fertilizer confusion

[Alys]

hello, I've spent too much time researching fert. I only have a few orchids; 2 paph., 2 phal. I've read the recommendations given by the growers and they recommend 20-20-20. When I shop for fert. for orchids specifically, it's never 20-20-20. Last year and up to a couple of weeks ago; I used Dyna-Grow 1/4t. per gal. every time. The bottle sprang a leak so I threw it away thinking that I needed something else. All four of my orchids and my Streptocarpus are beautifully in bloom. Should I stick with the Dyna-Grow, it produced these blooms, or should I change. Please advise.

[wisdomseeker]

Fertilizer confusion - confusion? Sounds like you already understand fertilizers and the three major numbers associated with NPK.

I'm sure you will get many (varying) opinions to your question, and I'm sure those opinions are 'good-will' efforts to address the question you asked. It's ultimately up to you to make the choice (regardless of varying opinions). Personally, I lean toward the "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" train of thought.

If the fertilizer you have been using works (and it sounds like that particular fertilizer brand is doing it's job with the way you are applying it), you could continue using the same brand/formulation because it has proven to work for you -or- you could certainly use something different (and observe for pros and cons).

If you can, please post some pictures of your blooms if possible. I think most of us enjoy/appreciate seeing pictures of orchids when flowering.

[Alys]

Thanks for replying. As you say; if it isn't broke don't fix it. I'd like to post pics of my orchids but as a newbie to the Board I haven't found out as of yet how to do it.

[Roberta]

Originally Posted by Alys

Thanks for replying. As you say; if it isn't broke don't fix it. I'd like to post pics of my orchids but as a newbie to the Board I haven't found out as of yet how to do it.

To post photos... from the Quick Reply dialog box, click "Go Advanced". Scroll down a bit and you'll see "Manage Attachments". Click on that and another window will pop up. Browse to your picture and select it. When you have selected all the photos you want, click Upload. You'll see the files under Manage attachments. When you're done with writing your message, click Submit Reply as usual, and your photos will be in your post. One more little note... it's a "feature" of the software that sometimes photos show sideways in your post. The cure for that is to open the files in any photo editor before you upload them, make some little change and save... that seems to reset the orientation.

As for fertilizer... the major component that orchids actually utilize is Nitrogen, the phosphorus and potassium are needed much less. So base your choice on that. As for amount, you'll find lots of discussions on the Board on the fine points ... Read through them, ask questions... my personal bias is to keep it as simple as possible, the main take-away is that orchids don't need much at all, fertilizer is the least-important factor in orchid-growing... get temperature, light, watering, air circulation right, then get into the weeds with fertilizer.

[3rdMaestro]

Just a quick note about posting pictures, if you go to the first topic listed of "About this Board" on the homepage, and go to the first sticky topic called "tips for posting photos" you'll find some good advice there. The very last comment helped me start posting correctly oriented photos.

[SouthPark]

Originally Posted by Alys

When I shop for fert. for orchids specifically, it's never 20-20-20.

That's quite ok ------ and no problem. Because out in the wild ------ the orchids just have to take what they get, and it's highly likely that the fertiliser they get in the wild is not 20-20-20 as well.

But ---- whatever the N-P-K values are ------ we can just focus on the left-most number .... the 'N' value. And then go ahead with determining roughly how much fertiliser to add to a certain amount of water.

This just so happens to be discussed at this recent thread ----- link here.

Some fertilisers are in granule form. Some in liquid form. Some people have syringes for measuring the liquids. Some use scoops, or teaspoons, or they fill a portion of caps of bottle (such as quarter-cap etc).

Whichever method we use ----- the main thing is to have a fertilising system (schedule and concentration) that is beneficial to the orchid --- without over-dosing them, and maybe without under-dosing.

[WaterWitchin]

I'm not sure that for someone with four orchids and a newer member here, the thread you lead to will do anything more than cause confusion SouthPark. Just sayin', that one got more than a bit overly technical for the question originally asked.

I'm with wisdomseeker on this one.... your orchids are doing well, blooming, etc. Buy a new bottle of the Dyna and enjoy the blooms. Nothing broken, no need to reinvent the wheel. Fertilizer is way down the list of keeping an orchid alive and getting it to bloom. Sounds like you're already doing just fine.

[SouthPark]

WW - as the opening poster is using teaspoon and gallon ...... I can just provide this nice rule of thumb basic method that anybody can use :

For gallon of water ---- number of teaspoon of fertiliser to use is number of gallon TIMES 6, then divide by the "N" value.

So - for example, if N is 20, and we want to use half a gallon (ie. 0.5 gallon), then just do 0.5 TIMES 6, then divide by 20 to give 0.15 TEAspoon of fertiliser (to add to half a gallon of water).

But if say we want to use 1 gallon of water, then just do : 1 gallon TIMES 6, then divide by 20, resulting in 0.3 TEAspoon of fertiliser (to add to 1 gallon of water).

There's nothing to it at all. And if the N value really is 20. Then the calculation becomes super easy. In that case, we would just take the number of gallons and multiply by 0.3.

So, for 1 gallon of water to be used (eg. 0.5 gallon of water), we just do: 1 TIMES 0.3 ---- which gives 0.3 TEAspoon.

The above just assumes 6.25 gram per teaspoon.

And the 0.3 TEAspoon fertiliser (for 1 gallon of water) bumped down to 0.25 teaspoon per gallon is no problem at all.

[Andrew-L]

I don't find that thread confusing at all. Just because someone is a new member and only has a couple of orchids doesn't mean they have been living under a rock before finding this place.

No offense.

The people here are very knowledgeable and will steer you in the correct direction. There is a lot of misinformation about growing orchids in your Google search results though.

Knowledge is power. Soak it up

[Roberta]

One of my very early orchid mentors, a successful orchid grower over many years, was asked "What kind of fertilizer do you use?" His reply, "Whatever is on sale." He also successfully grew Vandas in a shady area of his yard. (Against a wall, which provided some winter warmth... conclusion, protecting from cold probably more important than full sun) His plants didn't read the books, Google hadn't been invented yet. Common sense and observing one's plants goes a long way toward achieving success. Focus on the most important factors first. Indeed, what is not broken don't try to fix.