FlytrapCare Carnivorous Plant Forums

So I was watering my plants the other day. At the same time I was drinking a protein shake myself. Somehow my protein shake and my water bottle got together in the same hand, and what do you know my drosera adelae got a drink of Premier chocolate protein! My face was like Doc Brown in Back to the Future when the model car flew into the pile of oil rags and caught fire. Needless to say I rinsed my plant off quickly, not knowing if adelaes like protein shake in their roots. Since then the plant actually looked pretty healthy. I'd call it frondy even. Seems the shake is helping him grow big and strong.

So my question is, how much protein does a young growing adelae need? And have you ever given your plants similarly odd food items? What was the result?

Today I tried giving a few sundews some nutritional yeast (not the kind you make bread with!). I'll see how they like over the next week or so. In the past I gave a nepenthes a fruit snack, which did not help really. adding to this the possible miracle gro that may currently be in some of my soil...

I've heard that drosera will eat chocolate and milk, but I think your conditions are just really good. Maybe put a drop on the leaves?

We take in already synthesized proteins to either obtain ones we can't synthesize ourselves, or to obtain more of what our bodies are already at a maxed out rate of synthesizing. However, I am not entirely sure how CP digestion works, so if you got it on the leaves, perhaps it would be possible for the plant to obtain nitrogen from the N group of the amino acids.

Tryner78 wrote:Today I tried giving a few sundews some nutritional yeast (not the kind you make bread with!). I'll see how they like over the next week or so.

that's an interesting idea. brewer's yeast (?) has lots of protein and b vitamins, no doubt good for body builders and drosera alike.

Tryner78 wrote:In the past I gave a nepenthes a fruit snack, which did not help really.

a fruit snack? really? why?

Tryner78 wrote:I've heard that drosera will eat chocolate and milk, but I think your conditions are just really good. Maybe put a drop on the leaves?

wherever did you hear that? that must have been an interesting thread.

my conditions are some nice shade under the porch. i don't know if they're good or bad yet. maybe they are.

it got more than a drop. two thirds of the leaf got covered in protein drink. the leaf didn't die like i thought it would. it's alive and growing! i think i'm onto something here...

Benurmanii wrote: We take in already synthesized proteins to either obtain ones we can't synthesize ourselves, or to obtain more of what our bodies are already at a maxed out rate of synthesizing. However, I am not entirely sure how CP digestion works, so if you got it on the leaves, perhaps it would be possible for the plant to obtain nitrogen from the N group of the amino acids.

that's true. i wonder if bug muscle breaks down into nitrogen. maybe protein drink is an easy source of that.