Fertillzer

[Nicolasdperez]

Originally Posted by Roberta

Definitely don't use softened water on plants... a water softener doesn't actually remove minerals, it replaces the calcium, usually with sodium,so you don't get soap scum but it is toxic to plants. If you use the outside water and adjust the pH down, most orchids will be fine - that's the optimal pH range for absorbing nutrients from fertilizer - and the calcium will be available to the plants. When you're not fertilizing, you probably don't even have to go that far. There are a few groups that are sensitive to high mineral content (like Pleurothallids and other cloud-forest species) but most of the orchids that people grow - Phalaenopsis, Cattleya group, Oncidiums, Cymbidiums, etc., are fine with rather bad city water.

Originally Posted by Roberta

I would have no problem using that 20-20-20 fertilizer. Of all of the cultural factors for successful orchid growing, fertilizer is at the bottom of the list. Get light, temperature, watering, and media right first. A long time (and very successful) orchid grower in one of my societies was asked what kind of fertilizer he used, and his response was "whatever is on sale at K-Mart or Home Depot". Orchids grow really slowly... fertilizer minerals give the plant what it needs to build cell walls, chloroplasts, etc. Most orchids give you maybe one growth per year, maybe two... so they're not adding new tissue very fast. Think of fertilizer as "vitamins" not "food" - green plants make their own food (carbs) by photosynthesis.

That being said, there are exceptions to every rule... Catasetums and relatives, which go dormant in winter (and want neither fertilizer nor even water when they do) grow very rapidly in the spring and summer - and so need more fertilizer than other orchids during that time. But then, that's just the flip side of the "slow growth little fertilizer"... if it's growing like a tomato, feed it like one. If not, scale fertilizer use accordingly.

Evidence of how well orchids can grow getting city water, pH 7.8-8.0, (every 2 or 3 days in summer, every 3 or 4 days in winter) and very occasional fertilizer (about 1/2 teaspoon per gallon every 2 or 3 weeks, pH adjusted)... this is a bit of what is blooming in my yard right now. Is it optimum? No. Is it adequate? Apparently...

Your orchids are very beautiful The analogy of fertilizer being vitamins as opposed to food is a great idea; it really helped my understanding. I am slowly learning about fertilizing corresponding to growth speed. I mistakenly over fertilized one of my slow growing paphs and have since learned to lay off compared to what I give my vandas and oncidiums. Personally, I also have had no issue with this 20-20-20 fertilizer so far; I was more so just asking to avoid any possible issues in the future. Using this fertillizer, I got my Vanda pachara to bloom. Its the first orchid to bloom under my care and hopefully it will not be the last

[Roberta]

Originally Posted by Nicolasdperez

Using this fertillizer, I got my Vanda pachara to bloom. Its the first orchid to bloom under my care and hopefully it will not be the last

That is gorgeous! Of course, now you are hooked... . Along with the fertilizer, clearly you gave the plant the other conditions that it wanted. Well done!

[Nicolasdperez]

Thank you for everything Yes, this has definitely added fuel to the obsession; I think I'll probably be saying "just one more orchid" for a while

[Shadeflower]

I guess I haven't showed as many orchids as Roberta yet and I always found that people like to hear what they want to hear but is that really what will be best for the orchids?

I've been growing plants for a long time and i can tell you that most growers could not tell the difference between a well fed orchid and a nutrient deficient one. Both will still most likely bloom even! Just like looking at kids in a classroom, you probably couldn't tell which kid eats fruit and veg and which kid only eats sweets and chocolate. 20 years later it would be very hard to hide that fact.

Sure some can handle tap water, sure they can go a year without micronutrients but long term a black spot will appear, then another, even longer term one might even come up with the theory that black spots are completely normal and unavoidable.

Subtle differences, just like vitamins.

[Ray]

If you want “the best”, then I would think that one should work to mimic what the plants would see in their native environment.

If you study the nutrient supply of orchid species in the wild - rainfall washing deposits and plant exudates from the forest canopy - you will find it is 1) very dilute, and 2) almost all nitrogen. The other nutrient ions are extremely dilute and often come directly from microbes and from the decomposition products of their actions.

K-Lite Orchid/Epiphyte Fertilizer comes closest of any formula to matching that. However, as has been said, fertilizer is a very low-priority consideration in orchid culture. In fact, for a plant to put on one pound of mass, it must absorb, process, and convert about 25 gallons of water, but only about a teaspoon of NPK fertilizer.

Fertilizer is essential, but the formula is not critical. Thinking of it more like “vitamins” is good; one might also think of it as a key to start the Ferrari. It doesn’t do all that much, but without it…

If you talk to professionals in horticulture, you’ll learn that the target is to prevent deficiencies without overdoing it. There is no precise feeding target.

[estación seca]

England has a miserable climate for orchid growing. That's why other gardeners have always marveled at what master English gardeners have been able to accomplish. I can assure you that in good conditions of temperature, water and humidity, adequate fertilizing makes an enormous difference in plant growth and flowering.

[Roberta]

Originally Posted by estación seca

I can assure you that in good conditions of temperature, water and humidity, adequate fertilizing makes an enormous difference in plant growth and flowering.

Don't tell MY plants... they have pretty decent conditions (not ideal but not bad), but get very little in the way of fertilizer, grow well and bloom their little heads off year after year...