Fertilizing your Carnivorous plants (except Pinguicula).
Fertilizing your carnivorous plants is typically not needed if your plants are outdoors. When outdoors they will capture all the nutrients they need by eating insects. Additionally plants grown both outdoors and inside can survive on photosynthesis alone. That being said, you can increase the health and growing rate of indoor plants by using “Maxsea” fertilizer (assuming you don’t want to go the natural route, and catch/buy your own insects).
Maxsea is a kelp based fertilizer, that when mixed as below is very gentle/safe for most carnivorous plants. You can also use it for most other houseplants you might have.
Maxsea can be purchased in smaller quantities in my store (Link).
Sundew (Drosera) & Flytrap (Dionaea) Feeding Instructions:
- Dissolve 1/4 tsp. Maxsea in 1 gallon of distilled, rain or reverse osmosis water.
- Put into spray or dropper bottle/syringe.
- You can put drops of fertilizer directly on leaves, or traps (try not to trigger traps, if possible), or mist plants lightly preventing soil contamination as much as possible.
- Use caution and lower concentrations when fertilizing more finicky South African sundews like Drosera regia, glabripes, and slackii.
Sarracenia Feeding Instructions:
- Dissolve 1/4 tsp. Maxsea in 1 gallon of distilled, rain or reverse osmosis water.
- Put into a spray bottle.Spray directly into pitchers.
- For seedlings, you can fill up the entire pitcher.
Nepenthes & Cephalotus Feeding Instructions:
- Dissolve 1/4 tsp. Maxsea in 1 gallon of distilled, rain or reverse osmosis water.
- Put into a spray bottle.
- Spray directly into pitchers – be conservative.
Fertilizing your Carnivorous plants (Pinguicula).
Temperate species grown outdoors will catch their own food. You can use “Schultz Cactus Fertilizer” on Mexican and Tropical Pinguicula, applying to the leaves only and following the instructions on the packaging for dilution. I do not currently sell “Schultz Cactus Fertilizer”, but is is readily available at most home improvement stores, hardware stores as well as on Amazon (Link).
Controlling Rot in Carnivorous plants.
Most “rot” issues in carnivorous plants are caused by too much water/drainage issues. Make sure that all you plants have the correct soil for the species, and that your containers are packed and have enough holes to allow for drainage as well as oxygen flow.
If you find you have some “mild” rot, I suggest using Scott’s DieseasEX (Azoxystrobin). I have this available in my store in smaller quantities (Link).
This will stop/cure mild rot, as well as boost growth of healthy carnivorous plants in some situations:
- Helps reverse poor growth from lack of care in retail settings (wrong water, light, etc.).
- Helps with root rot or fungus.
- Boosts plant growth and leaf retention in healthy plants.
- NOT A FERTILIZER, so safe for most carnivorous plants.
Dosage Recommendation:
- 1/4 tsp. per 8 ounces of distilled, rain or reverse osmosis water. Apply to affected plant up to 3 times per growing season (top water).
Additional information:
Mold, Mildew, Rust, etc.
Mold and mildew happen occasionally in pots due to the high water and humidity. Unfortunately our carnivorous plant grow in the ideal conditions for mold and mildew. The best way to deal with this is with lots of airflow. A fan will go a long way to keep air circulating, but in some cases (like germination of seeds) you may need to use a product/chemical to help out.
In cases where you cannot control the issue with airflow, I recommend a “sulfur” based product, such as Bonide Sulphur Plant Fungicide (Link). It is harmless to our carnivorous plants, and will typically clear up any issues quickly.
Bonide Plant Fungicide Instructions:
- Mix 3 tbsp. to 1 Gallon of distilled, rain or reverse osmosis water.
- Mist affected plants or containers.
- Repeat weekly or until all signs of mold/mildew are gone.
Pest Control in Carnivorous plants.
Ironically our carnivorous plants are occasionally affect by insects/pests as is possible with most plants. Most are easily treated. The information below list specific remedies that are known to work for carnivorous plants, please do not use other chemicals, as they may be lethal to your plants.
It is also recommended to only treat the specific plant when possible. Separating the plant (quarantine) for the treatment period will prevent adverse reactions to other plants nearby.
- APHIDS: Aphids will cause the new leaves of sundews and pitcher plants to twist and contort as they grow. You can spray your plants with “Garden Safe Insecticidal Soap” (Link); it is organic and has almost no odor. Make sure and cover every surface of the infected plant. You will need to treat the plant at least twice, 1 week apart. Continue until they’re all gone.
- MEALYBUGS: You can spray your plants with “Garden Safe Insecticidal Soap” (Link); it is organic and has almost no odor. Make sure and cover every surface of the infected plant. You will need to treat the plant at least twice, 1 week apart. Continue until they’re all gone.
- THRIPS: Sarracenia are a favorite of thrips; their chewing causes silvery patches on the pitchers. You can spray your plants with “Garden Safe Insecticidal Soap” (Link); it is organic and has almost no odor. Make sure and cover every surface of the infected plant. You will need to treat the plant at least twice, 1 week apart. Continue until they’re all gone.
- SCALE: Scale look like little waxy scabs that encrust the leaves and stems. Scale may be wiped away with rubbing alcohol on a Q-tip or cotton pad. Badly infested leaves may be cut away and thrown in the trash. Then you will have to spray. You can spray your plants with “Garden Safe Insecticidal Soap” (Link); it is organic and has almost no odor. Make sure and cover every surface of the infected plant. You will need to treat the plant at least twice, 1 week apart. Continue until they’re all gone.
- DEER: While deer may take an exploratory nibble of your carnivorous plants they are typically not repeat offenders. Putting a fence or cage around you plants can prevent future visits.
- BIRDS: Birds can be destructive of bog containers because they occasionally poke their beaks into the wet soil, looking for food like worms. Putting a cage around your plants can prevent future visits. Some people will also put toothpicks or bamboo skewers (pointy side up) to deter them as well.
- RACCOONS: Because the outdoor plants like to sit in water, raccoons can be attracted to the water in the pots. Sometimes they will play in the water or dig out the plants. This is fairly rare and you can try sprinkling cayenne pepper on the soil to discourage them.
- PETS: Cats sometimes like to like to lick the dew off of sundews or take a nibble. Dogs can knock over pots and very rarely eat a plant or two. Luckily the plants are non-toxic to both pets and people. Depending on the persistence of your cat you may need to relocate your plants to an inaccessible shelf or into a terrarium indoors. Dogs are easily dissuaded when pots are relocated to high spots.