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Originally Posted by kindrag23
Cool @Tucker85 does that go for all orchids or just catts and catt hybrids? What about for those of us in Texas?
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I only learned about this after years of growing but let me give you my understanding on it. All orchids need calcium when they're making new growth, in order to build strong cell walls that can resist fungus. Some fertilizers don't contain calcium because it's available in most water supplies. The problem starts when the plants get lots of rain water, like they do here in Florida during the summer, or if you use RO or distilled water on your plants. Those waters don't contain calcium so it needs to be provided. If you always water your plants with municipal water or well water, they may be getting enough calcium. If they get lots of rain water or RO or distilled water, you need to give them calcium. If you have problems with pseudo-bulbs rotting, you probably need more calcium. If you don't have that problem, your orchids may be getting plenty of calcium. I would still use a fertilizer that contains calcium and many fertilizers designed for orchids do. I still do occasionally get an orchid with black rot but not like I did in previous years Again, here's a link to an article about calcium and it's importance.
http://www.staugorchidsociety.org/PD...ps-Calcium.pdf
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