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Post by krakatoa on Apr 8, 2011 16:39:27 GMT
Alright, what is the deal lately with the push in fertilizing cp's, or "inoculating" them with mycorrhizae or different types of symbiotic fungi in an attempt to get our plants bigger, faster? Now I realize that fertilizing has gone on for a while, and yes the results can be seen, but are they NOT carnivorous!? It seems that we are taking these plants, which we ALL love for the above mentioned capability alone, not to mention their odd, captivating beauty and pushing them into OUR concept of how it should grow, and replacing what nature intended for them to do, with our pellets, foliar feeds and coffee baths ( and yes, I did this to my nepenthes ). I guess the point I'm trying to make, is that it seems like the gap between people who REALLY watch what they are doing and KNOW what they doing vs, those who are just after "killer f---- plants dude!" Is really starting to grow (ha ha), and it seems like the plants we are trying to preserve have now become lab rats in an attempt to grow that monster flytrap. If you fry that Nepenthes albomarginata or slow bake your Sarracenia with fertilizer, you can't just run to the local nursery and pick another one up! I have used mycorrhizae on all of the citrus, Japanese maples, tomatoes and gardenias and other ornamentals and fruit trees in my yard, with fantastic results...but on carnivores? Really!? I have read that Sarracenia have notoriously "weak" root systems that are not really developed when compared to "other" plants, but I when I re pot, quite a few look like a white haired cousin It, and ALL they get are bugs!
And yes, I more than likely will bring Sarracenia seedlings in for this winter and put them under lights, to get them to jump. If it's good enough for the pros, I'll try it, but CONSIDER the SOURCE of information!! Your plants will thank you for it
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Post by Dave Evans on Apr 8, 2011 21:11:34 GMT
Hmm, not really. Without proper nutrients plants don't grow well. Carnivorous Plants are no exception, other than they are able to maintain an advantage over other plants that are starved of nutrients while they are not in wild situations. They are adapted to low nutrient soils, so it really doesn't take much to fertilize them. Nothing on the scale like you would do for house or garden plants. Carnivorous Plant seedlings need to start eating right away, as soon as they grow their first leaves. In cultivation, there is nothing like the number of different, tiny creatures available to wild seedlings for their first meals. Hand feeding seedlings is tedious and you can break them  |
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Post by krakatoa on Apr 8, 2011 21:25:44 GMT
I understand with the seedlings - trust me, I've had a seedling of S. alata red/black x 'Kimber Red Ruffles' for going on 5 years now, and I really want to get it going and now that I'm attempting to grow some of my own, I understand fertilizing the seedlings - it's the older plants and those capable of getting their own, but I guess with my collection there's a lot there so the bug population explodes around them - in spring and summer you can stand around them and not only watch them catch bugs, but hear them as well, as macabre as that sounds. It must be strength in numbers, so they all pitch in and kind of create their own food chain.
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Post by Apoplast on Apr 9, 2011 0:41:55 GMT
Aspects you raised have begun to concern me at some levels as well. I wonder what we are selecting for when fertilizing plants. Artificial selection is frequently easy and often unintentional. When plants are fertilized and we keep the ones which respond most strongly to this treatment, we create the potential for selection for strong response to fertilizers and away from efficient carnivory.
This is unlikely to occur in species which are primarily propagated clonally (although it doesn't eliminate the issue through somatic line mutations). For individuals who are interested in the horticultural aspects of carnivorous plants this will be of little consequence. But for individuals like myself, who enjoy the carnivorous aspect of these plants, and further think of themselves as stewards, even in cultivation, of unique evolutionary lineages this presents a serious concern.
I would therefore like to make the argument that feeding CP's and fertilizing them are not equivalent. As to the argument of just fertilizing the seedlings, this is typically an important stage of selection in plant populations. I have no evidence there is artificial selection away from efficient carnivory in any species in cultivation; however, that doesn't mean the potential for this type of selection does not exist.
Just something to think about.
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