choosing fertilizers - fir bark treatment

[Ray]

Rangiku is correct. Divide by the percentage as stated on the label, not the decimal equivalent.

I guess that the issue I have with the conclusion of that study comes from the assumption that the nitrogen comes from the canopy during rainfall, while the other nutrients are from other sources, and are available at all times.

First of all, we should consider that plants only take up nutrients when they are aqueous ions. If there is no rain and everything is dry - as does happen in habitats that no so coincidentally are the indigenous homes of plants needing a "winter rest" - there is no mineral availability for the plants. (I think the fact that those plants can bloom if kept wet but unfed in S/H culture proves it is the stoppage of nutrition, not water, that is the key to them).

While it is correct that the drainage from the canopy contains nitrogen, that is not all it contains. Pretty much all of the nutrients in the forest are exuded by the trees, so drain to the orchids. Sure, there may be some in the collected detritus, animal droppings and fungi around the root system, but that is not their sole source, and as I mentioned above, if they are dry, they are not providing any nutritional value.