FlytrapCare Carnivorous Plant Forums

I've hear of the coffee treatment, and I like to try, but I got some questions.

1. Can I put a couple of drop of cold black coffee into the pitcher?
2. Should the coffee be at full strength or diluted with water?
3. How many drops of coffee can I put into a pitcher?
4. Would it promote fungus growth inside the pitcher?

Also I cannot water my Nepenthes soil because I keep it in a terrarium, and fungus could grow on it.

1. Cold black coffee,none of those fancy flavour like hints of vannilla or anything like that just,plain 'ol coffee

2.Nah just black coffee

3.I depends on the size,about quarter or a fith of coffee

4.I doubt it as coffee is acidic

And all this info is coming from a guy who doesn't grow neps hehehe

remember coffee to be made from rain water or de ionised,as mentioned normal filter no fancy stuff,i watered the roots not pitchers and had great results but think it can only be repeated four times a year ,have a go and see if new growth is larger, mine was alot

I wonder if coffee works so good because of its propensity to grow trichoderma? I've noticed that a lot. If you forget to take a filter out of your coffee maker for a few days it has trich growing in the grounds. I know some people use trich for a root soak with CPs.

Coffee is also a good source of nitro. So is tea and it also has some type of plant hormone that nothing else does. I'll have to dig around to find out what it is but when I find it i'll post what it is.

It does work apparently, from what I am told , even know some one who has used it , but after speaking to a professor of chemistry friend of mine who also grows neps , he said all it is is a boost of nitrogen ,so really its not the coffee but the extra nitrogen in it that dose the trick , so you dont need to use just coffee its any thing with a nitrogen boost, , a guy from Slovakia who went on the nep tour with me,is a lecturer in this country on plants and others plant life , he also did a experiment with boosting nitrogen in nep's by 20% , this increased the growth rate by over double , this was done by adding meal worms into the pitchers each fortnight every 2 weeks , so there are many ways of doing this , and its just the extra nitrogen you need to do it ok ,!!
Just to add to this , there where thoughts that neps only get there nutrients through there pitchers , seems not so after chatting with some very learned people on the nep tour, neps also take in large amounts a foods through the roots system , was very interested to hear this myself, also one person had suggested and has proven that allowing the root system to get into the ground or earth in your grow green house or glass house will allow your plant to grow like they do in the wild very large, this will only be possible in temperate zones where the earth did not freeze sorry !!, but this opens a whole new section to nep growing at home !!or in your green house , will it dose for me any how !!,am currently experimenting with this , you can not just plant the nep into the ground, unless you live in Borneo of cause , but allow the nep to grow its roots naturally from the pot or live sphagnum moss into the ground its self, this way it adapts and thrives , very interesting indeed !!
J

thats interesting john,i heard somewhere that if you over feed the roots the pitchers might not form because they are getting food from the roots,have you ever heard this

Wow! I'll have to try that with other plants.

corky wrote:thats interesting john,i heard somewhere that if you over feed the roots the pitchers might not form because they are getting food from the roots,have you ever heard this

yes 100% true corky if you notice its only 20% that you need to increase , any more then the stem grows and pitchers lessen as it have the nutrients it needs so dont need to form the pitchers to get the extra , and being a vine it will just take off up wards
J

So you could let it "take of upwards" and the let it grow even more pitchers with the extra vine space?

Re: Coffee Treatment Advice

Post by snapperhead51 » Sat Dec 25, 2010 2:10 am
It does work apparently, from what I am told , even know some one who has used it , but after speaking to a professor of chemistry friend of mine who also grows neps , he said all it is is a boost of nitrogen ,so really its not the coffee but the extra nitrogen in it that dose the trick , so you dont need to use just coffee its any thing with a nitrogen boost, , a guy from Slovakia who went on the nep tour with me,is a lecturer in this country on plants and others plant life , he also did a experiment with boosting nitrogen in nep's by 20% , this increased the growth rate by over double , this was done by adding meal worms into the pitchers each fortnight every 2 weeks , so there are many ways of doing this , and its just the extra nitrogen you need to do it ok ,!!
Just to add to this , there where thoughts that neps only get there nutrients through there pitchers , seems not so after chatting with some very learned people on the nep tour, neps also take in large amounts a foods through the roots system , was very interested to hear this myself, also one person had suggested and has proven that allowing the root system to get into the ground or earth in your grow green house or glass house will allow your plant to grow like they do in the wild very large, this will only be possible in temperate zones where the earth did not freeze sorry !!, but this opens a whole new section to nep growing at home !!or in your green house , will it dose for me any how !!,am currently experimenting with this , you can not just plant the nep into the ground, unless you live in Borneo of cause , but allow the nep to grow its roots naturally from the pot or live sphagnum moss into the ground its self, this way it adapts and thrives , very interesting indeed !!
J

Wow, that's very interesting!