Expert: Sarracenia Northwest - 4/15/2011

Question
Hi i know you said in your volume three video that you can fertilize some of your tropical pitcher plants with orchid fertilizer right? Well is this a good choice to use on them but of course i will dilute it once i get it. GROW MORE 20-20-20 Premium Orchid Food/Fertilizer Total Nitrogen (N)……20%                              Copper………………………...0.05%

          3.90% Ammoniacal Nitrogen                              0.05% Chelated Copper 0.10%

           5.9%0 Nitrate Nitrogen                              Iron (Fe)……………………….0.10%

10.28% Urea Nitrogen                                      0.10% Chelated Iron

Available Phosphate…20.00%                                  Manganese (Mn)…………0.05%

Soluble Potash……….20.00%                                        0.05% Chelated Manganese    

   Boron.....................0.02%                                            Molybdenum (Mo)…………0.0005%

                                                                                        Zinc (Zn)………………………0.05%

                                                                                                                                                                                                                         0.05% Chelated Zinc

Answer
Yes, this is perfectly fine to use with tropical pitcher plants.  However, you'll need to make sure you use a concentration of no more than 1/4 teaspoon per gallon.  Because the percentages are a bit higher than what we typically use at the nursery, I recommend using it no more than once every two weeks.

Good growing!
Jacob Farin