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sorceresslelia

Worsleya fertilizer and winter care

9 years ago

I planted some worsleya seeds right after Christmas last year. Only one germinated, but I have a healthy little plant in my window now. It's in a mixture of pumice and large wood chips (I've read that young worsleya need a bit more moisture, but I didn't want to use moss because I figured it would hold too much water. I had a lot of problems with root rot among other plants due to the cold, wet spring we had, and I was repotting my worsleya at that time). Since its about 10 months now I think I should start fertilizing it, but winter is coming. I'm worried that I might harm the plant if I fertilize now. Should I fertilize it as usual? At half the rate I would in summer? Or not at all until spring? I've never fertilized it before this. And what should I look for in a worsleya fertilizer? It will be in a cool, south facing window for the winter and will be moved onto a heat mat to keep it from getting too cold if temperatures drop (just enough to keep soil temperature around 60 to prevent rot, not full, summer warmth). I can keep it on the heat mat at a higher temperature if that would work better. I know these don't go dormant, so I'm just trying to stabilize it since I have a heat pad but no lights. Also, if I want it to grow tall and straight (I love the ones that look like tiny palm trees) should I be rotating it? I've heard they grow facing north in nature, but again, my best exposures are south. I'm majoring in horticulture and am considering doing a capstone project on worsleya in a year or two, so in addition to wanting a beautiful plant for my own enjoyment, I'd love to have a beautiful specimen for the presentation (maybe growing an endangered species will impress my professors too ;)) any advice is appreciated :)

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