This is a public-interest archive. Personal data is pseudonymized and retained under GDPR Article 89.

Re: Orchid fertilizer

i have used many brands of fertilizer (schultz, peters, miracle gro) for
orchids.  i must confess i'm a lazy fertilizer, and sometimes i wonder if i
would get more flowers if i did it more often.  

having said that, some people recommend fertilizing your plants only during
the growing season, i.e., when the plant is growing new leaves or stems.  for
the beginning of that period, they usually recommend a high nitrogen
concentration (first number) or a balanced formula.  they then switch to a
high phosphorus (middle number) to mature the new growths and encourange
blooming.  in other words, they use 2 types of fertilizer (such as 15-15-15
and 10-30-10 formula, or 30-10-10 and 10-30-10, for example).  one thing to
keep in mind is to always use half or one third of the dosage recommended in
the instructions in the bottle.  

some people however fertilize their orchids with every watering, but with a
much more dilute dosage, i.e., 1/5 or less of what the label says.

being lazy that i am, i keep only one at home.  right now, i'm using schultz
20-30-20, and i only fertilize when i remember, which is about every 2 or 3
weeks.  again, a very dilute dosage.  a friend of mine who grows orchids to
perfection also flushes them thoroughly every 2 weeks or so to eliminate salts
buildup.  she also repots like crazy (my plants are lucky if i get to it once
a year) and her plants have very healthy roots.  due to my infrequent
repotting, i don't do paphs anymore (they require repotting at least once a
year, 2x/year is recommended).

i hope this is more helpful than confusing.  maybe others can recommend other
regimens or offer suggestions, corrections etc.

tsuh yang chen, nyc (orchids in bloom or in bud: Bc. Maikai, Pot. Apocalypse,
Den. Yukidaruma, Den. serratilabium in flower; Cymb. Pipeta, Potinara Hoku
Gem, Epi. Hokulea, Psychopsis papilio, Den. atroviolaceum x Andree Millar,
Pescatorea wallisii x lehmmannii, Epicattleya Happy Elephants, in bud)
Other Mailing lists | Author Index | Date Index | Subject Index | Thread Index