Help with my first phalaenopsis!

[Yamhure]

I water around once evey 8 days. The pine mix seems to be moist up untill day 6 or so Im not sure if I should water more frequently. I have a 13-35-16 fertilizer and I try and feed every 15 days with the recommended dosage. Should I dose less and feed more often?

---------- Post added at 08:13 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:11 PM ----------

Im a bit stumped on feeding. How often should I feed? I have a 13-35-16 fertilizer. Im feeding every 15 days or so.

[Roberta]

One way of deciding when to water is to feel the weight of the pot right after you have watered, then lift it each day (or even better, weigh it if you have a kitchen scale or postal scale), when it stops getting lighter, it is dry and it is time to water again. The "how often" part is dependent both on the medium and your humidity, so you will discover the "formula" for your own conditions. I would suggest that you could use half the recommended dosage every week, or even every two. It is is better to give less each time... if you are watering about once a week, the "once weekly, weakly" approach works. If you are fertilizing with each watering, then even 1/4 of the recommended amount could be even better - and every 4th week, no fertilizer at all, flush especially well when you water. This will help to avoid a buildup of fertilizer salts in the medium. The formula? I think it is rather high in phosphorus (which the plant really doesn't need) but if your water is on the alkaline side, that combination may help to bring the pH down to where the plant can better utilize the nutrients. If that is what is being sold where where you live, it may be formulated for local conditions.

[SouthPark]

Originally Posted by Yamhure

Im currently dipping the whole pot in a larger tub of water. I let the orchid sit there for around 7 minutes and then let it drain for a while before putting it back. Is this ok?

Yamhure ----- a lot of growers use a method like that, especially for indoor growing in homes, where it might not be convenient to use cups or watering cans or sprayers etc.

It's ok to water in that way - as long as the orchid's roots don't get the oxygen starvation issue, which can occur if media and roots stay too wet for too long - with little to no water and air movement activity among the roots and media.

Alternatively, could take the orchid to a kitchen sink or bathroom etc, and spray water into the media (around the rim region --- a very good wetting of the bark in the outer region of the pot ----- not the inner region). That would ensure the bulk of the roots won't become water logged. However ----- this watering method is best for areas where the orchid and pot doesn't have to be moved for touched.

[Roberta]

A note about the "dunking" procedure... this works for one plant. However, if you have another plant, you will need another tub of water - because sharing water between plants is a really, really good way to spread fungal and bacterial diseases. So don't even think about doing it. Watering it under the faucet avoids that problem. As your collection grows (orchids are addicting...) you will learn of other ways that people on the Board manage watering.

[SouthPark]

Originally Posted by Yamhure

I water around once every 8 days.

Yamhure ----- maybe water more frequently - aiming to avoid water-logging or super wet conditions (for long periods).

That is, if the media is really a good water absorbing type - that can get really watery for long periods, then it can be better to be less 'intense' on the amount of water added ...... so that you can water a little more frequently, but with less intensity. That's to cut down or avoid chances of drowning roots ----- which can actually happen if roots aren't adapted for watery conditions.

But even adapted roots can die of oxygen starvation if the oxygen level in the water gets too low.

Even for airy scoria or airy bark media ------ if a pot is really large, and we put lots of water into the pot, and the media absorbs a heap of that water, then that well-known water-bridging effect between the bark pieces and/or scoria rock pieces will lead to a wet 'slurry' condition ..... a root-drowning condition, which can be what happens if we over-do the watering.

But --- if one waters in a particular way --- eg. watering mostly the media toward the outskirts/rim of the pot, then the situation is different ------ and can be very effective. This just means - knowing what is roughly happening down in the depths of the media (and avoiding root-harming situations) can be very helpful - for the orchid.

[Rhonda Svoboda]

Roberta- thanks for pointing out the issue about perioxide, I didn't know that. Also thanks for going into more detail about phal's care.

[estación seca]

Orchids, Phals especially, don't need much fertilizer in winter when they're not growing much. There is a lot of information about fertilizing at the First Rays Web site.

[SouthPark]

Originally Posted by Roberta

... sharing water between plants is a really, really good way to spread fungal and bacterial diseases. So don't even think about doing it. Watering it under the faucet avoids that problem.

Absolutely true! This reminds me to add the above golden rule to my golden rules book. Thanks for mentioning that Roberta.

Originally Posted by Rhonda Svoboda

Roberta- thanks for pointing out the issue about peroxide, I didn't know that. Also thanks for going into more detail about phal's care.

MOG is now very likely a much much more experienced orchid grower than she was in the past --- eg. some years ago.

There once was the hydrogen peroxide and fusarium band-wagon, but I think ---- thanks to the growers on orchidboard ------- those bandwagons are largely disbanded.

I think it's great that growers (like you, us etc) talk freely here like this - so that we can all find out about those certain issues associated with orchid treatments mentioned in some old youtube videos and online documents.

Not as much related ----- but one online classic started by a commercial orchid seller is --- 'just add ice'.

[Roberta]

A problem with relying on YouTube videos... once on the 'net, they are there forever unless removed by the originator. So they don't have the benefit of what the originator might have learned later. And still are one person's perspective. On the Board, there's input from many people, who grow under different conditions, and so have different perspectives. It is always wise to ask "why" to any piece of advice where it isn't obvious.

[SouthPark]

Originally Posted by Roberta

A problem with relying on YouTube videos... once on the 'net, they are there forever unless removed by the originator. So they don't have the benefit of what the originator might have learned later. And still are one person's perspective.

It certainly is a problem Roberta. I still think it's a bit odd in that the 'fusarium saga' video series is still on youtube. I reckon that the right (righteous) thing to do is to remove those particular episodes.