Against the "Status Quo"

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

Originally Posted by Hiester

I’ve been reading through this topic and just want to state this information, since I noted there have been a few misstatements along the way regarding the names and numbers of essential elements for plants. All plants need a total of THIRTEEN essential elements in order to survive and thrive. There are SIX macro-nutrients and SEVEN micro-nutrients. Primary macro-nutrients are nitrogen–N, phosphorus–P, and potassium–K. These three macro-nutrients (essential elements) are generally in lower supply in soil/media because plants use up large amounts of these three for growth as well as for survival. The breakdown of organic matter supplies these nutrients in the natural world, but practices like farming and ornamental gardening tend to deplete these nutrients from the soil, thus they need to be added back via the addition of composted organic material or through fertilizing. The secondary macro-nutrients (essential elements) are calcium–Ca, magnesium–Mg, and sulfur–S. These three nutrients are generally in abundant supply in soils, often from the slow weathering of solid mineral matter, so plants rarely use up all the available supply.

The seven micro-nutrients (essential elements) are boron–B, copper–Cu, iron–Fe, chloride–Cl, manganese–Mn, molybdenum–Mo and zinc–Zn. Because plants generally do not need much of these seven elements the breakdown of old vegetative organic matter in soils tends to supply these necessary nutrients in abundance from a plant perspective.

Though lots of orchids, as well as many other types of plants, grow as epiphytes or lithophytes, they still need all these essential elements available to them in order to survive and thrive.

Hope this didn’t bore anyone…

Not a bore.

Orchid nutrition is often a hot topic of discussion.

You're correct, but what you mentioned is only part of the story...

I think optimal nutrition for an orchid is dependent on the type of orchid, the type of environment those orchids come from, and what the nutrient availability is like in those environments.

I think that optimal nutrition for orchids is not necessarily a one-size-fits-all thing. You will most likely fail miserably if you try to apply one idea to all orchids. Some orchids will require different nutrient loads based on where they came from and what kinds of nutrients were available and at what concentrations the nutrients were available at in the orchid's natural habitat.

What I've just mentioned is the "Cliff Notes" version of what has to be said on the matter.

[Hiester]

Originally Posted by King_of_orchid_growing:)

Not a bore.

Orchid nutrition is often a hot topic of discussion.

You're correct, but what you mentioned is only part of the story...

I think optimal nutrition for an orchid is dependent on the type of orchid, the type of environment those orchids come from, and what the nutrient availability is like in those environments.

I think that optimal nutrition for orchids is not necessarily a one-size-fits-all thing. You will most likely fail miserably if you try to apply one idea to all orchids. Some orchids will require different nutrient loads based on where they came from and what kinds of nutrients were available and at what concentrations the nutrients were available at in the orchid's natural habitat.

What I've just mentioned is the "Cliff Notes" version of what has to be said on the matter.

Thank you, Philip. I agree that each species or hybrid might have differing requirements, all according to eons of adaptability to localized environmental conditions where they are found in nature.

Some might ask, where's oxygen and carbon dioxide? Aren't they also necessary? And the answer would be, "Yes." As they are used by plants in a gaseous state, they are covered under the topic of gases (i.e. atmosphere along with humidity and air movement), which also are essential requirements for plant survival.