Some fertilised ceph cuttings at different ages/propogation types

[SoLongFairWell]

Orchids Ultra is not a fertilizer, it is humic and fulvic acids. I use it too, but as a companion to fertilizer.

And what do the humics and fulvics do?

[SoLongFairWell]

I questioned Barry Rice and Phill Mann some time ago about the Coal Mine Beach aspect. I was told that it was south facing, so if you want to attempt to replicate the conditions in the Northern hemisphere we should be growing facing North.

Do you guys think they may grow bigger traps in the shade?

[mobile]

And what do the humics and fulvics do?

They are supposedly growth enhancers. Peat is high in humid acid.

[ada]

Do you guys think they may grow bigger traps in the shade?

NO doubt about it Richard.If you do a search,its all been talked about before.

Grow them in the shade for bigger traps,then bring them out to colour up.

While i think on,also if you plant root cuttings vertically you will get a bigger plant develope than if you plant them horizontally.Horizontally you get more but smaller plants.

I hope you're taking notes Richard,i'll be asking questions later.

ada

[SoLongFairWell]

I shall be moving mine in the shade then. My cuttings are rooting in water horizontally. So can they still go upright when the ended up getting planted up?

[gardenofeden]

One of the problems with growing in lower light levels, and fertilising, is that the lusher growth can be more susceptible to fungal attack.

[ada]

They will have already started to grow as horizontal cuttings.They must be planted vertically to grow larger plants from the offset.

[ada]

One of the problems with growing in lower light levels, and fertilising, is that the lusher growth can be more susceptible to fungal attack.

especially as the damper/still days without much sun of autumn approach.

[SoLongFairWell]

Preventative fungal spray?

[FredG]

Preventative fungal spray?

Why not just stop fertilising

[snapperhead51]

Do you guys think they may grow bigger traps in the shade?

Richard

I do this here in my G/h to get bigger pitchers ,shad the plants in summer and put them in full sun in winter to colour up with the heat of summer, for me here , heat and sun means small pitchers, cool and shade in growing season mean less colour but much larger pitchers

, this is my experience in my little part of the world !.

john

[corky]

Why not just stop fertilising

do you mean don,t fertilise at all Fred or just in the cooler times of year when growth slows,do you not think that fertilising has had great results for Matty

[FredG]

Why do you need to fertilise? Are you a commercial enterprise trying to maximise profit?

[corky]

i see your point Fred,but i must admit you sound a more patient person than i am,i just like it when my plants grow at a faster pace,plus i do not think my cephs catch much in the way of insects as they are indoors

Edited August 18, 2013 by corky

[ada]

I think the more experienced growers are trying to warn of the dangers of fertilizing at the wrong time of year.

Soft green growth is very susceptible to attack by mould in the autumn,no one wants anyone to lose their plants(cephs are expensive to replace)

Matt has had time and experience to do this on spare plants and progressed to mature plants,he also says he has stopped fertilising now.

Try to work with nature at the right time of year and not force it at the wrong time.

ada

[ada]

I think the more experienced growers are trying to warn of the dangers of fertilizing at the wrong time of year.

Soft green growth is very susceptible to attack by mould in the autumn,no one wants anyone to lose their plants(cephs are expensive to replace)

Matt has had time and experience to do this on spare plants and progressed to mature plants,he also says he has stopped fertilising now.

Try to work with nature at the right time of year and not force it at the wrong time.

ada

[petesredtraps]

Good advice Adrian, and I think the thing to do with mature Cephs ,if they are still growing a little in autumn,is to feed directly into the pitchers,no more foliar feeding or drenching.

[corky]

good advice,i was only fertilising in the warmer sunnier months anyway,just wondered why fred had such an aversion to it,i also came to the conclusion myself to water from above to flush the roots (must be getting the general idea)

Edited August 18, 2013 by corky

[gardenofeden]

I think a lot of people have an aversion to fertilising. It can pose a risk to plants through over feeding or fungal attack so why take the risk? They grow fast enough without, naturally, and have better colour too :)

[FredG]

Corky

It's not an aversion, I fertilised my Big Boy for a short time in the early 80s. Cephalotus weren't particulary common then and Big Boy was ( and still is) to my knowledge the first of the so called 'giants' in cultibvation ( 1983). It was to get material for cuttings faster. I applied half strength seaweed fertiliser directly into pitchers in summer. Once I'd distributed a few plants the fertilisation stopped.

Considering the number of topics and posts in the carnivorous plant fora about getting nutrient free media for use with our plants it just seems strange that once we've acquired such we then go and start spraying fertiliser all over it. As Stephen has said, fertilising can cause more problems than not fertilising so why do it?

Not long ago someone posted about chopping up bloodworm to feed to Stylidium flower stems. I think some people have too much spare time

[snapperhead51]

I agree with Fred & Stephen , I tried ferts long long time ago , and killed more than it grew well for me ! ,ferts have changed since then too admittedly from 16 year ago !!! , now only pitcher feed infrequently with natural food they have in wild or similar

works much better ., 100% results . the addition of very good air low over the plants is essential as well , for very good reasons .

[corky]

thanks for explaining in detail,and sorry Matty for the thread hijack

[SoLongFairWell]

I just find that my Ceph isn't a quick grower. But I guess there's no real surprise there as I bought it from Bug Traps along with free fungus. I'd love to have a decent plant, I really would. I shall save up and get a Hummer's Giant as they seem to be the most readily available large clone on this site.

[mattynatureboy44]

,and sorry Matty for the thread hijack

Not at all, its all good stuff and what a forum is for.

I pretty much agree with both sides of the coin on the fertilising subject, which is why I have only fertilised some plants and not others as an experimentation. I have to say I have never seen growth rates like it in any of my cephs before and even over the last few days more pitchers have opened and more leaves and new growth is emerging on those plants at a very fast rate, but I only have my plants to compare with maybe others have similar or better growth without fertilisation? obviously I can't put it all down to the fertiliser anyway as overall conditions, good clones and the health of plants will all play a role in good growth rates. I will take a picture of the same plants again a week after the first ones were taken and those of you who are interested can observe the growth rates for yourselves.

Even though I have stopped fertilising it will obviously still have an effect and be present in the plants and soil for a while. I will also top up old and fill new pitchers with small amounts of fertiliser for a few more weeks while the plants are still actively growing.

But as mentioned by a few experienced growers in this thread fertilising is not needed and can sometimes if not done correctly or in the wrong conditions or wrong time of year and lower light levels it can be detrimental to the plant and even contribute to or cause it's death. I wouldn't personally advise anyone to experiment unless they have a few spares they are willing to loose first in case it all goes wrong! Get the basics right and get them growing well first, fertilising an unhappy or unhealthy plant wont help! and I certainly wouldn't start experimenting this time of year or in low light levels.

[petesredtraps]

I think fertilizing via the pitchers is the answer for those who wish to do it. This is the way Jonathan Boone suggested,and once again using orchid fertilizer, he too witnessed growth spurts with this method. At least via pitcher feeding there seems to be a safety net, in as much as if you over do it, the pitcher will die, and not the entire plant.