masdevallia- fertilizing yay or nay?

[Miss Flower]

Hello,

This is my first masdevallia-BellavalliaTM (var. El Plombo ?) and I don't know much about these plants.

It has been putting out leaves like crazy since the flowers died but I have no clue if I should fertilize or not.

When I got it I was told to use boiled water (cooled

Thx for info

[Hiester]

Yes, if the plant is in active growth (producing roots and leaves) then you should be fertilizing with a balanced fertilizer plus micros which is recommended for the type of orchid and the type of media it is growing in, or on, or among.

[Miss Flower]

Thx for the note...in, on, among

But probably not full strength?

[MattWoelfsen]

When my Masdevallia are in growth mode, which is now, I provide fertilizer once a week, weakly. Weakly means half the dosage recommended per gallon of water. As far as boiling water, that is a new idea. We have very clean water here in Fort Wayne, Indiana, so I use water from the tap directly to my plants. No problem. Of course your water might not be as overly processed as the water here?

[Ray]

If your water supply is fit to drink, it's OK for the plants without boiling, as that only serves to kill pathogens, and does nothing else to upgrade the water quality.

I agree with Matt about such plants wanting dilute fertilizer solutions, but knowing that fertilizer manufacturers have widely varying recommendations, I'll be more specific - I suggest no more than 50 ppm N for such high-altitude plants.

To achieve a that concentration, divide 5.2 by the %N on the label - the result is the ml of fertilizer per liter.

[Miss Flower]

Thank you everyone

[euplusia]

Great hybrid. Rainwater is best, but if you grow only few plants, you may also use destilled water or soda water. Fertilizing should be carried out regularly in low dose concentration.

[ALToronto]

Boiling the water would eliminate chlorine, which most plants don't like. But there are easier ways to get rid of it - a jug filter will do it.

[bellini girl]

Originally Posted by euplusia

Great hybrid. Rainwater is best, but if you grow only few plants, you may also use destilled water or soda water. Fertilizing should be carried out regularly in low dose concentration.

Soda water? Now that's new

[euplusia]

Originally Posted by bellini girl

Soda water? Now that's new

My wife used to take 'Aqua Vitale' , but some stale beer would also be appreciated.