Magnesium supplementation

[Ray]

Folks talk a lot about using Epsom Salt as a supplement to fertilizers particularly lacking in magnesium, but I've heard recommendations all over the map about how much to use. So, in my typical engineering-background style, I did a little digging, and came up with the following:

Magnesium Supplementation

[gnathaniel]

Thank you, Ray! Solid, scientifically-based information as usual.

--Nat

[RosieC]

Great info again Ray.

I guessed you came from either an engineering or scientific background because of the way you systematically aproach these questions. It's great to have the results of your efforts here.

[Ray]

Rosie - I moved around a lot as a kid, and took chemistry in almost EVERY school district - including when I lived in Gerrards Cross, Bucks. I started college as a chemical engineering student, later switching to ceramic engineering as I'm a pyro at heart. Later I realized it was simply "high-temperature chemical engineering".

[RosieC]

I was a sciences student and read Physics at University, before moving in to a career in IT.

I've not extended the scientific aproach to orchid growing, but I recognise it in your way of aproaching the questions of what works best. It gives a far better understanding of what is going on and I really apreciate the info you share with us

[trdyl]

Thanks for posting this.

[orchids3]

Ray,
I like your thouhts on this. There is a lot more to fertilizing propertly than most growers want to deal with. Over use of magnesium is obviously bad. I notice that magnesium is an antagonist to Potassium, sodium, and Calcium. All esential to plant growth. Potassium, sodium, calcium and zink are atagonistic to Magnesium. Each used in the wrong ration is ineffecient.
Balanced fertilizer is often believed to be equal parts of Nitrogen, Phosphorus and Passium - real blancd fertlizer is when all elemnts are use in quantaties that at can best be used by the plant.
Then you get the part of the gang that use Bloom boosters which is a (Mono potassium Phosphate) which is antagonistic to Nitrogen and can bleach plants white - and the plants blooms out of desperation because the clorophyl is distroyed.
Please save me from fertilizer salesmen.

[Ray]

Personally, I think that Bill Argo did a great job researching the needs of orchids in general and coming up with the so-called "MSU Fertilizers". I use the RO formula with no supplements.

[orchids3]

Originally Posted by Ray

Personally, I think that Bill Argo did a great job researching the needs of orchids in general and coming up with the so-called "MSU Fertilizers". I use the RO formula with no supplements.

Ray,
Bill Argo did indeed do a great job and including the 5 articles on your Website was very helpful. Generally I have found his work to be right on. The one thing that seems a little out of range to me is his pH recomendation. My plants seem to do better if I can keep the pH at 7 or slightly lower. My roots seem to suffer if I grow in the 5.8 to 6.2 range that he recommends. pH 7 is where plants can take up nutrients best.
MSU is excellent but have found others I like better personnaly. What ever brand I use - will have the same elements in the same ratios - its just that I have to adjust the pH when I use MSU - with others it isnt necessary.
Harry

[Ray]

I know that early on, they added a lot of citric acid to the formula as part of the pH control, but I believe they have backed off some.

FWIW, I can see no difference with my plants, and have not experienced any issues..