The biggest stimulant to plant growth is water.
A horticulture professor shared the mass balance of chemical reactions that fix carbon (i.e., add mass), and for ANY plant to add a pound of mass, it must absorb and chemically process about 200 pounds of water, but only about 5 grams of NPK.
Add to that the fact that as much as 95% of the water absorbed is lost through transpiration and the amount of water absorbed approaches 4000 pounds!
Orchids are extremely slow-growing plants. They are also the “Goldilocks” of the plant world, with each type have its own specific set of “just right” cultural parameters. Give the plant those conditions, feed it regularly and sparingly (more is not better), and it will grow and bloom to its maximum genetically-programmed capability. Nothing you can do will make it do more (without consequences), and any shortcoming in your handling of them will negatively affect it.
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