Yes:
- Optimal flowering at 200 ppm nitrogen;
- 300 ppm N leads to vegetative growth but not as much flowering;
- Equal amounts of potassium and nitrogen are best when using nitrogen levels of 200 ppm and above, less potassium leading to leaf loss with spike inititation;
- Phosphorus is required but not in large amounts, meaning high-phosphorus fertilizers are not useful;
- Foliar feeding is insufficient;
- Sphagnum moss is better at keeping roots evenly moist, which is preferred to drying out;
- The low pH of sphagnum, 3.0-3.5, is not harmful.
That abstract is from the paper by Dr. Wang that Eric Goo mentioned when talking to me about growing Phals. You can read what he said here:
Eric Goo of Phoenix Orchids: Growing Phalaenopsis
The entire paper is only available to members of the International Society for Horticultural Science. I don't know whether it was a review of previous research, or was a report of experiments.
Calculating with the First Rays Fertilizer PPM Calculator, 1 gram of 20-20-20 fertilizer per liter of water yields 200 ppm N, 87 ppm P, 166 ppm K. Two-thirds of a teaspoon per gallon yields almost the same concentration, 209 ppm N, 91 ppm P, 174 ppm K.
Eric currently uses MSU blend (13-3-15) at 1 teaspoon per gallon. This yields 203 ppm N, 20 ppm P, 195 ppm K. These are almost the same values as at 1.6 grams/liter, 208 ppm N, 21 ppm P, 199 ppm K.
This refers to growing Phals in warm, humid commercial greenhouses. Commercial growers fertilize like that at almost every watering. Most hobbyists have less than perfect growing conditions, with lower temperatures and humidity than ideal, fluctuating rather than held constant. Their plants cannot grow as fast as those under ideal conditions, so less fertilizer will be needed.
Linear Mode
