mobile Posted July 27, 2014 Report Share Posted July 27, 2014 I've never tried any ericaceous fertilisers on CPs, but seen this one the other day so might give it a try: http://www.focus-on-plants.com/products/product.php?id_prod=2 It's made by the same people as Orchid Focus and Ionic which I currently use on CPs and other plants. It also contains seaweed extract. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil Green Posted July 27, 2014 Report Share Posted July 27, 2014 some of the worlds rainforests which are typically very high nutrient environments also contain carnivorous plants. regards paul Paul - that isn't actually correct, although a common misconception - all that growth makes it look like the soils 'must be' nutrient rich. Rainforest soils (and many forests) are actually nutrient poor, most of the nutrients are locked up in the living tissues of the plants and animals which live there. It is when these die, that the nutrients are released but quickly taken up by the other plants to grow. That is why 'slash and burn' farming has to keep moving on. The nutrients released only feed crops for a few years, before being depleted. I use just regular Baby Bio (at about half strength) when feeding my CP's, sometimes as a foliar feed, often directly into the pitchers. I also just pop slow release pellets into pitchers (Neps, Heli, Ceph, Sarra). 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest paul y Posted July 28, 2014 Report Share Posted July 28, 2014 hi phil, rainforests being nutrient poor isn't strictly the case, I studied plant biology and ecosystems at a level in college and the largest part of that was studying the flora of rainforests found in south east asia, part of that course focused on the fertility of soils found in rainforests, it really comes down to which forest and where, for example the eastern Amazonian rainforest is typically ancient soil with a high leaching very low in potassium which affects carbon uptake thus restricting growth, the western Amazonian (Ecuador and peru) is on very young very rich soil that is the result of recent volcanic activity, wood production rates are highest in the western parts of the Amazonian, a large part of the worlds rainforests, can be found on nutrient rich floodplains and volcanic soils including the Andean foothills and the vast majority of south east asia Africa and central American rainforests are found here. because rainforests are typically hot and humid the decomposition rates of leaf matter and other organics is very high, so is the rate at which these available nutrients are taken up by various plants, the amount of raw nutrients available in a rainforest is incredibly high compared to other ecosystem, its part of the reason why trees in rainforests evolved buttress roots, its to cover as much area as possible to increase their ability to absorb nutrients before some other rapidly growing plant gets them first. I look at rainforests a bit like the fast lane on a motorway with no traffic laws, with rain lots and lots of rain, where everything eats something else and in turn gets eaten itself, an overheated pressure cooker of evolution with very few rules and lots and lots of rain did I mention the rain? paul Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
S Krelbourn Posted February 2, 2015 Report Share Posted February 2, 2015 Sorry to resurrect an old post but here's my two penneth re fertiliser. First I have to say I have NO Experience of growing cps, but quite a few years growing orchids, many years ago, when phalaenopsis could only be bought at specialist and overpriced specialist nurseries, I struggled to grow them. The received wisdom was that they could only be grown as nature intended, fertilised only by humming bird droppings and the odd monkey trump, as a result my plants languished pitifully. However the plant that I had given to my mother romped away sat In full sun ( another no no) on her kitchen windowsill. I discovered that her secret was full strength miracle growth and plenty of it. Over the years I found that hybrids in particular can stand plenty of fertiliser if their roots are regularly flushed with clean water to prevent salt build up and urea based fertilisers are avoided, though caution is the watch word. Still what does this mean for sarracenia? Should the fertiliser be applied into the pitcher, as the roots have not developed for the uptake of nutrients, yet the pitchers have? What is the nutritional value of a blue bottle? What branded fertiliser most closely replicates it? Phil Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FredG Posted February 2, 2015 Report Share Posted February 2, 2015 Are you growing indoors or in a greenhouse Phil? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adelae Posted February 3, 2015 Report Share Posted February 3, 2015 I'm not UK, but brunnings (yes bRunnings not Bunnings) NPK works great for my nepenthes, utricularia, sarracenia and stylidium. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
S Krelbourn Posted February 3, 2015 Report Share Posted February 3, 2015 As soon as I have built it, I'll be growing in a greenhouse. I must stress this is my first season with sarracenia and so have no practical experience with them , but my experience with orchids many years ago found that often plants will take much higher doses than common wisdom suggests as long as salts are not allowed to build on the roots. Phil Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FredG Posted February 3, 2015 Report Share Posted February 3, 2015 Sarracenia in a greenhouse shouldn't need any fertilisers, they are perfectly capable of attracting their prey. The same really applies to all the other carnivores in my experience. The main reason for fertilising carnivorous plants arises when they are grown more unnaturally indoors especially in a terrarium. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
S Krelbourn Posted February 3, 2015 Report Share Posted February 3, 2015 I understand the appeal of the natural approach, and I wish no disrespect when I say by definition gardening plays with nature. From how great a range do sarracenias attract their prey? In a given range there must be a finite amount of flies and if you have an unnaturally high concentration of sarracenias will there be enough to go around all the plants? Do many people resort to using cat food to attract extra or resort to buying a pint of casters from the local fishing tackle shop? Can this unnatural approach ( some may call it pottering, chuffing or messing about) add to the plants we grow or as Fred suggests they can achieve their full potential left to their own devices? Phil Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FredG Posted February 3, 2015 Report Share Posted February 3, 2015 Your Sarracenia pitchers will fill in a greenhouse. There is no need to fertilise, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ada Posted February 3, 2015 Report Share Posted February 3, 2015 overdosing sarra's with manmade fertilizer can cause them to grow twisted and deformed if you're not careful Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
linuxman Posted February 3, 2015 Report Share Posted February 3, 2015 Your Sarracenia pitchers will fill in a greenhouse. There is no need to fertilise, I agree with Fred on this. The only thing I do leave the g/h door open on sunny days and the plants attract the flies without any help. I do put up a netting barrier in the door way to keep out the local cats as they love jumping up on the benches! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
S Krelbourn Posted February 4, 2015 Report Share Posted February 4, 2015 Au natural it is then Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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