Orchid fertilizer/supplements question
 

I am currently using FeedMe! MSU orchid fertilizer from repotme. I also mix in a tiny bit of iron and superthrive and make it a weak fertilizer mixing. I water with this for 2 waterings (typically once a week) and then off for one. I also give this to my little violets.....they seem much much happier!

I have seen a foliar spray called MegaThrive advertised. I was wondering if it might be worth trying. I was curious if anyone has tried it?

My other question is, is there anything else I can give my plants or modifications to what I am doing now??

Thanks!!

I don't use any of the products you mentioned but have seen a lot of threads where people have had malformed flowers caused by regular use of superthrive or other hormones/growth stimulant products. I think most people suggest those should be used once a month at most to avoid any undesirable side effects.

First, Superthrive... you may want to go easy on that one. I had an episode where I was using it regularly, and started getting some distorted flowers (segments not separating properly) especially on some Cattleyas. A little research indicated that Superthrive WAS suspected of causing mutations. I stopped using it and haven't had that problem since. There have been some discussions in other threads about foliar feeding. While it may have some application in some controlled commercial environments, I would consider it a waste of time and money, (If someone claims that it works, can they guarantee that it doesn't wash into the medium???) The primary channel for absorbing water and fertilizer is through the roots... remember too that orchids (with a few exceptions) are light feeders since they grow slowly. Think of fertilizer as "vitamins" not "food" - green plants make their own food by photosyntheses, they need the minerals from fertilizer to build new tissue. Since they don't do that very fast, they don't utilize much. Concentrate on the other cultural factors, fertilizer is the least important one. And one of the most important factors is patience - orchids don't do anything fast so any changes that you make likely won't show an effect for several months. You need to observe... you can learn a lot that way in terms of what to modify, if anything, (Bill Thoms, a superb grower of Bulbophyllums and also winner of many cultural awards, talks of Power Of Observation... POO - above all, use your POO )

Depending on what water you use you might not be giving enough calcium and magnesium. It's not possible to mix much of these into other fertilizers because things precipitate out, so they generally are dosed from a different product than the fertilizer.

Check your tap water quality report. If your total dissolved solids or hardness are low, use a cal/mag supplement. If you have plenty of calcium in your tap water you could mix that with more pure water so some calcium remains available.

If you're using very pure water, like rain or reverse osmosis, you will definitely need to use a cal/mag supplement.

Epsom salts are a source of magnesium, but not calcium. You can add a teaspoon of epsom salts to a gallon of water to supplement magnesium.

Does the MSU fertilizer have calcium and magnesium? The pure-water type typically has it. If you're using the well-water version than it likely doesn't. I use MSU Cal-Mag with RO water, have had no indication of deficiencies on any plants - some of which get RO routinely, the rest get city water that has plenty of calcium (the bit of extra that comes with the fertilizer solution that I use makes no difference on those)

At any rate, whatever you're using, read the label, then you'll know what you are supplying (or not)

I wonder whether the calcium and magnesium amounts in MSU blends are enough for non-cloud-forest plants. I suspect they put as much as possible into the mixture without having precipitation issues.

I give everybody the same... My RO area includes both cloud-forest plants and others that are in the same location for other reasons (light, good area to hang, watering frequency, etc.) and I haven't seen any problems. And have been doing it for 3 or 4 years so there would have been plenty of time for problems to show up if there were any. Maybe there's enough dust to supply minerals??? Certainly not a sterile environment.

I am attaching a photo of the label of what exactly the label says.

Can I get a water report from the city? I have city water

The formula does include calcium and magnesium. You should also be able to get a water report from the city. It likely is on their website. I don't see anything that might cause deficiency. So a normal fertilizer regimen - the "once weekly, weakly" should do fine for you. 1/2 teaspoon per gallon should work fine for just about everything. I add a top-dressing of time-release fertilizer in the spring for Cymbidiums, and for Catasetinae once they start growing fast because both benefit from the extra boost. But for everything else, the regular weak fertilizer works fine.

A report I found for the water here says it's 86 ppm for Calcium

That's plenty for the orchids, unless you have a lot of something else in the water, your city water is quite good. (A lot better than mine...)

Of the products you mentioned, as has been recommended above, the MSU RO formula you are using is the only thing you really need. 1/2 teaspoon/gallon weekly is sufficient. (However, I urge you to shop around; that vendor has high prices and charges ridiculously for shipping.)

Mega Thrive is a urea-based foliar fertilizer containing “mega” doses of boron and molybdenum.

Mega Thrive “pros”:
1) the large doses of trace elements cause the plants to produce abnormally high levels of auxins.
2) auxins stimulate root growth, which, in turn, stimulates plant growth.

Mega Thrive “cons”:
1) large doses of auxins - just like the synthetic ones in products like Superthrive - can cause deformities in flowers, as has been stated.
2) large doses of those trace elements can be toxic to the plants themselves. They are generally applied as “trace” elements for a reason, and there is a sufficient level of each in the fertilizer.
3) the molybdenum makes the plants toxic to birds and mammals. Keep pets and kids away.

Ditch the Superthrive for Kelpmax and Quantum. Quantum is a great foliar for preventing bacterial spotting etc from damage.

I started using root stimulator at a much higher dilution than recommended on the bottle. My orchids were not happy at all, but once I started using that they became happier. It is a hormone, not a fertilizer. I believe it is similar to the growth hormone in sea kelp. My other epiphitic cactii and hoyas have also really bounced back and are very lush now. ---

Oh, and another thing I have done-- since I am working at home now is to put all my plants outside when the weather (nights) is warm enough. Remember to water though and bring them in if it is too hot. The additional sunlight seems to really get them growing right.

I put a lot out a couple of weeks ago. Then last week we had cold weather so I moved them back in. Now it warmed up so out they go today.

Be careful using stimulants at "much higher" than recommended doses, as that can lead to overstimulation of the plants, which can lead to flower deformities, stunting, or even death, especially if they are synthetic hormones.

What product is that?

I used Superthrive (about 3 drops per gallon) for quite awhile (a few years, I recall) and started seeing deformed flowers (especially Catts) - segments not separating properly on some plants. I stopped using the stuff, and I haven't seen the problem since, Ray is spot-on... you can get damage from such products. The problem develops slowly (since orchids grow slowly) so it can take a year or more to show up, will not affect all equally, but watch for it!

Maybe it's possible that if you use the Super/MegaThrive in a particular way --- such as occasionally --- and drop the 'dosage', then it could do something nice as well. For example - use other recommended orchid fertiisers and supplements ---- at usual times. And then, occasionally ----- a little touch of Super/MegaThrive.

SuperThrive is a mixture of synthetic hormones, vitamins, and who-knows-what-else.

Mega Thrive is a urea fertilizer to which large doses of boron and molybdenum have been added.

The former may stimulate root growth (if it is fresh). The latter stimulates the plant into producing the hormones that stimulate root growth, and is far more reliable in doing so, although it makes the plants toxic to birds and mammals.