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Carnivorous Plants/Nepenthes question
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Hello there!
)
I've recently bought a couple of nepenthes species and they are currently on my bathroom window that faces South-East. My house is 'diagonally' alligned with the north and south pole so the front faces South-West and the back faces North-East etc. So its really confusing in placing nepenthes around my house.
In controlling or prevent fungal infections from appearing, I had bought Yates super shield and applied it to the nepenthes. Is this safe? It contains 4.4g/litre mycolbutanil and 9.6g/litre tau-fluvalinate in the form of a suspension concentrate. I can't find any neem-oil or sulfur based products. All I can find are copper oxychloride based and lime-sulfur ones. Do you think Yates super shield would be fine for my plants? (Not just nepenthes but all carnivorous plants)
Also I had purchased an orchid fertilizer. Can I use that to fertilize my nepenthes? It said "Special formulation for maximum spike and flower initiation, and healthy leaf, bulb and root development."
Is it ok to mist the nepenthes with my tap water frequently? My tap water have a 50ppm content in minerals.
One last thing, I had recently repotted all my sarracenias and venus fly traps with the mix of 1 part perlite and 1 part peat moss. I mixed the two then add water. The problem is that the substrate doesn't seem to drain well. The water takes quite a while to drain and all the perlite floats to the top. The pots all have drainage holes underneath. Aslo can I use pumice instead of perlite in the future? Since I can buy 4 times the amount of pumice than that of perlite with the same amount of money here in New Zealand.
Regards
Francis
Hi Francis,
As far as placement in your house for your Nepenthes, just choose the brightest window. My experience has been that it is nearly impossible to give Nepenthes too much sun indoors.
Mycobutanil is probably fine on Nepenthes. They tend to be pretty tough. Be sure to test just a plant or two with other species. Sundews tend to be the most sensitive.
Your orchid fertilizer sounds fine. Just like orchids, the saying "Weakly and Weekly" is good advice. Mix it at no more than 1/4 teaspoon per gallon of water. We are finding that foliar spraying gives us the best results.
Pumice is great. We generally recommend perlite since it is easy to fine in most areas of the U.S. Like New Zealand, the Pacific Northwest here in the U.S. has many volcanoes, so pumice is abundant and cheap here also. We use it often.
Good Growing!
Jeff Dallas
Sarracenia Northwest
http://www.cobraplant.com
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Answers by Expert:
Sarracenia Northwest
Expertise
If your plant is showing poor growth, discoloration, abnormal leaves or possible infestation, the growers at Sarracenia Northwest can help! Carnivorous plant experts Jeff Dallas and Jacob Farin will help you diagnose the problem and get your plants on the right track. Their no nonsense approach has helped thousands of growers all over the world. They can help you too!
Experience
With over 40 years of combined experience, Jeff and Jacob has definitely taken a straight forward approach to growing carnivorous plants. They have encountered many types of diseases, abnormal growth and infestations related to carnivorous plants, and they know what it takes to get plants looking beautiful and healthy again.
Education/Credentials
Authors of Secrets to Growing Beautiful Carnivorous Plants for Your Home and Garden and producers of the Grow Carnivorous Plants! DVD Series. They also produce a monthly video podcast to illustrate how plants cycle through the seasons.
No terrariums. No myths. No nonsense.
Just the straight facts from guys who grow and propagate
thousands of carnivorous plants each year.
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PLEASE READ BEFORE SUBMITTING YOUR QUESTION: We no longer answer how-to questions (i.e. How do I propagate...?; How do I grow...?). Instead, we help growers by diagnosing a specific plant problem and offering solutions (i.e. Why is my sundew not producing dew?; Is now a good time to divide my Sarracenia?; Why are the traps turning black?; What's a good substitute for perlite?; Why didn't my seeds germinate?; Can you identify this carnivorous plant for me?) For general plant care, please read our care sheets on our main website: http://www.cobraplant.com/caresheets For business questions: http://www.cobraplant.com/contact |
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