Fertilizing my phals

[en3rmax]

Hi again OB,

I've been i've been fertilizing my phals weakly weekly for about a year in tepid tap water but today i've received some Dyna-Gro. Orchid Pro (7-8-6) from peter white of peter white orchids of the UK which he said is really good, also i've started collecting rain water which peter recommends.

What is the best way to fertilize orchids?

My normal practice is to use tepid fertilized water in a bowl and let the orchid sit in it for about 10 mins.

Is it best to always use another batch of clean fertilized water to do another and not the same water another orchid has been in?

Is it best to let the orchid sit in fertilized water or just run it through the pot as i do this sometimes?

I always flush my orchids with fresh water once a month too to remove any build up of salts.

It would be nice to get some feedback on how the pros feed their orchids.

Thanks again Kev.

[RosieC]

Hi Kev,

It's generally advised that you don't soak multiple orchids in the same water. Some people do it, and I do with some of mine, but the danger is that if one get's a desease it can easily spread to the others you put in the same water. Some people compromise by having fixed groups, so that the same orchids are always soaked in the water of the same other ones, that way you only loose the group, not all your orchids, if a problem occurs.

I've used the Dyna Grow. It's a good balanced one. I would soak my Phals, filling the outer cache pot for about 10min then pouring it out. For Oncidiums I would poor the water through the pot, I was advised once that this helps because after doing this they dry quicker and you can then water more often which they seem to like.

One thing to be careful of is that rain water usually needs different fertlisers to tap water. The reason relates to how the disolved salts buffer the PH of the fertiliser. I don't know if Dyna-Gro is good for rain water or not.

[Orchid126]

As RosieC says, rain water is pure with no minerals whatsoever, and these must be supplied with your fertilizer. (Dyna-gro is excellent for macro and micro nutrients). Tap water usually has some calcium and magnesium in it. You might consider mixing some tap water in with your rain water to make up the deficiency.

One thing to consider about watering from the bottom, fertilizer build-up can occur. This is less prevelant with top watering, and a thorough flushing once a month or so.

[en3rmax]

peter white did say that you can add a bit of tap water to make up the difference, but the dyna gro has all the nutrients in it so you shouldn't really need to.

I think i will water from the top of the pot as this has always worked well for me and stops the media from staying to wet.

I've added some packing peanuts to the bottom of the pots and a couple in the middle to help with drainage.

[Orchid126]

Sounds like you're on the right track.