Confused about Potassium

[rosebudforglory]

Here is a good article on the critical role of potassium in plant stress response. A little technical but good information. The Critical Role of Potassium in Plant Stress Response

If the link doesn’t work - search The Critical Role of Potassium in Plant Stress Response
By Min Wang, Qingsong Zheng, [...], and Shiwei Guo

---------- Post added at 05:08 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:02 PM ----------

This is another detailed article on potassium needs in plants https://res.mdpi.com/agronomy/agrono...=&attachment=1

Name of Article - Potassium: A Vital Regulator of Plant Responses and Tolerance to Abiotic Stresses

[Ray]

When reading such articles, be careful translating the results, or applying them to orchids, as different plants have different needs!

Just because a food crop has a large demand, it doesn't mean an orchid does.

[HardWood]

I want to share the mistake I made with water softened with potassium chloride. For several months this last summer I used softened water in my overhead misting nozzles that I water with while I am traveling. The orchids were watered with 640 ppm total dissolved solids of potassium chloride.
The untreated water was only 480 ppm of calcium and magnesium carbonate. It takes more potassium to remove the hardness as compared to sodium, that is why the numbers increase. So my plants were watered with way too much potassium every time I was traveling. My orchids leaves looked bad: The tips were burned and yellow. They had vertical ribbing. Bloom stocks were stunted. I believe my problem was due to the inability of the orchids to block the uptake of potassium and take in the needed calcium for proper cell wall formation. I am currently using RO water with Ray's K-lite fertilizer. My new leaves look great. Thanks Ray for all your help.

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