Date: Mon, 03 Mar 1997 09:42:15 -0800 From: Wim Leys <leyswi@lin.vlaanderen.be> To: cp@opus.hpl.hp.com Message-Id: <aabcdefg784$foo@default> Subject: Re : Feeding Sarrs
Hi,
(This is my second reply, I could not find the first one in the CP
Digest. I'm sorry if this message would appear twice.)
> I've heard that you can "feed" Sarracenias by pouring ordinary
> flower nutrition into the pitchers. Is this true, and if so, which
> "dose" of fertilizer should I use compared to "ordinary" flowers and
> which part of the year could this be applied? Could Nephentes be fed
> the same way? Are there any positive effects, in terms of growth, by
> doing so?
I have used diluted fertiliser (1/4th strength) to poor into the
pitchers of Sarracenia's for a number of years. As I did not set up a
blank experiment (pouring pure water in the pitchers) I can't give you a
scientific proof about the effects but they certainly did not show any
ill effects. Be carefull not to pour too much solution into the
pitchers, they will become too heavy and bend over (no problem for S.
purpurea).
I currently do it with Heliamphora. I have stopped growing Nepenthes,
but I also poured the same diluted fertiliser solution into their
pitchers.
Now that my plant collection exceeds 2000 plants, I stopped this time
consuming method (except for my Heliamphora's). I tried foliar feed (1/2
strength) afterwards, again without a blank and again without any ill
effects for the plants, but I know commercial growers use this method,
so it must be beneficial to the plants.
I did get black mildew. It appears always from midsummer. Some plants
become "totally" black (S. minor, S. x excellens, ...). Can someone give
me any advise of how to avoid / treat this (All the windows and the door
are always left open during the whole summer and autumn)? I stopped
using foliar feed as someone told me the foliar feed may contain trace
elements that can stimulate the growth of black mildew. I doubt about
that, because it returns year after year, even when I do not use foliar
feed.
I found out that using pineapple needles stimulates the growth of CP's
without the use of any other fertiliser (the mixture I use is 3:1:1:1
peat : sieved pineapple needles : washed coarse sand : perlite (expanded
aluminiumsilicate)).
I think it's because the needles decompose slowly and thus give away
their nutrients slowly. In this way, the plants get a low but constant
supply of nutrients that do not burn their root system, but stimulates
their growth.
The effects are most visible with seedlings, as they can not yet catch
prey from the air and have to get their nutrients from the soil. I
noticed a stunning effect on Dionaea seedlings of 1 year old (half of
them were replanted the next year in a "normal" mixture (6 : 2 : 1 peat
: perlite : sand) the other half was replanted in the new mixture (4 : 2
: 2 : 1 peat : needles : perlite : sand (in the mean time I have changed
to the above 3:1:1:1-mixture)). The second group grew out to mature
plants in one season and some even flowered during that autumn (I know
that's the wrong time of year, but sometimes they do)). The first group
grew at their normal (?) slow pace.
Hope this helps.
Wim
-- Wim Leys, ministerie van de Vlaamse Gemeenschap, afdeling Informatica LIN W.T.C.III-lokaal 1053, Simon Bolivarlaan 30, B-1000 Brussel, Belgium mailto:leyswi@lin.vlaanderen.be tel +32 2 208 33 02 fax +32 2 208 31 13
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