Fertilizer in spray or not..
 

Hey guys!

Happy Mothers Day!
Since its getting warmer i bought a spray bottle to use on my orchids between soaking days. Im wondering if it would be a good idea or not to add some fertilizer to it...i personally think it would be over doing it since they will be sprayed almost daily...but i wanted to make sure!

Thanks!

Why are you spraying every day? Just asking. If you are spraying fertilizer with the bottle, the undersides of the leaves are where it is effective. But if you have a viable root system you don't need to spray fertilizer at all. If you are spraying for humidity it isn't needed unless you live in the sahara.

I use the bark mixture in all my orchids, i soak them for about 20-30 mins once a week or so. Now that its summer they need to be watered more often but the soaking process takes a while so i figured spraying would do in between soaks.

I wouldn't if you're spraying them every day. I spray mine every day, but only in the form of misting the leaves..I don't spray the medium at all. And my spray bottle makes a really fine, light mist, which is exactly what I want because then there is no water over-saturating the media or sitting in the crowns. My purpose for doing so is to raise the humidity.

I dunk my guys in water, like you, every 7-10 days also, and when I do that, I fertilize them (weakly, weekly, as it were). You can over-do it on fertilizer and it actually hurts rather than helps the plant. I wouldn't do that, personally, but that's just me.

So what you and i do is basically the same!
I want to make sure that they dont dry out too much, plus i will be on vaca for two weeks and i will be having my mom take care of them, so she will spray, cuz she wont go to the trouble of soaking them!

So just regular water for spaying then, and not everyday either.

I use regular water, filtered by my faucet. It hangs on the side of my baker's rack so I know it's room temp. I get up in the morning and mist them lightly before I leave for work, then again when I get home, then again before I go to sleep.

I guess it really depends on by spraying them you mean misting them lightly (like mine is a literal cloud of mist, my spray bottle is awesome. XD) or spraying them like soaking their medium and their leaves. I try not to saturate too much because of fear of crown rot, and I try to only spray more toward the undersides of the leaves where they will be more apt to take in the water. Like I said, mine is just for humidity. Once we move, I will be using our cold air humidifier on them, MWAHAHAHAHA!

Misting or spraying makes no difference to the orchid. It doesn't raise the humidity for more than a minute or so and only along the top 1 or 2 millimeters of the leaf. And the orchid doesn't need it. These live out in the open in dry weather and wet. They live exposed to the elements with their roots snaking along a branch or tree trunk or on bare rock. Some live in the hot humid jungles of the far east and some on the arid plains of south America. We put them in pots with their roots covered with moss or bark or rock. During the winter here in SoCal I water once every 10 days or so. Sometimes every 7 days but never any more. During the summer I water once a week except for some that are mounted. Where it is hot like the mid west once a week is usually fine. Orchids are slow growers unless they are being grown commercially where they are kept at higher temps with higher humidity and lots and lots of air movement. but where most of us grow them once a week is sufficient. You are going away for two weeks, I would soak them and then let them be. When you return, soak them again. 20-30 minutes isn't necessary either. Here is a pic of one that is dipped in a bucket of water for about 10 seconds. Notice the color change on the roots? That's all it takes for the velamen to absorb the needed water. The roots of most orchids are covered with a spongy tissue called velamen which soaks up water readily and stores it for absorption by the root. That is an adaption to infrequent rainfall at times in the natural environment. The difference in color of some of the roots even after being watered is that the young very white roots haven't matured the velamen yet to the point that it will absorb water readily. It doesn't matter whether it is under media or not. Until it matures it won't absorb water and stays this white color. I hope that clarifies it a bit.

If you are feeding during your dunks, I wouldn't add fertilizer in your spray. With the warmer weather and faster evaporation, you are just building up salt faster on the media. Be sure to flush regularly if you are worried about fertilizer burn.

What kind of orchids are you referring to?

All different genera or is it primarily Phalaenopsis?

If it is Phalaenopsis, I would advise against spraying the top side of the leaves, especially if you're trying to grow them upright (which is the most unnatural orientation for many Phals to grow in). Water can dribble into the crevices of the crown and eventually rot the plants out.