Kelp Help

[kg4usk]

Hello all! First post here.

TLDR; I bought a 'big box store' Phal 9 years ago when I moved into my home, and somehow managed to keep it alive (and blooming) for the first 7 years in the original moss by dunking it in tap water for a couple hours and then squeezing the excess water out like a sponge every few weeks (sounds ridiculous, I know lol). Repotted in bark a couple years ago, but she hasn't bloomed or sent out a spike since.
After doing some reading online about orchids, my interest piqued, and I found myself walking out of Chadwick's (some of you may be familiar) with a box of assorted plants.
I've been trying to absorb as much info as I can here, but at this point I feel like an old dog trying to learn new tricks.


Onto the actual question; I know that you shouldn't use ferts while the plant is in bloom, but does that also apply to kelp additives? Or is it okay to dose kelp while in bloom?

Thanks in advance!

[Ray]

There is no issue using fertilizer or biostimulants like kelp on blooming plants.

In fact, Kelpak has proven to prolong the life of flowers.

[kg4usk]

Originally Posted by Ray

There is no issue using fertilizer or biostimulants like kelp on blooming plants.

Oh really? I thought I've heard from a few sources that you should only water with no fertilizer while in bloom, or am I confusing this with something else?

[Mountaineer370]

Welcome to the Orchid Board! I'm not sure what the source of your confusion may be, but I have never heard that you should not fertilize orchids while they're in bloom. I've been doing it from the time I got my first orchid in 2015.

I am surprised that your Phal. went seven years in the same moss without being repotted. The fact that it hasn't bloomed for two years, since you switched it from moss to bark, is most likely due to the change in potting medium. That's a big difference, and a plant can take a while to adjust. You may already know that a plant in bark is probably going to need watering much more frequently than one in moss. Aside from not blooming, does the plant seem healthy in general?

[kg4usk]

I'm surprised it made it that far as well! Especially with the way it was handled lol. Good genes I guess? It was sitting on a south facing windowsill where the sun was filtered through trees all day. Unfortunately I had to move it to a different location with less light and that's when things started going downhill. Lost all but one leaf and all the roots below the surface were pretty much toast. She appears to be doing much better now after being in bark. I now realize pot is way too big (like triple the size of the original), but the roots that I can see appear thick and healthy and it's currently sprouting leaf number four. I only started using ferts like a month ago which really accelerated the leaf and root growth. One of the arial roots actually formed another "branch" and basically did a U-turn down into the medium.
I just got some supplemental lighting as well since the only available windows I can put plants near all have terrible sun exposure.

[Ray]

Moving it to lower-light conditions is the likely cultprit for it not blooming - but it will adjust, given time.

Phalaenopsis should never get direct sunlight - they tend to be deep understory plants in nature, so never get direct rays.