Beginner fertiliser question

[Ryarsh]

Hello, I'm new to the forum and new to orchids in general.

I bought a mini phalaenopsis orchid yesterday, amongst other things. I've been doing my research since.

I use naruko fertiliser with all of my other plants, its a 5:5:5 slow release organic fertiliser. I'm curious if I leave some of the naruko in some rain water for a week until it dissolves, can I then use that to fertilise my orchid? Is 5:5:5 an ok ratio for an orchid, and if it is okay, how much should I disssolve?

Also, if anyone knows what species this is, that would be nice to know.
https://i.imgur.com/tOuO4vr.jpg
It's a deep peach colour, sorry for the bad photo.

Thanks

[jkofferdahl]

Your orchid looks like a hybrid Phalaenopsis, and is a lovely flower. If the seller can tell you, or get you in contact with the grower, you may find out what the hybrid is named. Otherwise, it's Phalaenopsis unidifiacus. Name or not, it's beautiful.

Regarding fertilizer, I can't really speak to your question. With any luck, Ray will chime in, and if he does, rely on his answer. I don't use a slow-release fertilizer, I use one mixed which I pour on the roots. In general I use a balanced formula, though I don't pay much attention to the dilution - I mix it exceedingly weak. My own take on fertilizer is that 97.3% of us overfertilize our orchids, so I'm pretty stingy with it. (Also, I more carefully use a product I buy from the same Ray [no, this isn't an ad] called KelpMax. In three months of use I'm seeing some fantastic root growth throughout my collection.) My advice, though, is that any well-balanced fertilizer applied very, very sparingly, will do.

[Ray]

Assuming "Naruko" is a controlled-release fertilizer (I'm not familiar with it), soaking it for a week doesn't tell you anything about the concentration in solution.

The ratios, by themselves, are of no use. Consider if a dietitian told you to eat five parts salad, five parts potato, and five parts steak. Without knowing if each "part" was a teaspoon or a kilo, the advice is of no value.

[PaphMadMan]

It appears that Naruko is an organic granular bonsai fertilizer, but I can't find much additional information about it. I don't know if it supplies micronutrients, or which ones in what amounts. It probably does but even if it doesn't, if your orchids are in bark or moss or other plant-based media and you repot every year or 2 it doesn't matter much. Your orchids get some micronutrients from the media and probably from your water. If it has been sufficient for your other plants it should be fine for orchids which have low fertilizer needs.

There is no need to soak it. Just use it as a slow release fertilizer as you do for other plants. If it tends to wash out through the media you can use a fertilizer basket like may be used for bonsai. It can't possibly hurt your orchids if used in normal amounts, and should be more than sufficient. If you don't see good growth after a year of use try something else, but if that was the fertilizer I had and found convenient to use, I would give it a try.

And your plant is definitely a hybrid Phalaenopsis. It won't be possible to determine a more precise identification.