Question on Kelpmax/seaweed

[Papillon24601]

I have twice burned baby roots with fertilizer. It was in the same mix with my Kelpmax. Obviously I want to fix this... Is it ok to mix fertilizer with kelpmax? Or does the kelpmax have fertilizer? I was at half strength fertilizer and will cut to quarter strength, but if I have to choose then I will only use kelpmax. Please hellllllppppp meeeee!

[My Green Pets]

i think your fertilizer is too strong. kelpmax is used at one fluid ounce (convert to metric, i dont know in mL) per gallon. reduce fertilizer to 1/8 strength and follow that for a month, see what happens and report back here.

next patient...

[Orchid Whisperer]

You aren't stating what kind of orchids you have or how often you are feeding. There is a difference between fertilizer approproate for a Cymbidium once a month and a Disa fertilized once a week. Also, the kind of fertilizer can make s difference.

I'll assume you are growing something like Cattleyas or Phalaenopsis and are providing one of the common water-soluble fertilizers available at most garden centers. Half teaspoon/gallon fertilizer is probably OK by itself for monthly feeding. I would probably use any kelp extract as directed once a month at a different watering event during the month. At lower fertilizer strength (1/4 to 1/8 tsp/gal) you could probably give fertilizer and kelp extract together, using the kelp extract per package instructions.

[Jenascrich]

I have same question, Papillon.
I use the MSU fertilizer and I have the kelp max. I use one ounce per gallon, per application, twice a month. Is that too much msu? Sometimes I will add the kelp max to that solution, whatever the recommendation is on the bottle.
I personally have catts, phals, and dendros.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Jenascrich]

Wow, what a difference orchid whisperer. Why does the bottle recommend such a high amount and the experienced growers use a small fraction? I guess they need to sell fertilizer faster.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Orchid Whisperer]

Originally Posted by Jenascrich

Wow, what a difference orchid whisperer. Why does the bottle recommend such a high amount and the experienced growers use a small fraction? I guess they need to sell fertilizer faster.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

There could be some truth to your guess!

One of the best Cattleya growers in my orchid society once told me he never gives fertilizer to his plants. Then he stopped and said "well, almost never" and said he gives fertilizer once or twice a year. The plants just don't need much.

[Jenascrich]

I am definitely going to cut down the solution. Thank you and thank Papillon for bringing it up.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Ray]

If you are using one ounce per gallon of MSU, you must be referring to the overpriced, illegally-labeled stuff from RepotMe.

If I'm not mistaken, one ounce per gallon will give you 125 ppm N, which applied twice a month, is no where near overdosing the plant, and will likely not damage the roots of a plant.

I recommend that KelpMax be used at one tablespoon per gallon, and only applied once a month on a regular basis. There are naturally some nutrients in it, but no fertilizer is added, and they're in the single-digit ppm arena. I have applied as much as two ounces per gallon, at several waterings in a row, and no root damage was done on any plant.

I think there are likely other factors to your root damage issues.

[Hansu.nahar]

My Angraecum Lemforde White Beauty is absolutely loving S/H.

I got this plant on 25th May and it came planted in a bad coconut husk media. I removed all of the husk and since the roots were so attached to it, I couldn't save most of them despite all the patience. It had 3 good roots when I transferred it to S/H on 5th June (out of which one root had to be cut in half).

I soaked LECA overnight in a solution of seaweed.

As of today, it lost just one leaf and is already growing a lot of new roots.

I hope you succeed! Good luck!

[Papillon24601]

I had been doing 1/2 strength bloom better gro fertilizer from Lowe's with 1 Oz kelpmax in 1 gallon, and specifically it was the vandas that were talking the biggest hit (although the wandering jew and the cursed willow fried, too). I used it across the board for all my plants except the bromeliads, including phals, dens, catts, oncidiums, cymbidiums, etc. The mounts all did fine, and a few random of the other varieties turned new tips black. But all the vandas lost the new tips.