Date: Sat, 18 Apr 1998 11:20:04 +0100 From: "Adrian Arnold" <acarnold@acis.co.uk> To: cp@opus.hpl.hp.com Message-Id: <aabcdefg1306$foo@default> Subject: Re: strangeness abounds
> Date: Wed, 15 Apr 1998 00:14:57 -0400
> From: charles <charles@dorsai.org>
> To: cp@opus.hpl.hp.com
> Subject: strangeness abounds
> 1. why is it that i have 3 vft that i have grown from seed, about 9
> months to a year old and they are scarcely bigger than a 25 cent piece?
>
> 2. i have 2 california darlingtonia, grown from seed that just are not
> growing...they are alive...but that is all i can say....
>
> i am stumped...
I don't think this is particularly surprising - I have noticed this myself
and it seems logical that as these are plants, they germinate and grow
initially on what energy reserves they have within the seed. Once these
reserves are used up - fairly quickly in the case of small seeds, they have
to rely on nutrients from the soil. Unfortunately, in the case of CP's
which live in nutrient deficient soils, this may take some time until they
can grow enough to catch some nutrients.
Whilst it is obviously true that these plants cannot tolerate nutrient rich
soils, I don't believe that they cannot tolerate any nutrients at all - I
live near Dartmoor National Park (UK) where there are huge colonies of D.
rotundifolia and many horses/cattle/sheep which regularly fertilise the
areas concerned and to no apparent ill effect! Whilst I hesitate to suggest
the above as a means of increasing growth(!), it may be appropriate to
consider the judicious application of a small quantity of dilute foliar
feed to the leaves of the plantlets from time to time, especially the traps
as these are designed specifically to absorb nutrients fairly quickly.
Worth experimenting?
Regards,
Adrian Arnold.
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