Osmocote

[mattynatureboy44]

I am just curious to know if anyone has used or uses osmocote on their cephalotus, I read and saw some good pictures on a american forum that some plants had responded very well with a pellet in the pitchers, has anyone tried it? and has anyone tried osmocote in the soil media with a cephalotus.

Edited June 4, 2011 by mattybadboy44

[mobile]

I have added Osmocote to a Cephalotus mix in the past. I didn't notice any negative effects, though I personally prefer a more controlled method of adding a liquid root fertiliser, as I can control the strength of this. There's often discussion on which fertilisers are best but one has to bear in mind that most of the artificial ones contain the same or very similar ingredients, just in differing concentrations. I would not put Osmocote into the pitchers, as they are likely to breakdown quickly in a liquid solution.

[Cephman]

I have used it in the pitchers. If I place just 1 pellet in a pitcher every few months I did not see any problems. More than that can kill the pitcher. It is much safer to use either betta fish food pellets in the pitcher or fertlize the soil with a mild solution of orchid fertlizer. I would not use fertlizer at all if you can't afford to loose the plant.

[mobile]

I tend to use hydroponics nutrients, as they are usually formulated to contain all the essential nutrients and trace elements and also contain non-urea nitrogen (which is what is used in good quality orchid fertilisers).

[Marcus B]

I am just curious to know if anyone has used or uses osmocote on their cephalotus, I read and saw some good pictures on a american forum that some plants had responded very well with a pellet in the pitchers, has anyone tried it? and has anyone tried osmocote in the soil media with a cephalotus.

I have not used the Osmocot pellets on my Cephs, but I do use the Miracle Gro for acid loving plants, in a dilute form. It seems to produce good growth, as does adding ants, ant eggs or baby crickets to the pitchers. You just have to be careful not to add to many at once, or to use large ants. Mealworms and large ants (20 mm) both result in pitchers rotting. I now have so many Cephs that I stick to the spray fertlizer, as there are way too many pitchers to feed directly.