Help with fertilizers

[Darknessdancer]

I posted this on the S/H forum but since i almost got no answers i´ll post it here, please I need any help you can give me on this, about doses to use and such.

I´ve recently acquired some rooting liquid, composition as follows
250 ml total
N-P-K......................... 20%
Fe, Zn, Cu, Mn, Ca, S.... 3.50%
B1, B5, Niacin............... 3.50%
citocinins, giberelins, auxins .. 2430 ppm

Thing is, i wanna use it to water some of the ´chids, but according to Ray´s website calculator, taking in account the N-P-K thingie i should use aprox 1/2 tsp / gallon, but i´d like your opinion on this.

Besides, i acquired something that claims to be a liquid vegetal stimulant, seemed a good thing so i´d like to give it a try, it´s composition as follows
250ml total
Mn... 0.57%
B.... 0.192
Ca... 0.19
Mb ...0.007
Fe...0.71
Zn...0.25
Cu... 0.19
Mg...0.067
Giberelic acid .. 0.1
Indolbutiric acid .. 0.001
S.... 2.00
Aminoacids.. undetermined
the problem is that i don´t know what quantity to use on a gallon, and the guy at the store wasn´t of big help, so i´d really thank any light you could give on this!

Thanks in advance
Respect.

[Frdemetr]

Sorry, I can't help you. I do not use s/h, except a 'modified' s/h (with medium) in catasetinae (see my post at http://www.orchidboard.com/community...catasetum.html ). In this case I use organic fertilizer ('bokashi', an ad-mixture of powdered fish and such smelly things) in the medium and Peter´s in the leaves; Osmocote is good for the medium too.

[Ray]

S/H or not, it doesn't really matter.

K-L-N is approximately 0.2% (2000 ppm) IBA plus NAA, and the recommended dosage for regular use is 1 or 2 drops per gallon, so I would stick to that for the first rooting liquid.

The second one has only 5% of that of IBA, so I'd guess 20x that much or 1/4- to 1/2 teaspoon per gallon.

[Tricho]

Hi Ray

Do you know of any reference about amounts of IBA, NAA ou any fitohormone or growth factor that we can apply to orchids? I had never done research about this in orchids (and about other plants was some years ago).

[Darknessdancer]

Yepee! Thanks all of you for the help, Ray you rock!
Just one more, could I mix both substances as i wanted to do in order to have more micronutrients, and if so, which will be the best quantity to use of each, or will it be better to use them separately (every other watering)?

[Ray]

Trico - I would do a google search, or at most, recommend you contact Dr. James Brasch at Plant Hormones Canada.

Dark - I suggest that you get yourself a complete fertilizer and use those as a supplement only.

[Tricho]

Originally Posted by Ray

recommend you contact Dr. James Brasch at Plant Hormones Canada.

Thanks for the reference Ray

[Darknessdancer]

Thanks Ray, i´ll try Peters 20-20-20 then and use those as a supp.

By the way, yesterday I acquired a HUGE dendrobium phalaenpsis, I mean HUGE as in 4 pb, 8 flower spikes with a lot of flowers, i think it´s at least 1 meter (3.11 feet) tall, i´ll post some pics of that later, but the owner told me she uses only Potassium Nitrate and Phosphorus Nitrate, at 1 tsp/ lt, roughtly 4 tsp/gallon, every 3 days, any thoughts on that?

Respect

[IdahoOrchid]

I have heard there is a difference between the different forms of nitrogen and their availability to orchids versus regular terrestrial plants. If this is true what about between terrestrial orchids and others?

[Ray]

First of all, is there even such a mineral as phosphorus nitrate???

Feeding such a simple diet is starving plants of many, much-needed minor and trace elements. A commercial, complete fertilizer is better.

By the way, that plant is properly named Dendrobium bigibbum, not D. phalaenopsis.

There are basically three forms of nitrogen commonly seen in fertilizers, nitrate, ammonaical, and urea-based. There is a long-standing debate over whether epiphytic orchids can use urea, as supposedly it needs soil-borne bacteria to break it down to a usable form.

If you really want to know more about nutrition, Dr. Bill Argo, the guy who invented the MSU fertilizer formula, published a series of 5 articles on the subject in Phalaenopsis magazine. He was nice enough to send me PDF's of them:

Plant Nutrition