Current thinking on slow release fertilizer

[ArronOB]

Hi. I have typically used soluble fertiliser for my orchids. Now I’m looking for an easier way to do this.

So I’m wondering what the current thinking on slow release fertilisers is. I have done a search of the forum and got lots of hits, but I ask again because I know that ideas change over time and new products appear.

So, I grow mainly Oncidium and cattleya type orchids, mostly in shadehouses, in slotted pots, in bark. Some overhead watering by sprinkler, some by handheld hose. I generally water 2 of 3 days in summer, and maybe weekly or less in winter. I take a few plants inside for 2 months or so over winter, but space is limited. I also have a couple of dozen hardier plants in baskets or slabs that grow outside year round, hanging in trees.

Anyone using slow release? Have any thoughts or advice about suitability for my setup? Recommended products or ratios?

I have never tried it myself.

Thanks
Arron

[Ray]

Slow-release fertilizers rely on temperature to control the release rate, so having a decent estimate of that is important.

I use an 8-9-month formula as a top dressing (it actually mixes with the mulch) for my flowers, shrubs and trees in my yard, as our sandy soil retains nothing. It is rated at 8-9 month lifespan at 21C, but I am certain the soil is warmer than that in the summer, so while I just applied it a month ago, I only expect about 5-6 months life.

For orchids, I know professional growers who add it to the potting medium or provide a “base layer” of nutrients, but still feed with water soluble stuff.

Personally, I’m against using it because I just don’t know what my plants are getting, so I took the route of buying a metering pump that injected a tiny amount (25 ppm N) of fertilizer into my water, so I fed every time I irrigated them, whether that was by hand or with my automated, overhead “rain” system.

[Keysguy]

I use it because it's that or nothing.
If you can avoid it great but I cannot.
I am not here from late May to late Oct, the heart of the growing season so I have no choice but to use it or they'd get nothing.
I sprinkle a little in the pots or tie a small bonsai basket on my hangers before I leave for the summer.

[Roberta]

I use it on my Cymbidiums and Catasetinae during the spring-summer growth period... these are particularly hungry plants, and my light fertilizing with pump sprayer when I get around to it is inadequate for these that grow so actively. The rest of my plants seem to do fine with the lower amount that they get.

[Dollythehun]

I've just started using it and also feeding very weakly. So far I see a nice response from the plants I've tried it on. Like Ray, I've always used it outside due to my Sandy soil.

[isurus79]

I love slow release. I'll never switch back.

[Leafmite]

Nutricote was recommended in our Orchid Society. I use Osmocote because some of my other plants have delicate roots and this is gentle on the roots (I am told at the Orchid Society that it isn't the greatest). In the summer, I also use an orchid fertilizer and a Calcium supplement.

[DirtyCoconuts]

i have a "tea bag" of osmocote hanging on all the mounts and in my catasetum pots.i also sprinkle it around the yard on things due to, as Ray said, sand retains nothing

i use the small plastic pots with a downstem...i saw one once in one of Steve's posts and immediately looked it up and got some...they are great