No rain water but lots of snow, how about fertilizer?

[LinhT]

Originally Posted by Ray

The reason I asked was because there is a great variation in the quality of the info, depending upon which forum it is.

There is one in particular that is an excellent place to see poor-quality - sometimes simply "wrong" - information shared over and over.

I think your username is "raybark" over there....

[Ray]

It's that at many places....

[chulaorchids]

Ha, I think fertilizer is the least of a beginners worries. I would repot everything right away, I always do no matter where they come from. That way you know what's going on with the root system, and you will be able to water them all alike.

I always used plain ol' fir bark until coconut stuff came along, then I switched to that mixed with a bit of #3 perlite. But again, probably 19 different mixes will suffice. Just get them out of the stuff they are in so you can water them all the same.

Wholesalers now have a tendency to ship plants in material that "ships well" rather than "grows well". So many stuff them into a pot with a gob of New Zealand type moss. Orchids are so slow to react it will take a long time for them to show they are upset. Phals are usually found in the moss, and will surely die if you do not get them out. Phals produced in that are never watered, only misted and do quite well. They are grown at 72, day and night and misted only. That doesn't work for a hobbyist I think. You can tell when you unpot, a gob of moss, a rubber band, and more moss to stuff it into a bigger pot for selling, look out.

I always used 1/2 strength fertilzer. Orchids in the jungle only have rain water with maybe some bird poo carried along with it and the jungle plants are unbelievable is size. Main things are light, heat, and the right watering program for whatever you choose to pot them in. You might want to try a "clear pot" (Ahem) so you can monitor the moisture in the pot.

How you doin' Ray?

[Ray]

I'm great, Harry. Nice to see you "on board". Hope the world is treating you well.

Gotta slap your hands though. If you'll read through more of these posts, you'll see one of my "pet peeves" about bad recommendations: "half strength" is meaningless. Half of what? Half of a 20-20-20 is equal to a 10-10-10.

[DelawareJim]

Originally Posted by quiltergal

Everything I've got is growing like a weed, and the foliage looks great.

I switched to MSU about a 2 months ago and for the most part I'm very happy with it. I have noticed 2 Dendro. NOID's have developed mottled green foliage on new growth since using the MSU. It's not a uniform medium green leaf, more of a marbled light green/medium green appearance.

Any ideas?

Cheers.
Jim

[DelawareJim]

Originally Posted by Ray

The reason I asked was because there is a great variation in the quality of the info, depending upon which forum it is.

There is one in particular that is an excellent place to see poor-quality - sometimes simply "wrong" - information shared over and over.

Would that happen to be the orchid forum on the Gxxxxxweb? I quit that site because I got sick and tired of getting flamed by clueless people who disagreed with professional advise and research. As a professional horticulturist specializing in turf management, it used to bug me when I would report some of the latest reasearch out of university and get flamed by an "expert" who was a self-confessed "total newb" 6 months earlier because it differed from the bad advise he had been regurgitating for the last 2 months.

Okay, I'm off my soap box now.

Cheers.
Jim

[LinhT]

I like the Gardenweb forum because so many people with years of experience and knowledge are there. However, sometimes, some of them disagree and it gets kind of ugly..

As for the repotting, I have done that with 3 out of 4 already. The 1st one needed it because it wasn't done in 3 years and I had salt buildup, some mushy roots and some brown shriveled up roots probably because I was an idiot and didn't know how to water correctly. The other 2 were at Home Depot with the pots only 1/2 filled with bark and all the leaves wilted and leathery. One of them perked up immediately after the repotting and watering but the other is slower to recovery competely as it was too dehydrated to begin with. The last one is in moss. The moss looks solid and stuck to the roots so I'm nervous about repotting while it's in bloom and oozing honeydew everywhere.

Would it be okay to use promix with sphag moss in combo? The promix alone doesn't seem to keep the medium evenly moist? I wanted to try perlite with the promix but someone said it breaks down too quickly?

[Ray]

LinhT - don't confuse many years of experience with one year of experience, repeated many times.

A great deal of what I've read there is, as I said before, misinformation or misconception that has been passed around so much that it becomes "gospel". (For those of you old enough to remember, I liken it to computer printout on that green and white paper. "It's from a computer, it must be right!")

As to repotting, unless the plant is in dire straits if it stays where it is, it's best to avoid repotting while in bloom.

You have me confused about the ProMix. I recommend against it altogether, as when thoroughly watered, is really doesn't have a lot of gaps for air flow to the roots.

[Ray]

Jim, what MSU formula are you using, and with what water source?

[chulaorchids]

HI again,

"Half strength" is in reference to "half the recommend dose by the manufacturer". Easy as that,

That all stemmed from the idea that the manufacturers of fertilizer have given you the "max" dose to use. Why, because they are selling fertilizer.

One full dose a month had most of us impatient, half strength twice a month seemed better, and I found I could mix up 2000 gallons of half strength and use it all the time. Worked for me.

There is really no problem using a bit more than recommended, but different orchids react differently. The plant will use what it wants, the rest just goes by to the drain. But you will soon reach the point where you can "burn" the plant with too much. New growth tips turn black, it's now in the "weed killer" range.

With all the modern capabilities the advanced hobbyist can now send a leaf in for analysis and get a reading of what is in the plant and make adjustments accordingly, but I think the "half strengh of the recommended dose" but continual feeding is a better approach for a true novice. I don't care what you "use", just make sure all the good things are available to the plant, it will pick what it needs to grow and flower, the rest goes in the drain.

Right now, I grow strawberries and other veggies, I'm using 10-52-10 with trace elements. I did 2 tubs with 20 20 20 and 3 with 10 52 10. I think I had more flowering on the 10 2 10 tubs but very hard to tell. It did seem I had flowers a couple months later, clear into November with the 10 52 10, any ideas about that?

Again, like I said before, I think light, heat, potting mix, watering are all more important than the fertilizer you choose.

In the wild, the most vigorous and healthy plants you can find will be clinging to a cliff or tree, fully exposed to wind, rain and sun, old flower spikes on every bulb, plant mass with hundreds even thousands of bulbs in one clump,,,,, the point here is, no fertilizer, well maybe a little bird poo and/or monkey doo, lol.

I would repot that one packed in moss right away, you really will have a tough time watering it without killing it. Pick the moss away from the roots a bit at a time and use the same mix you are using for the other plants.