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Growth and feeding poll - How do you feed and it's effects

  • They catch lots of insects on their own and I don't suppliment.

    Votes: 36 19.1%
  • They infrequently catch insects and I don't suppliment.

    Votes: 22 11.7%
  • They are not able to catch insects and I don't suppliment.

    Votes: 7 3.7%
  • I regularly put food into the pitchers.

    Votes: 62 33.0%
  • I use liquid fertilizer sprayed onto the leaves.

    Votes: 10 5.3%
  • I use fertilizer at the root zone (liquid or slow release).

    Votes: 7 3.7%
  • I drench the entire plant with fertilizer.

    Votes: 9 4.8%
  • I feed the pitchers AND use fertilizer on the leaves or roots.

    Votes: 35 18.6%

  • Total voters
    188
  • #61
...Is it necessary to crush them into a powder to feed them like how it is done with drosera or can I feed them whole? I know crushing them will increase their surface area which means it gets digested faster but I am just wondering if I can just drop one or two in per pitcher.

I would say just drop them in, like how it is in nature, although it's probably fine either way.
 
  • #62
I think that the surface area of the meal worms will matter that much. I actually just listened this Saturday to a very interesting talk about how incredibly effective the enzymes in the pitcher fluid are. All you are really going to get is a big bloody mess if you mash them.
 
  • #63
I feed my one, little nepenthes beta food every other week in a fully developed pitcher. It keeps putting out new pitchers with this diet. So far, so good.
 
  • #64
At the end of June, I bought three Neps (ampullaria Williams Red x Harlequin, bicalcarata Brunei Orange Clone, and kongkandana) in tall 3 inch pots. Repotted them w/out pots. Only fed them ants occasionally until end of September. Throughout that period one (kong.) sprouted a basal, two (amp. and kong.) pitchered well, but had small, pinky sized pitchers.

At end of September, began diluted MaxSea treatment as per Savage Garden, repotted them all w/out pots, moved locations, set them up with growlights instead of just window light, and still occasionally fed ants and other bugs that I saw around the house (most of which disappeared by the first week of November).

By beginning of December it was obvious that I needed bigger terrariums (had two small ones, maybe 15 gallons total, but I don't think it was that much). The bical had it's first two pitchers, the second being about as big as a thimble. The amp. has 3 inch tall pitchers, with the newest two pitchers being almost twice as big as the former three, and leaves being twice as long as in September (3 times as long as at the end of June). The kong., which had gone into shock after its second repotting and lost all its pitchers, now has a third basal and pitchers on every leaf.

A couple days after Christmas, I bought a 29 gallon aquarium w/glass lid as a new terrarium. Repotted all my plants. All three now necessitate a 6 inch pot. The amp root system is a little small for the 6 inch pot, but the bical fits nicely, with a little extra room for media, while the kong really needs an 8 inch pot given its rapid growth.

Based on this, I feel as though the MaxSea helps growth and stabilize the plants whenever they move. Since repotting, although it has only been a few days, I haven't seen any of the plants go into shock (but we'll see if the bical, which is notoriously finky, continues to produce leaves and pitchers).
 
  • #65
My house has a resident population of fruit flies, so my Neps catch many on their own. I am however, tempted to offer some carpenter ants I have around, too.

Anyone ever try cockroach? I have not, as I suspect they are too large for a nep to handle. I have colonies of Madagascar hissers and Dubia.
 
  • #66
My nepenthes catch large American roaches. While they can easily handle one or two, any more than that and the pitchers usually rot. Either way the smell is quite overpowering.
 
  • #67
I feed my plants osmocote pellets whenever a new pitcher opens or the plant finishes the previous pellet
 
  • #68
My house has a resident population of fruit flies, so my Neps catch many on their own. I am however, tempted to offer some carpenter ants I have around, too.
Anyone ever try cockroach? I have not, as I suspect they are too large for a nep to handle. I have colonies of Madagascar hissers and Dubia.

You can easily feed a nymph of either species to your pitchers. I've kept both species, but now I'm only keeping Orange Head Roaches.
 
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