If you've ever been fortunate enough to see epiphytic orchids in the wild, they are often pretty ratty specimens, but I can say from observing the same plants over many years that their "rattiness" may not be entirely due to the fact that they live in the wild, but because that environment is changing. A plant colony can be lush one year, look awful a couple of years later, and then return. If a few nearby trees come down in a storm or due to man's hand, they can deteriorate rapidly.

Domesticated plants often look better simply because they are given a more stable environment and a better-than-subsistence diet.

I really don't care what others may be saying about "K-Lite" fertilizer - each individual has different observational and objectivity skills - but it is designed to provide proper nutrition while ensuring better long-term viability, NOT to make plants grow noticeably better immediately. My personal opinion is that if your culture is pretty good to start with, and upon switching to K-Lite you see improvement, then you were doing a poor job at nutrient management in the first place.

I think that various fertilizers work better with various mediums, water, orchids/plants and conditions. That is why there is such a variety and, with each fertilizer, successful growers that swear by them. Organic fertilizer is really good stuff but much of it relies on slow decomposition. A few that do not are, as often noted, hard to find and expensive. Goldfish, in my opinion, provide the best bet. :)

I use Seagrow and Seaweed as liquid fertilizers.. You can dilute it to 100ml to a liter and it still wont burn your orchid or its roots ( not recommended though) I use 25ml to 8 liters of water.. The seaweed really stinks though. And to really prove that these dont cause any harm the first time i used the seaweed i accidentally knocked the bottle over and one of my dogs started licking it up. She just had a bad stomach for about 2hrs and that was it.. I took her to the Vet and she told me that there was no harm at all. The dog just felt a bit down for the rest of the day though. The next she was up and running again. Getting back to the point. The seagrow i use for root growth and seaweed for overall. They actually work better than the other Fertilizers i used in the past.

Did the dog grow? ^^

Marcel Lecoufle used for decades only urea mixed with the local tap water, it worked somehow… ;) (Got almost the same water quality, I'm not far from there, got to try it)

Hey there,

A friend of mine with a large orchid collection feeds her orchids an organic guano fertilizer called buddha grow (i sell this on my website Buddha Grow | Planet Natural) but she also supplements it with the MSU chemical fertilizer. She has excellent results with it.

Personally, I do one watering of MSU orchid fert, then a watering of liquid kelp (which is organic) and then a flush of pure water, and then repeat the process.

One thing to note is kelp is not a complete fert, but contains a rooting stimulant and breaks down into trace nutrients so it is just a supplement to a complete fertilizer.

I'm using a product called Orchid LOve, it is very organic, with fish emulsion and sea weed and earthworm castings. My orchids love it, I have lots of new growth and blooms.

I believe you, the smell of this stuff is

Awesome

:goodluck:

The stinkier the fertilizer, the most delightful the orchid smell in bloom…*



(*totally invented at the minute)

Chicken poop is organic and will burn any and all roots
Organic is not what you think
Dick

I totally agree.

BTW, chlorine is also an essential plant micronutrient (but one we rarely need to supplement). In nature, enough chlorine is in the atmosphere to provide plant needs. It is essential in the function of the stomatal openings, in photosynthesis, cation balance and transport, resistance to fungal disease, and regulating the form of nitrogen used by plants (favoring ammonia utilization over nitrate). Deficiencies are rare, but they are known to occur.

Chlorine is dispersed in the atmosphere from sea water (it is well established that Cl is higher in areas receiving winds from the ocean, lower in inland areas).

---------- Post added at 01:47 PM ---------- Previous post was at 01:35 PM ----------

I see one website for Orchid Love, but no information on the composition and guaranteed analysis?