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Post by fisher on Feb 9, 2016 19:05:02 GMT
I got this guy about a month or so ago. It was bare root shipped to me. Upon receiving it, it was accompanied by soil they packed along with it. I believe peat, sand, and a little perlite. I potted it and waited a week or two for dew to begin producing before feeding it for the first time. After reading about the aggressive appetite of this plant in particular, I began by giving it 3-4 Osmocote pellets 14-14-14 into the soil. I also fed it a couple of insects and rehydrated bloodworms. I water it from the top every 4-5 days or so (as not to smother it). I began noticing new growth which im excited about, but I also began to notice that the leaves only have dew for a day or two after unfolding, then the dew begins drying out and then it turns red in patches and turning brown as well until eventually that leaf dies. Nevertheless, a new leaf always seems to appear,making up for the loss of the leaf before, but it still only lasts about 3 days total, then repeats this process. It will grow up, unfold, produce dew for 1-2 days, then slowly it goes downhill...I keep it indoors under my 6500k lights, along with some Sarracenias, and Vft's, Neps, and other Dews. The room usually gets to about 76-78F during the day and about 65-68F at night. Humidity is controlled at around 68-75%. Kind of wondering what could be happening here? Today I began to wonder if maybe the soil is not draining the way it should,or may be packing too tightly near the bottom, not allowing the roots to breathe properly, so I put a little bit of damp LFSM in the bottom of the pot (pictured) to keep the rest of the soil from washing out the bottom of the pot, then added the remainder of soil that it came with and mixed with a little perlite into it that i have here at the house. Dont really know what else to do about it other than what has been done already. The bottom of the main root looks good today though, solid dark with a little cream colored end on it. I suspect this ![]() is how this species roots are suppose to look? Can anyone offer any advice? If i left any info out, please advise. Thanks    |
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Post by hcarlton on Feb 10, 2016 2:22:16 GMT
I personally grow my plants in a LFS/perlite or pumice mix, so can't say if perhaps the soil might be causing issues, but this is a plant that likes a fairly aerated soil, and could be part of the issue. The burnt patches on the leaves also look a lot like damage from overfeeding or chemicals; I didn't see what the water you are using is like, so perhaps there is something in it that's gotten on the leaves or in the roots that's making it unhappy.
I am not sure of any specific pathogens that might cause this, but perhaps your plant is getting attacked by something; bright lighting and cool temps are where this species does best so that isn't the issue.
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Post by fisher on Feb 10, 2016 4:07:34 GMT
I personally grow my plants in a LFS/perlite or pumice mix, so can't say if perhaps the soil might be causing issues, but this is a plant that likes a fairly aerated soil, and could be part of the issue. The burnt patches on the leaves also look a lot like damage from overfeeding or chemicals; I didn't see what the water you are using is like, so perhaps there is something in it that's gotten on the leaves or in the roots that's making it unhappy. I am not sure of any specific pathogens that might cause this, but perhaps your plant is getting attacked by something; bright lighting and cool temps are where this species does best so that isn't the issue. Ah yes, i forgot water... i use distilled only. Im at around 4-5ppm when i sample from the water tray after top watering. I also never let it sit in water. I was also suspecting the Osmocote may have hurt more than help it, so today when i repotted it, i found some of the pellets i used last week and i removed them for now. Perhaps it really could just be overfeeding or overfertilization? I guess i need to stick with a scheduled time, like say once every 2-3 weeks for this plant? I like the pumice idea, i havent tried it before. I have 15 seeds coming to me this week so i may experiment with that as well. I really hated to disturb its fragile/sensitive root system today, but i felt it was necessary to add more perlite to the mix. Hopefully it will be ok and pull through..Thanks for responding  |
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Post by hcarlton on Feb 11, 2016 0:51:39 GMT
D. regia is a plant that likes a lot of food, but I think it best to spread it out over a period of time. 1-2 osmocote pellets would probably be fine, and perhaps a very dilute orchid fertilizer or Maxsea to the leaves every few days. Small or crushed insects would work too.
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Post by fisher on Feb 11, 2016 3:56:31 GMT
Ive been reading alot about Maxsea but have never used the stuff before. I ordered some today so hopefully thatll help give it the boost it needs and then ill stick to a once a week or so feeding schedule. I planted 10 more seeds today, each in 3 different combos of soil mixes. I want to see what they prefer. I will post my results. Thank you again for the extra advice!
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Post by fisher on Feb 18, 2016 1:51:46 GMT
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Post by jdallas on Feb 18, 2016 14:27:43 GMT
I would say that you're at the point where you might be loving your plant to death. For it's size it's had plenty of food now, and your growing conditions sound good, so it's time to just leave it alone for awhile. Give it a chance to recover and then feeding would be appropriate. Like HCarlton was saying though, it may be too much food right now. With all cp, no food is always better than too much.
Jeff
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Post by fisher on Feb 18, 2016 15:56:17 GMT
I would say that you're at the point where you might be loving your plant to death. For it's size it's had plenty of food now, and your growing conditions sound good, so it's time to just leave it alone for awhile. Give it a chance to recover and then feeding would be appropriate. Like HCarlton was saying though, it may be too much food right now. With all cp, no food is always better than too much. Jeff Hi jdallas, thanks for the advice. I do believe I agree with you. I know these are hungry plants, but I possibly might have just gone overboard or as you say "loving to death". Looking at the plant it just makes sense, all of my other plants I have in my house thrive very well, including several types of drosera, vft, sars, rare orchids etc. What I understood from reading in books and online (or the way I've interpreted it) is that this species needs to always have a of source of food because of its voracious appetite. I haven't fed it in a couple of days now. This is about the only thing I haven't done during this experiment. There's currently no Osmocote, or food on it and these pics below are as of this morning when I woke up. In a few days I will update. Thanks again 
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