based on the nutrient break down of your fertilizer, I don't think 1/4 teaspoon to 1 gallon of water will be too strong, though.
 
1/4 tsp. per gallon is more than enough for most carnivores especially if you're putting a lot into several pitchers. DO NOT just fill pitchers half-full however; if the digestion zone is lower than that you will burn the upper pitcher walls and lose the rest of the pitcher above the digestion line. Find that line, and do not fill it up beyond that (the extent of that zone depends on the species; some are low down and take up less than a fifth of the pitcher, in others you're safe filling nearly the entire pitcher, such as in ampullaria).
Before you attempt using the fertilizer however, you should check what the source of the nitrogen in the fertilizer is. If it is urea-based, generally not good for carnivores; most orchid fertilizers are not an issue here, but you should double check.
 
The aforementioned burning of the upper pitchers is the main reason why I don't fertilize pitchers anymore. Even if you're careful to keep the liquid level in the digestion zone, the fluid level can naturally raise before all the fertilizer is absorbed by the plant. This is particularly a problem with slow release fertilizer pellets like Osmocote. I only feed them solid food (insects or fish food) or will use liquid fertiizer as a foliar feed.
 
Thank you very much to everyone for the tips, it's more complicated than I thought because inevitably when adding the fertilizer the level of the liquids will rise above the line of digestion. Could I take a part of the digestive liquid with a syringe and substitute it with the fertilizer solution?
 
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