Bloom Buster Fertilizer....To Use or Not to Use?

[CoolPhrog]

OK, so I've heard in the past that one shouldn't use this stuff. Can someone tell me why?

[Ross]

Never heard of it, personally, but I can offer this - since I switched my entire regimin (every orchid) to 125 ppm MSU formula for Ro water, I have seen remarkable performance both in green growth as well as budding/spiking. This is after 30+ years of growing. I don't use special fertilizers for green and for bloom. I use the same regimen for all waterings.

[CoolPhrog]

The one I see alot in Home Depot or Lowes is Shultz Bloom Buster Fertilizer 10-55-10

[Andrew]

Originally Posted by irphrog

The one I see alot in Home Depot or Lowes is Shultz Bloom Buster Fertilizer 10-55-10

Seems comparably high in phosphorus and lacking in potassium. Wouldn't be my first choice for a fertilizer unless my water was particularly alkaline. I'm sure potatoes would love it.

[cb977]

Orchids really don't need that big boost in potassium...as long as you're giving them the nutrients they need on a regular basis. I add just a tiny bit at one feeding every two months or so...just out of habit...and because I have it here from before I learned it's not needed.

I, as well as a number of others, have had great success using the MSU formulas offered by Ray at Welcome to First Rays Orchids

[Andrew]

Originally Posted by cb977

Orchids really don't need that big boost in potassium...as long as you're giving them the nutrients they need on a regular basis. I add just a tiny bit at one feeding every two months or so...just out of habit...and because I have it here from before I learned it's not needed.

I, as well as a number of others, have had great success using the MSU formulas offered by Ray at Welcome to First Rays Orchids

If you look at the NPK's of the MSU fertilizers the phosphorus is very low, which was my point. The phosphorus requirements of flowering orchids can be met with most fertilizers. I can't imagine why you'd need phosphorus at that high a concentration unless the water/media's pH was locking the phosphorus up or the fertilizer was cheap and contained a substantial proportion of insoluble phosphate.

[Ray]

For years, we have been passing around the apparent misinformation that high phosphorus levels leads to better blooming, so fertilizer companies jumped right on that to fill a perceived need, which further helped proliferate the "tale".

The folks that did the study that lead to the commercialization if the so-called "MSU" fertilizer looked at already-published tissue analyses and other plant nutrition information, did some experimenting with the MSU orchid collection, and concluded that plants, in fact, need very little phosphorus.

Based upon that, they concluded that as it is well established that excessive nitrogen stops blooming, the addition of (inexpensive) phosphate minerals is really doing nothing more than diluting the nitrogen, rather than actually adding anything beneficial.

[cb977]

Originally Posted by Andrew

If you look at the NPK's of the MSU fertilizers the phosphorus is very low, which was my point. The phosphorus requirements of flowering orchids can be met with most fertilizers. I can't imagine why you'd need phosphorus at that high a concentration unless the water/media's pH was locking the phosphorus up or the fertilizer was cheap and contained a substantial proportion of insoluble phosphate.

Agreed


...and thanks for the lesson, Ray

[Ross]

Ray seems to always bring us back down to the ground and remind us of the science. Thanks Ray. Glad to have you here.

[orchids3]

Yes I agree with Ray on this one and want to add that a Physician in Australia cited a scientific study that said the cancer rate in Australia increased in direct proportion to the increase use of Phosphated fertilizer.
There are always studies that prove drastic and bad consequences but I think at the very least we can say that the addition of phosphate to our water and food supply is not good. In addition its almost certain that it is not necessary in high quantities. The reason fertilizer conpanies sell it is because people buy it.