General questions
 

Introduction:
Okay, so I started having orchids 4-5 years ago but still consider myself a beginner because none of my orchids have ever "thrived" for very long under my care (though I've managed to keep most of them alive) and some have been near death and I somehow miraculously gotten them through it.

This year I seem to be unable to get any of them to bloom, lol. I normally don't feed any plant much during the winter but I began feeding all of them around february this year and I just moved them a few days ago because I thought maybe they weren't getting enough light. They were all pretty dark green which I hear means they need more light. Could this be why they weren't blooming? I've been doing a pretty good job of keeping the humidity regular. I also just recently replace all their bark and finally invested in some cedar baskets and one old tree fern "pot/mount" that have been laying around in the greenhouse I work at for years now.

Well, since I thinkI might be rambling too much, I will cut to the chase, lol.

1.) Can I mount orchids on any drift wood (from nearby freshwater lakes)? I really don't like paying much for a chunk of wood and I worry about the environmental impacts of harvesting tree ferns and other exotic woods for the orchid trade.

2.) Is there any actual organic fertilizers I can use for orchids? I really love using stuff like fish/kelp extracts and compost tea. It's so much healthier for plants and you don't get the nasty salt build-up not to mention all the other benefits from a sustainability stand point. I just want to get the nutrient ratio right for orchids.

I'm sure I will have more questions! thanks!
Jen

First off, many orchids definitely won't bloom if the light is not high enough. Cattleyas are a great example. It does depend on what genus you are growing though, and even what specific species/hybrids you are growing. As a general rule of thumb, dark green leaves do indicate too low light, but this is not always the case.

As I am not very experienced with mounting I can't confidently answer your mounting question, but someone else will.

On organic fertilizers, these seem to be increasing in popularity. I have yet to use them, but I think they are generally used as a supplement rather than an exclusive fertilizer. Someone else will be able to give you a clearer idea of the usefulness of that stuff.

I have used a wide variety of fertilizers in my experience and have learned that any urea-free product will do the trick, but you do get better results with different fertilizers depending on the specific orchid being grown and your own personal culture. Generally though, salts are not a huge concern with any fertilizer, provided the fertilizer is applied frequently at a reduced concentration ("weekly, weakly"). Of course, you can always flush the medium out with clear water every now and then if you feel your plants are getting too many salts around the roots. And additionally, some orchids are more sensitive to salt build-up than others.

Sometimes, the quality of your tap water is more of a problem than the fertilizer, and you must resort to using RO, distilled, or rain water. This varies widely from person to person depending on the source of your tap water.

Hopefully some of this information will help you!

Joe's advice is good. I'd bet they just need a bit more light.

As for mounting, you can use anything that doesn't rot quickly. Driftwood is ok if it's hard and able to be cleaned up, I'd soak it in plain water for several days. You could just use a cedar shingle or a block of some hardwood.

i use only bat guano, i use two kinds one jamaican and mexican. one is high nitrogen one is high phos, theres not much potasium in either so i use earth juice meta k.
i fert often and not nesacarilly "weakly".
everything is doing well.

My :twocents:.

I'm not speaking about the use of organic fertilizers like bat guano, because I don't have any experience with this whatsoever. Therefore I can't give anybody an intelligent or accurate answer about this subject.

However, I do want to point out that while I have no doubt that your orchids are "doing well" and that you're "not necessarily [fertilizing] 'weakly'", I have to caution against being too general with these kinds of statements.

My thoughts are, if you're growing Pleurothallids or Zygopetalinae (both groups tend to be pretty sensitive to over fertilization or high dissolved mineral content in the water they receive), along with the other more popular genera of orchids (which are generally more fertilizer tolerant, except for certain Oncidiums and allies), I'm willing to bet that you'd want to adjust your claims accordingly.

Root tip burn and leaf tip die back are a common occurrence with plants that have been over fertilized.

With Pleurothallids, many will just outright die with over fertilization. Particularly the micro-miniatures.

I would increase the light your orchids receive (gradually). I think this could solve the problem. As people, it's easy to over-estimate the amount of light our plants receive. Especially indoor plants. We must remember we have a giant ceiling over our heads which creates a lot of shade in itself.