Is this new growth?

[james mickelso]

As for fertilizer remember that the only fertilizer it gets is the fertilizer in the water that soaks into the velamin covering the wiry root thread. That's not much. Of all the water you pour onto an orchid, the only portion the orchid gets is the small amount absorbed by the velamin on the root. ThaT WHICH SOAKS INTO THE MEDIA DOES LITTLE GOOD AND IS EITHER WASHED AWAY AT THE NEXT WATERING OR ABSORBED DEEP ENOUGH INTO THE MEDIA TO STAY AND BUILD UP. Sorry...big fingers. So 50 ppm is ok and I would water at every watering. That is what I do. I use GrowMore orchid food but only because it is available and urea free. I use it at 1 teaspoon per gallon of water. I don't know the ppm strength and don't really care. Been doing it this way for a long time with no adverse effects. Ray can tell you how much to feed your orchids in this potting strategy. That new growth will take off pretty soon. I have had some cats and laelias that have produced three buds from a pbulb. My intermedias do it all the time. My quadricolors too. LC Picolo does it nearly every pbulb.

[NYCorchidman]

eye as in dorman eyes. Most orchids with pb have them near the base of the pbs.
You can tell if those eyes are waking up when you see them fatten up, swelling up, or begin to elongate as tucker says. then you can call it "new growth".

[SlipperGirl]

Thanks everyone for all your help