Fertilizer - Cultivating Carnivorous Plants (2015)

Cultivating Carnivorous Plants (2015)

Fertilizer

The last “basics” which will not be covered elsewhere is fertilizer. Older carnivorous plant manuals and

some growing guides that have not stayed up with the times will say “never fertilize carnivorous plants.” This

is the biggest fallacy when it comes to carnivorous plants. Most plants can be fertilized, it just requires a

delicate touch.

The most realistic fertilizer is insects. For plants outside, they will catch plenty of their own insects. For

plants inside, you might have to supplement with freeze-dried bloodworms, dried crickets, etc. These “food”

items can be found in most pet stores worldwide, as they are often used as food for pet reptiles or

amphibians. Freeze dried bloodworms, or other small insects, work well as food for Byblis, Drosera, and other

sticky-leaved carnivores, which often do

not respond well to foliar fertilizer. For

plants that are adapted to catching

smaller insects, such as Pinguicula or

pygmy Drosera, you’ll want to powderize

the

bloodworms

before

feeding.

Otherwise, you risk burning the leaves as

the bloodworms are incredibly rich in

nutrients.

For larger trapped plants, such as

Nepenthes and Sarracenia, it would quickly

become expensive to buy enough insects

to feed the plants. It is usually much

cheaper

to

purchase

time-release

fertilizer pellets aimed at flowering plants

(~14-14-14 NPK) and place one or two

pellets in each trap. Since these pellets

contain a hefty dose of fertilizer, small

traps should only get a small pellet in

order to avoid leaf burn. Larger traps can

handle a few pellets, but note that if they

congregate at the bottom of the trap,

they can cause leaf burn.

Recent experiments by some growers

have shown that adding a few of these

pellets into Nepenthes or Sarracenia mixes

(usually two or three per medium-sized

pot) can boost growth. Usually, however,

Some commonly used fertilizers include:

I simply place them in the plant’s

MaxSea, Osmocote, and Bloodworms.

trapping apparatus, which is already

designed to absorb nutrients.

Many carnivorous plants also respond well to foliar feeding with orchid fertilizers or seaweed based foliar

fertilizers diluted to ¼ - ½ their ordinary strength. The brand most often mentioned in this regard is MaxSea

(16-16-16- NPK), but other brands work equally well. I would recommend first using a foliar fertilizer on a

test plant or two before applying to a whole collection. That way, you’ll avoid burning more than one plant, if

the fertilizer turns out to be too harsh for carnivores.

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CULTIVATING CARNIVOROUS PLANTS

Please note that some genera, such as Pinguicula and Drosera, often do not respond well to foliar fertilizer.

Others, such as terrestrial Utricularia, can really only be fertilized effectively by using foliar fertilizer.

Many growers are beginning to experiment with introducing mycorrhizal and trichoderma fungi. This is a new

area of fertilization, and much is still unknown with regard to carnivorous plants. Both of these genera of

fungi have symbiotic relationships with many plants. This symbiotic relationship allows the plants to uptake

soil nutrients more effectively and, in exchange, the fungi get some other nutrients back from the plants. So

far, these two genera of fungi seem to boost the growth of most species of Nepenthes, but experiments are still

ongoing for other genera.

Lastly, I have to mention coffee. Brewed, cold, leftover coffee without any additives is a good basic

fertilizer for Nepenthes. Since coffee beans are naturally designed to be high in nutrients, as they are the

foodstuff for newly germinated coffee plants, it should not be surprising that brewed coffee is high in

nutrients good for plant growth. Innumerable growers have experimented with dumping leftover coffee on

their Nepenthes and found that it does, indeed, promote growth. Note, however, that it does have a couple

drawbacks. First, coffee can kill live sphagnum moss. Many growers plant their Nepenthes in live sphagnum

and coffee fertilization does significant harm to the sphagnum, which can be avoided by feeding with orchid

fertilizer. Second, using coffee will result in a persistent, if faint, smell of coffee near your collection. Not

everyone may be pleased to smell coffee all the time.

.

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