killerplantcloset wrote:
Amazing answer thank you I will try the fertilizer. I'll pick up the the plus later on but mix up some Maxsea tomorrow. Also, I will move the plant to a less direct window. I have some good peat and silica sand I am worried if I repot him again it might disturb it too much that's twice re potting in the past 30 days or so. Do you think I should wait till the plant recovers or try to re pot in preferred soil? I might try a smaller pot if I do that.
Somehow my last message got mixed up with a quote I was trying to post. I'm terribly bad with forums lol.
That's a tough call. So if it were me personally, I would chance it and give it more optimal conditions that I know would be better for the plant in the long run. It's tough because it would be knocked back for sure. Regias are quite hardy in the fact they can recover from the roots if the conditions are right. People have had them come back from the dead. For that reason, I would chance it. I would have it in a smaller sized pot more fitted for the plant. From the size of it, I'd go with a 3.5-4inch pot to start, whichever is taller honestly. (A lot of people would do an even taller size, you can. This is just my own opinion. If you find a cylindrical cup or something you could do that. Or a terracotta even, people do that because of their tolerance. I don't.) I'd like the plant to have about an inch of space beneath the roots to grow but not be so wide as to keep the plant in heavy moisture and repot as needed. From general potted plant wisdom and my own experiences with my clones(believe they're identical), I personally believe that's the way to go. If you do this size and tray water, keep the water level pretty low. it looks like you water from the top from the pic. I'd plug the holes or bottom layer with LFS for wicking and make myself either a 30/70 or 40/60 peat/sand mix. The perlite isn't absolutely necessary, I just like the insurance with drainage. I do the same for my outdoor Sarracenia (I'm in Florida, rain and humidity lol).
Now the fertilizer is a little different. The reason osmocote plus is used is because it has a higher percentage of nitrogen in its composition, which is essential for plant growth. Phosphorus and Potassium are what is used for flowering and root growth. They aren't as essential to a drosera as they are for say a tree, so the plants benefit more from the higher nitrogen than a balanced. I saw a report on ICPS which showed them using both osmocotes on Sarracenia, they both did well but the plus had taller plants.
If I had a 3-4 inch pot for my regia, I would put somewhere between 4-5 pellets on the surface. (I put one in each corner and sometimes one or two closer to the plant to cover surface area). It's a slow release and I bottom water so it's a very steady, slow trickle into the soil. Maxsea foliar feeding is gentle but it can still cause some harm if overdone. I would give it a bloodworm on all of it's leaves. and I'd test a leaf with the maxsea instead of spraying the entire plant initially. It'd be shocked from the transplant, usually you'll want to wait until it resumes growth before you fertilize it at all, that goes with any plant. Because osmocote is a slow release fertilizer, you can get away with using it right away. So if you decide to use maxsea, try it on one leaf first and see how the plant responds. If you're unable to get the osmocote plus right away, i'd just probably just use the 14-14-14. Osmocote isn't necessary but it does make things easier. You just need to make sure the plant gets a lot of nutrients. Once every two-three weeks doesn't work well with Regia.
It's summer in Texas, I'd skip the window all together and just put it back under the Mars Hydro. It's getting whatever heat comes in through the window. That'd be better suited for colder months unless you can keep it under 80 degrees.
Today I will do what others won't so tomorrow I can do what other's can't.
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