fertilizing and watering

[butterfly79]

I have been doing a lot of homework on phals but I have yet to figure out this weakly weekly fertilization.


I use Schultz fertilizer which is 19-31-17. Good for all orchids. Directions is 0.75g(1/2scoop) per 2.5L of water every time you water. Would I use this amount every time I water?

When you water, do you run your orchids under the tap for an alotted time period or do you use a certain amount of water?

[Royal]

When I water I thoroughly soak the entire plant, water pours out of the bottom of the pot.

Usually fertilizers have directions for a "once in a while" feeding regiment and a "feed every watering" regiment. Use the smaller amount to feed at every watering. If there is only one ratio listed, I would cut that in half.

Don't forget to flush with plain water about once per month to rinse away accumulated salts.

[orchidsamore]

The first think I would recommend is to change that fertilizer. It is way too high in phosphorus.

Phosphorus takes 5 years to break down in plants and unless you have a deficiency there is no reason to use it.

It has done so much damage to the Florida Everglades that it has been baned in Florida in any application that can have runoff into the water system.

Use a balanced formula or a low phosphorus formula like 16-3-19.

Weakly in weakly weekly is meant to mean that when you use an all purpose fertilizer for tropical plants you would use a weaker solution fopr orchids.

Tropical plants are normally a tablespoon per gallon and weakly would be a teaspoon per gallon. The only difference in all purpose fertilizer and orchid fertilizer is the directions on the package which reduces the amount for orchids.

[orchid-flowers]

For watering and fertilizing I would recommend you following guidelines
-when you water, water with thoroughly with large amounts of water (about 3x the volume of the pot)
-when you fertilize, use fertilizer sparingly … less fertilizer is better
-never ever fertilize with full recommended dosage of fertilizer (for orchids) if roots are not wet, so always water first
-to save some time, rather dilute your fertilizer (even the ones recommended for orchids) ten times more than recommended and water your orchids with this solution as mentioned above how to water. Use this solution each time you water your plants, however every sixth watering just use water without fertilizer to rinse accumulated fertilizer salts out of the pot
-you can use any fertilizer you want for the orchids, just not organic fertilizers and not time or temperature dependable fertilizers. Organic fertilizers need time to decompose, to give nutrients to the orchids and this time might not coincide with orchid needs for this nutrients. Mineral fertilizers are a better for orchids, because they provide needed nutrients to the orchids, immediately after application.
-to look after Mother Nature, it might be good to reconsider the option of applying fertilizer by spraying the orchids, orchid’s leafs (never on flowers). There is less danger to damage roots with fertilizer and less fertilizer will be used.

Also try to select a fertilizer according to your orchids phase of growth; actively growing more nitrogen - maturing growth a lot less nitrogen - resting very, very little nitrogen to no fertilizing at all.

[butterfly79]

Wow, so I don't need to use orchid fertilizer? I can use tropical flower fertilizer? If so that is good news because all I can get here is the shultz fertilizer. Ordering from the states is too expensive.

[orchid-flowers]

You don’t need to use special orchid fertilizers for your orchids. You can use any type of fertilizer, just not organic and time or temperature dependable fertilizers. As Orchidsamore already mentioned, you have to look after well balanced formula of nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium. Well balanced formula means relation between these main ingredients in fertilizer mixture. Nitrogen is mostly responsible for the amount of growth that an orchid makes. Therefore more nitrogen is needed when an orchid is growing and much less when resting.
Phosphorous is mainly responsible for flowering and potassium with phosphorous for forming roots. So you have to select appropriate fertilizer mixture for your purpose, for growing, maturing of growth and flowering.

With all above said I still recommend using special orchid fertilizer, at least from time to time. Special orchid fertilizers usually have best balanced formulas; not just nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium, but a lot of other minerals needed for healthy orchids.

So, to serve orchids the best you can, look for fertilizers that are suitable for a certain period of growth, fertilizers that have a lot of other minerals included (some fertilizer mixtures can have up to 40 – 60 other mineral compounds included) and change between 2 – 3 best brands of fertilizer you can find. This will ensure the best supply of mineral nutrients you can give to your orchids. By best brands I mean the ones you can buy at affordable price and maybe even some from US, if it is not available near your place. You don’t need so much fertilizer, even if you have a lot of orchids. You will only need about half a table spoon of fertilizer for about 15 - 20 orchids for one fertilizing/watering.