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Carnivorous Plants/fertilizing cobra lily seedlings

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Expert: - 10/6/2011


Question
I have some cobra lily seedlings (coastal plain variety) that are a few months old and I was wanting to fertilize them...would it hurt them to spray them with a dilute mixture of Miracid...say 3/4 or 1 tsp to a gallon of RO water? Or, since they  are still very young plants, would it be best to leave them alone for the time being??

Regards,

Derick

Answer
Hello Derrick,

As my prodile indicates, I have very little experience with Darlingtonia. In any event, one thing I know about them is similar to most species of carnivorous plants and that would be not to fertilize them. Some people use very dilute mixtures to fertilize their carnivorous plant leaves, but a mishap can kill your plants. I have never used fertilizer on my carnivorous plants.

For more information on Darlingtonia and using fertilizer on them, send a question to Sarracenia Northwest. They live where Darlingtonia grow naturally and they grow them consistently.

Christopher

Carnivorous Plants

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Christopher Littrell

Expertise

I am capable of answering questions about the most common carnivorous plants found in cultivation. I have no personal experience with Byblis, Drosophyllum, Aldrovanda, and Heliamphora. I have not cultivated gemmae forming pygmy sundews nor tuberous sundews. For information regarding those aforementioned species, I would suggest contacting other experts. I can answer questions regarding most species of Nepenthes, tropical and temperate Drosera, Mexican Pinguicula, Sarracenias, and Dionaea. I have some limited experience with growing Utricularia, Cephalotus, and Darlingtonia.

Experience

I have grown carnivorous plants off and on for about 27 years. I have made the same mistakes and suffered the same mishaps that many growers make as they attempt to separate the myths from the realities of growing these plants. Currently, I am successfully growing a variety of tropical sundews, a Nepenthes, several Venus Flytraps of varying ages, and Sarracenias. I have been successful in stratifying Sarracenia seeds and providing artificial dormancy requirements for my temperate plants when needed.

Education/Credentials
I hold a Master's degree in Educational Psychology. Over my lifetime, I have constantly read books involving the growing conditions of carnivorous plants. I hope to incorporate the educational aspects involved in psychology with teaching other people how to cultivate carnivorous plants.

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