Misting Fertilizers on Leaves

[runnervalentine]

I have heard this can help as long as it is not leeching into the soil. now the question is, What kind of fertilizer is used, how much, how frequently, and which of my plants can i use it on to gain a beneficial effect, and where can i get it?

I have a VFT, a NA pitcher, and a sundew (not 100% but i believe a cape)

also, a quick slightly unrelated question, I read on here that perlit can be damaging to CPs? is that only seedlings or will it hurt a mature plant? I used 50-50 perlite and pete ( i will prob use 1-4 perl to pete next time or use sand) also there was no added fertilizer to either pete or perl

[zhilin]

I used the MaxSea, with 1/4 tsp per Gallon. Sprayed the plants once a week. The Golden Rule popular among orchids growers is also valid for growing CPs:"fertilize weakly and weekly".

You can also use orchid fertilizer (but do not use the Miracal-Gro Band") which includes more N, less P and K.

I mist fertilizers on leaves of all my CPs, including neps, sundews, sarrs. VFTs, and darlintonia. No bad effect is observed. In fact, the plants are all growing fast. But I don't know whether this is due to the fertilizer or due to the warmer weather.

You can buy these fertilizers from any garden shops or CP nurseries or orchid nurseries, or buy via internet.

If you double-checked that your perlite has not been added fertilizer, then it is safe for CPs.

Jun 2, 2010 4:42:17 GMT runnervalentine said:

I have heard this can help as long as it is not leeching into the soil. now the question is, What kind of fertilizer is used, how much, how frequently, and which of my plants can i use it on to gain a beneficial effect, and where can i get it?

I have a VFT, a NA pitcher, and a sundew (not 100% but i believe a cape)

also, a quick slightly unrelated question, I read on here that perlit can be damaging to CPs? is that only seedlings or will it hurt a mature plant? I used 50-50 perlite and pete ( i will prob use 1-4 perl to pete next time or use sand) also there was no added fertilizer to either pete or perl

[peterhewitt]

Just a word of caution. Un leached perlite can increase the EC value of water significantly, you would be well advised to wash and leach perlite before using.

[runnervalentine]

thanks for the info bout fertilizers zhilin.

... i did not prewash my perlite, its been 4 days since i repotted... they look... ok... anything i can do now? flood the pots? or just hope... my lack of patience is my critical flaw... i just want them to look good and flourish then i will be able to relax.

thanks for the info.

ps. do most people use the mist fertilizer? not that i dont trust you zhilin, i am just curious.

[peterhewitt]

re: Misting, it depends on what is being fertilized, i feed Nepenthes through the soil, and most others foliar feed. If you water heavily a few times, and let the water drain away, it will leach dilutable solids from the Perlite.

[runnervalentine]

so you actually use fertilizer in the soil for tropical picthers (nepenths, trying to remember the proper names) what about saccerians (purple/red NA pitchers) soil feed them? foliar feed is through the leaves?

[peterhewitt]

a foliar feed is a light misting of the leaves. this i do with Sarracenia and VFT's as soil fertilization of Sarracenia was never done in the past.
Other growers are now experimenting with soil fertilization of Sarracenia seedlings (and possibly adult plants)

[runnervalentine]

cool, i just got back from a plant nursery down the road, they did not carry maxsea, they did have some orchid stuff and aferican violet. i looked at the orchid and it had a ~ 19-37-17 ratio, and the afercian violet had is a 8-14-9. i purchased the aferican violet since the ratios were near even (axp half of the orchid) and i figured that would help reduce chance of burning. do these raitos seem alright? and what part mixture should i put in one gallon. it says use 7 drops per quart (21 per gallon)

[peterhewitt]

You can use African violet fertilizer at the recommended dosage. in the future you should be looking for something with a high N rating and low P and K , your African violet mixture has a higher P rating than N which is wrong. N.P.K stands for Nitrogen which is the first and most important component for our needs, P is Potassium and K is Phosphorous, these last two aid in flowering processes and fruiting so not important for our needs.

[runnervalentine]

i was thinking that it would need a lower N, since i hear of nitrogen burn, maybe that is just a generic name. i also thought that the plant got near enough nitrogen from bugs and was perhaps lacking in different nutrients. I will try some foliar feeding soon, on a couple of my plants for a while to see if there is any difference. thanks for the help.

[peterhewitt]

Nitrogen burn can happen when applying at too high concentrations, but this can happen with both P, and K if applied too strongly.
I used to foliar feed my Nepenthes, but found that soil fertilization is safe and much more effective. Since we are not particularly interested in the flowers of Nepenthes for ornamental purposes, we push Nitrogen to promote vegetative growth, ie: Pitcher formation and general growth of plants.

[RL7836]

Foliar feeding overspray, particularly on peat-based media, can be a catalyst for algae growth. The algae is usually a gelatinous goob (technical term) that becomes a nightmare to eradicate. It does not harm the plants afaik, but is extremely ugly....

[peterhewitt]

fertilizing of any kind will have this effect. Unless you can totally cover the soil with plastic before spraying.

[runnervalentine]

I see. Maybe i will just leave this step out until i have more plants to experiment with, i only have 5 and it would suck to lose one. I wish i had a nice stable set up with several clones to really have a controled experiment with. maybe in a couple of years O.o...

as for my un washed perlite, i washed the rest of it in tap water, then rain water, now it is drying before i put it back in the bag (also rinsed) for future use, the couple plants that are in the pete perl mix i flooded a couple of times (perlite sucks to flood in a 1-1 ratio it all floats up and i will never use that much perlite again) and left it in a light rain outside, i think it should be ok now. i read on grow sundews, to rinse my petemoss too, it came from a local nursery in a unlabeled plastic bag, i am sure that it didnt have fertilizers in it, do i really have to rinse it out too?

[peterhewitt]

Rinsing peat is a pain, and i don't do it.
You might try using large grain horticultural sand or pool filter sand instead of perlite, as it does not float. Using 50/50 peat perlite/sand is the best mix for drainage, i also used to use more peat in my mixes, but this also has negative points.
Don't worry about the un leached perlite too much. I never used to wash it and never had problems. I do now as a precaution.