> I have a question. Will Nepenthes send out more pitchers, of larger
> size, if given a mild dose of superthrive and miracid every so often?
Steve, be careful with ST. As with any plant hormones, it can cause plants
to deteriorate if given too often, or in too strong doses. I would suggest 1
drop per gallon of water with each regular watering. You might want to try
higher concentrations occasionaly, but perhaps not on a regular basis...
Perhpas something else is limiting the growth of your pitchers other than
nutrition..
>Phil wrote:
>Yassir, where did you get your numbers from? I have read several
>CP books and all agree that acidic soil is best but I've never
>seen anyone state specific pH levels. I'm also curious how much
>it varies from genus to genus and species to species. If you can
>point me to a reference I'd be much obliged.
Phil, the pH range I indicated is that at which most nutrients are most
available to plants in general. These are from a chart, many of us who
studied plant biology are familiar with. It shows nutrient availability in
soil at different pH levels, and is often shown in ag extension bulletins.
Sorry if I got your hopes up, but I have no specific reference for pH levels
for carnivorous plants themselves. You may have to do your own investigation
here, especially since we know that most CPs don't grow in regular soil.
Plants that grow in particularly acid conditions (bogs for instance) such
as North American pitchers, may in fact do better with water at the lower
end of the pH scale, say about 5, but I don't know for sure. I suspect
that the pH of sphagnum bogs may be as low as 4. Perhaps some ecologists can
share some insights here. The key point though, is that you want the plant
to be able to get as many nutrients as it can at each watering, particularly
if fertilized, so some attention to water pH will be beneficial. My own
tap water pH is quite alkaline at 8.1. I adjust it down to the range
indicated for my orchids and CPs. I believe that this has led to more robust
growth particularly with orchids , since they are fertilized, unlike the
CPs.
One also need to pay attention to the acidity of the growing mix, which is
generally not a problem with peatmoss and/or sphagnum. There doesn't seem
to be that much info. on pH levels for different types of plants out there,
but I hope this helps..
Yassir