Schedules for Fertilizing , KelpMax, Regular watering

[Cymbaline]

I read on another post a comment made by Ray of FirstRays that orchid roots have a monthly schedule for growth.

I'm just curious . This question sounds like I'm being really complicated but I'm not. It's just more of a curiosity thing, not something I'm losing sleep over.

If I keep a schedule regarding what week I water vs fertilize etc. Would products like fertilizer and Kelpmax be held by the orchid for use later in the month?

I hope that question makes sense. What I'm thinking is

Week 1) Fertilize Orchid

Week 2) Regular water

Week 3 ) Kelp Max Orchids ( I have orchids who are benefiting from it )

Week 4) Regular water

So would the fertilizer and KelpMax be washed away in Week 2 and 4 and be of no use if the growth cycle was to occur in Week 4?

Or does it get taken up and stored for later.

[DirtyCoconuts]

how are you keeping the orchids? Like in what type of culture as that has significant impact on the feeding.

I have modified my routine to mimic what Ray outlines with a few tweaks....i fertilize (very dilute) at almost every watering and i use Inocour when i get a new plant( and then spray the rest on the rest of the plants) or monthly and kelpmax monthly or when needed for rehab.

I keep all my orchids either mounted or in extremely fast draining media (read, the water is dripping out the bottom within 3-5 seconds of me starting to spray)
i use rain water and i live in a VERY humid environment

how often you feed has a lot to do with the other factors.

[Cymbaline]

Originally Posted by DirtyCoconuts

how are you keeping the orchids? Like in what type of culture as that has significant impact on the feeding.

I have modified my routine to mimic what Ray outlines with a few tweaks....i fertilize (very dilute) at almost every watering and i use Inocour when i get a new plant( and then spray the rest on the rest of the plants) or monthly and kelpmax monthly or when needed for rehab.

I keep all my orchids either mounted or in extremely fast draining media (read, the water is dripping out the bottom within 3-5 seconds of me starting to spray)
i use rain water and i live in a VERY humid environment

how often you feed has a lot to do with the other factors.

Thanks for sharing your routine!


Regarding medium. Most of them all are in mixtures with wood, large chunks of perlite, charcoal and some moss mix. For example: I have a few in rePotme.com Phalaenopsis Monterey Dark Imperial and a few in the Better Gro Special Orchid Potting mix . Two older orchids in the Miracle gro orchid mix.

I water weekly depending on the orchid type and they are kept in a room with humidifiers and water trays. The humidity gauge says usually 50+ %

[DirtyCoconuts]

that sort of mix should drain OK...i worry about how much moss is in it-

if you are going to only be watering weekly then i actually like the routine you have outlined as it allows for the plants to get the boost but also will allow for flushing of the media.

if you are inclined to experiment that is a good thing but remember that orchids are slow and you need to really document the results over time to see what is actually making a difference.

as far as the storage question, i understand that the orchid will take up what ever is available and needed and, depending on the orchid, store what it can. BUt i do not think that it works quite as you stated with the orchid holding the fert or kelp max for the month. i think it is more that the plant takes what it needs and maintains the best levels it can based on the nutes that are available.

[Ray]

In the first place, I don't think I've ever said that orchid roots have a monthly growth cycle.

Secondly, a plant that is in active growth needs nutrition. If it is not provided externally for absorption by the root system, nutrients will be "pulled" from older parts of the plant to supply the growing ones. A significant exception is calcium, which is not easily translocated, so much be supplied regularly.

The reason I recommend against feeding as infrequently as monthly is that doing so is akin to putting the plant into more of a starve/glut scenario than it would normally see in nature, where it gets very little nutrition, but gets it constantly, or at least very frequently.

When I had a greenhouse, I fed at 25 ppm N every time I watered. Now that I'm back to windowsill growing after 35+ years, I feed once a week at 100 ppm N.

The only "monthly" aspect of my culture recommendation applies to KelpMax. When you "spike" the growth cycle by applying such stimulants, it takes 2-3 weeks for the level of activity to return to normal. Rather than keeping the plant "pumped" continuously, I prefer to give it a little extra time to "calm down". Plus, once-a-month is easy to remember.

[SouthPark]

Cymbaline - fertilising schedule may depend on what media you're using, and how the media and the orchid is watered.

In my case - for my region, my choice of growing media is scoria. I apply weak liquid fertiliser by spraying into the media - once a month. And 2 weeks afterward, I apply cal-mag (weak).

I don't know exactly what occurs in the media - but my guess is that when I apply the fertiliser, the fertiliser gets into the media - eg. the scoria, and stays there for a while. So there-after, when I water at some later stage, the roots may still have access to fertiliser (nutrients) in the media.

It may certainly be better to apply fertiliser on a weekly basis instead --- weak application each week.

But I have never gone for the weekly schedule. All my orchids stay in great shape.

A nice workable schedule will likely depend on what method of growing is being used. Also, it depends on some aim or plans of growers too maybe - such as - do the orchids need to have their growth processes optimised for commercial reasons, or for plant competitions? etc.