Omocote vs. Maxsea for seedlings

[calen]

Grow report time!
This last winter I decided to try using osmocote pellets in my new pots of youngins. I figured it would be set-it-and-forget-it and save some time (not that spraying with maxsea 2x per month is that time-intensive). In reality it turned out to be more complex than I imagined. First of all, slow-release fertilizer pellets use a polymer membrane that is sensitive to moisture and temperature: the wetter and warmer it is, the faster the membrane will release nutrients. SO what happened was that being in wet peat in the warm grow chamber caused the pellets to hyper-release their contents. This makes complete sense in retrospect, since these pellets are designed for garden and houseplant soils - much cooler and drier than what they found themselves in in the grow chamber! In spite of only using 3-4 pellets per pot, I had symptoms of fertilizer burn within a month. Then, the pellets were suddenly empty and left my seedlings hanging while I waited to provide any more fertilizer (maxsea) until I was certain there was no more coming from the pellets. Overall, instead of a 4 month release period I would say I got 6-8 weeks of over-release, then nothing. I had to dig a lot of pellets out of the soil and flush the pots several times in an attempt to get the mineral levels down. In the end I lost very few seedlings but many were stunted and the pellets caused far more work than spraying maxsea. I just finished my first transplant of these guys and the root development and overall size of the seedlings is inferior to that produced by maxsea last year. Roots in particular, though intact, seemed underdeveloped relative to the foliage. Having the dose fluctuate based on conditions is not acceptable. Being able to control the dose and know exactly when the plants received nutrients is key to avoid disasters, and so I do not plan on using pellets again for growing Sarracenia seedlings. 

[dj57]

Thank you. Explains a possible reason why I have not had success using Osmocote. Maxsea on the other hand has shown good results for my seedlings, love the stuff.

[planteverythingcarni]

Calen, 
  I have been running a test before I saw your thread on using Osmocote pellets. I had seen an article on the ICPS website written by John Brittnacher (https://www.carnivorousplants.org/grow/feed/sarraceniasoil) Which got me wondering how much pellets help vs Maxsea and what a combo of them might be. I am only a month and a half into the test but so far the results are interesting. 
(Pictured above) Is the before picture taken on March 2nd 2023. Originally sown in early April 2022 and never been fertilized. Sold as a batch of mixed flavas(looks like some moorei too). As you can see, there are 2 test trays. 1 tray(Left) has a strip of 6 plants each with 1,2,3,4 of the 15-9-12 Osmocote 6 month release tablets. The same tray has been top watered with pure rain water. TDS has typically hovered around 15-20 the whole time. 

The right tray has 3 lines(6 plants each) with 1 line of 1 pellet, 1 line of 2 pellets and 1 line of 3 pellets. This tray is being top watered with a 50PPM solution of Maxsea. Typical TDS of this tray stayed around 50PPM. 

Neither tray has been pitcher fertilized as with varying pitcher sizes, I did not want to give one plant a higher advantage since this test is about nutrients in the roots. 



(Pictured above) This is what they look like today 4/15/23. More pics below
(Pictured above) This is the left tray that did not use maxsea. The plants clearly appreciated the extra neutraints where the pellets were. Looks like 2-3 pellets were where it started to appreciate it. 4 has some pitchers on the way which I suspect will match that of the 2-3 lines. The ones without the pellets are not much bigger and experienced virtually no added benefit from its neighbors being fertilized(as expected).  

(Pictured above) This is the tray of seedlings where I used 50PPM Maxsea along with the pellets. As you can see, the entire tray is growing a lot faster than its neighboring tray without the Maxsea. The spots where the pellets are have more consistency of larger pitchers but nothing extreme. 

(Pictured above) The contrast of the 2 trays is pretty interesting. Keep in mind this is only a month and a half that I have been doing this test. 

In conclusion, if you are using Osmocote pellets make sure to top water every time to help even out the nutrients. Overall though, if you have access to Maxsea, it is the best route to go for giving seedlings a boost. Osmocote pellets did make a difference and may be alright for people who do not want to buy a can of Maxsea and already have Osmocote pellets, but top watering is key. 

[alexis]

Thanks. It's a bit difficult to follow which trays had which treatment though?

[planteverythingcarni]

Apr 16, 2023 11:46:52 GMT -5 alexis said:

Thanks. It's a bit difficult to follow which trays had which treatment though?

The further away(Right) tray in the first picture had the maxsea, and the closer (left) tray had no Maxsea and just pellets where the blue tape is. 

[andynorth]

So is it detrimental to use Osmocote on larger pitchers? I have been told to place 1 pellet per pitcher, directly inside the pitcher. I am worried now as I did this for my Heli. I am hoping I do not have to dump them all out.

alexis, I use plastic plant labels of different colors to determine what has been fertilized, date, etc.

[alexgrowscps]

Jan 28, 2024 13:54:08 GMT -5 andynorth said:

So is it detrimental to use Osmocote on larger pitchers? I have been told to place 1 pellet per pitcher, directly inside the pitcher. I am worried now as I did this for my Heli. I am hoping I do not have to dump them all out.

alexis , I use plastic plant labels of different colors to determine what has been fertilized, date, etc.

andynorth:

I don't have much experience with heliamphoras, but peter found that using osmocote pellets directly in the pitchers of purps and nepenthes works well. I can agree with that. 

Maybe this will help? www.carnivorousjourney.com/p/growing-heliamphora#:~:text=Osmocote%20pellets%20may%20also%20be,caution%20when%20fertilizing%20these%20plants.