Hi Everyone - I just joined your Forum

[KCR]

Hi Everyone:

I am so pleased that I found this forum. My husband bought me my first Phalaenopsis Orchid plant and I want to make sure that I don't kill it!
My orchid finished flowering so he bought me a book on Orchids to find out what to do next. I pruned the stock and started watering it with 20/20/20 every second watering and made sure that I took it downstairs to the basement over night because it was cooler down there and now it has sent out 2 shoots and it looks like there are flower buds starting to grow. I am soooooooo excited. I talk to it EVERY day. Now that the buds are forming, do I continue to water it with fertilizer or should I just use water?
Thanks for all your help!
Karin

[snow]

hi karin. welcome to orchidboard.
yes i would keep doing what you are doing; as obviously you,re orchid is telling you it,s happy. can,t you hear it?
maybe not because you are doing all the talking. lol.

[bellini girl]

Karin , welcome to OB. Won't be long now before you start collecting more 'chids

Lecent

[KCR]

Thanks for the info! I will keep watering with 20/20/20 until it starts to bloom. Talk to you again later.
Karin

[Bolero]

Welcome to your new addiction.........errr I mean the Orchid Board......he he he.

[kiki-do]

Hi Karin! I'm so glad that you have new growth and all is well with your first phal. They are fun to grow and very beautiful. Especially the ones that speak to you. Have you heard it talking to you yet? I have quite a few that I hear say ..."Buy me some friends" and I figure if a plant is that intelligent, I better listen!
Welcome to OB! Have fun here!

[Dorothy]

KCR
Glad to have you on 'board'

If you use a teaspoon of 20-20-20 fertilizer, it's a very strong for orchids .. the nitrogen about 264 ppm (Parts Per Million) .. High nitrogen can impede blooming.
According to First Ray's, 125ppm N is a good level for orchids in general -
Use half the amount of fertilizer .. water with that 3 times in a row and then the 4th time with clear water to flush out any accumulated salts.
Here is a calculator that allows you to determine the amount of fertilizer against the number level of nitrogen of your fertilizer ..
Fertilizer PPM Calculator - Scroll all the way down the page to find "Nitrogen Management"
An optimal level of 125ppm will be met with about a half of teaspoon of fertilizer with the 20-20-20 designation

You can read up more about at First Ray's site at these links - Check out the articles under Feeding your Plants
First Rays' Free Info

Is your fertilizer urea-free?
The reason I ask is because "orchids do not thrive on standard plant fertilizers because the nitrogen source in those fertilizers is primarily urea which orchids cannot absorb very well. Similarly, the type of Potassium in many fertilizers is not optimal for orchids."
as per Orchid Fertilizer - FEED ME!

[Chubidubi]

Karin to the OB

[priz_m]

Hello Karin! and congratulations on your 2 new spikes

I happen to like phals so much because of their tendency to bloom almost year round.

we look forward to see pics of it reblooming for you

[KCR]

Thank you - all of you - for the warm welcome. And thank you Dorothy for all the great info and fantastic websites. I will cut the amount of fertilizer that I'm using in half and will start reading all the wealth of info on the websites you sent me.