How long before KLN leaves an orchids system?
 

I have been using KLN these past few months and to my extreme joy I have been given enormous root systems (for me anyway) and vigorous growth.:biggrin:

Now my phallies usually bloom in February or so, so I need to know when to stop the KLN so that I don't get deformed blooms? I would just die if I got deformed blooms...:(

Also, my fertilizer (urea free) has 30 for the nitrogen. Should I stop using that as well? What about "bloom booster" formulas? Do they really work? Should I just cut out all fertilizer?

My orchids bloomed for me before without any fertilizer at all so this year should be spectacular. Advice?:bowing

How much fertilizer do yo use per gallon?

I don't know about the KLN ...

Stephanie, are you using lots of KLN? I use only 1-2 drops per gallon for almost every watering, and I haven't had any problems with flowering etc. I'm starting to use another plant hormone now (KelpMax which I got from Ray). Are you using crazy amount of KLN? Auxin can influence quite a few aspects of plant physiology, so it could cause a problem. But at a lower dosage, I've heard that most people don't have problems.

I'm using a quarter tsp kln per gallon of water and a half tsp of 30-15-15 fertilizer.

I use the kln per instructions (not a drop more) usually less. I'm thinking I should stop now and also the fertilizer since it is heavy on the nitrogen.

I've gotten great growth and plenty of roots this way but I don't want deformed flowers or worse yet, no flowers because of the fert.

I also dropped my lights down by two hours to simulate the outdoors.

Any suggestions? Anything new I could be doing? (I will be ordering Kelpmax from ray once my KLN is gone.)

Stephanie;

No need to stop using the K-L-N. I've been using it for years at the recommended rate with no ill effects. For ferts, some people switch to a bloom booster fertilizer to help with flowering. I never have, but I do stop fertilizing by October. Lastly, you do not need to reduce the lighting period. As most orchids come from the tropics, day length is constant at 12 hours or pretty close to it, so you should be good with 12 on and 12 off year round.

Cheers.
Jim

Thanks Jim! That helps a lot! Guess I'll put my lights back up two hours and enjoy my KLN! I'll stop the fert though because I think it stimulates leaves more than blooms. And this year I want blooms!

Yes, high N stimulates growth. Here's a basic primer on ferts 101:
Fertilizer Basics : Gardener's Supply

Cheers.
Jim

Thanks for the link! I'm thinking I will give a bloom booster a try and see what happens. You never know I might just get lucky.

Oh yeah, one more thing, do powdered fertilizers ever go stale, you know, become ineffective?

No, but if you let them get really old they will melt together into a lump that is a mess to work with.

Cheers.
Jim

Jim & Stephanie, where did you see the recommended dosage for regular application of K-L-N? I'm just curious. I don't find it in my bottle nor their web page. Root Stimulators K-L-M
They only list the rate for topical application like after transplanting or cuttings.

I've heard that Blooming Booster is basically a commercial gimmick. As Jim said, most people say that reducing fertilizer has the same effect.

To induce blooming in hybrid phals, commercial growers use several approaches. Here is some info from Bob Gordon's excellent book.

- decrease daily minimum temp, and increase max temp. So instead of 63/85F, 58/91F (3-4 weeks) for example.
- raise the amount of light by 25-40% after the chilling treatment
- reduce water, fertilization and humidity
- feed with epsom salts (5tsp/gallon)

I don't deal with hybrids, but my phals don't need much special treatments like this. They seem to flower if they are in a good shape, and if they are ready. I do naturally reduce the watering and fertilization in the winter, though. Anyway, I highly recommend Bob Gordon's book, Culture of the Phalaenopsis Orchid, which has a lot of good tips like this. I don't think it's still in print, but you can get it pretty cheap from Amazon.

Naoki is correct - nowhere does Dyna-Gro give a recommended rate for K-L-N use as fertilizer additive.

The synthetic rooting hormones in it and other, similar products are very unstable. If your bottle is old, you only think you're applying them, as they have long since broken down and become ineffective. A year from manufacture is a good estimate of the life span if it's kept in the refrigerator.

There is no residual effect, per se, as they decompose almost immediately in use.

I like to use a light switch analogy: Applying the K-L-N is like flipping the switch, which in this case "turns on" the chemical activity in the plant. Applying more, or doing so more frequently than every two or three weeks really does little, if anything. That would be akin to pressing harder on the light switch or pressing it up again, even though it already is.

The potential negative effects occur when too much is applied, not because it overstimulates the plant, but because the large dose of chemicals interferes with other processes. I am unsure what those processes are, or what actually happens, but I can tell you that a teaspoon per gallon, used at every watering for a few months, will lead to phal flower deformation - fortunately reversible for the next flowering, once you stop.

Thank you Ray, that was very informative! I have the tiniest bottle of KLN and I will check again to make sure I read it right. I will also look for that book on amazon. You're always such a source of information.

Stephanie, here is an additional info about inducing flowers in hybrid phals (some info I quoted from Bob Gordon's book can be outdated). It's from Ray's site:
"Chilling" A Phalaenopsis to Initiate Spiking

Magicatt

while you where using the KLN what were your orchids pot mixture?

How did you apply it? Add some to a gallon jug and pour it on the roots, soak it or something else?

Thanks and hope your orchids are doing well!!!


Sem

Root stimulating additives - synthetic ones like Dyna-Gro K-L-N, or SuperThrive, and natural seaweed extracts like KelpMax - are best used as an additive to your feeding program, so are simply added to your irrigation solution on a periodic basis, and used to drench the medium.

Semtia, my orchids are all semi-hydro. I just mix a quarter teaspoon in a gallon of water and use that. Lately just when I remember to do it every few waterings.

Ray,

What would 'periodic' mean? Once a week, month?

I am using a product called Kelpak 2T/gal once a month. I'm seeing good results but I feel like I'm shooting in the dark as far as amount and frequency.

(Sorry to hijack the thread)
Maureen

Kelpak and KelpMax are the same product. I recommend 1 tablespoon per gallon no more frequently than monthly.