Phal fertilizer? - Orchid Board

Phal grower · #1 08-03-2011, 06:32 PM

Whats your favorite fertilizer for phals and why?

WhiteRabbit · #2 08-04-2011, 03:15 AM

I only have a few Phals, so they get what the other orchids get, which currently is bromeliad fertilizer lol

Phal grower · #3 08-04-2011, 04:53 PM

Ok, lol. I'm just looking for something easy and available. Judging from your answer maybe I worry to much about it.

WhiteRabbit · #4 08-04-2011, 05:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Phal grower

Ok, lol. I'm just looking for something easy and available. Judging from your answer maybe I worry to much about it.

hehe - I actually started the brom fertilizer, because I had it, and had seen Dynamite has a fert labeled for broms and orchids, so I looked at the NPK on what I had (Grow More Bromeliad 17-8-22), and it compared well with the Gubler's orchid fertilizer I had been using

I don't use 'bloom booster' fert, just stay with something for blooming plants (I know some people use tomato fert), or balanced (ex. 10-10-10), and use Ray's awesome fertilizer calculators Fertilizer PPM Calculator (there's also some info on Phal fertilizing there)

Val · #5 08-04-2011, 05:05 PM

My fav is MSU-type. My Phals. (60+ of them) are thriving.
I use 4ml/liter (weakly, weekly) and no problem so far (8 months).
Bought it from Ray's whom I highly recommend (including his website's free info section).

Phal grower · #6 08-04-2011, 10:15 PM

Thankyou all. I'm going to check out Ray's now.

cythaenopsis · #7 09-20-2011, 12:22 PM

I've found fertilizer to be the most difficult topic with regards to orchid care. There are so many different recommendations, depending upon the species, the environmental conditions, life cycle, etc.

Then there is Ray's website on plant nutrition that goes into a tremendous amount of information, a good portion of it into the bio-sciences, and an elaborate calculation of nitrogen, phosphorous, and potassium that makes my eyes glaze over. Too much information for me, I'm afraid.

I'm no botanist nor professional orchid grower. I'm just a guy with a few plants who wants to do something a little better than just filtered tap water. Unfortunately I bought MiracleGro last month and now learned that it contains urea, which is not helpful for orchids.

MSU, Dynagrow, and a few others have been mentioned. I guess anything that doesn't contain urea and not too much nitrogen should be fine for someone who wants to keep it simple with one basic product?

silken · #8 09-20-2011, 12:30 PM

I use MSU as well. It was developed at Michigan State University (hence MSU) and supposed to be an all round fertilizer. It comes in two forms, one for tap water and well water and the other for R/O and rain water. Since there are more minerals in the tap and well water, the formulation is different. It has the usable form of nitrogen that is hard to find on box store shelves where urea is the norm. Some articles I have read say there is no need to switch to bloom boosters when using it.