Fertilizer

[jorgelascu]

Originally Posted by Ray

Don't let knowledge (or mythology, in some cases) about nutrition in terrestrial plants "contaminate" your thinking about orchids. Sometimes the info applies, but in some cases, it doesn't.

For example, about 30 of us in about 20 US states and Canada, Norway, France, Holland, and Israel are experimenting with a new fertilizer dubbed "K-Lite".

K-Lite is 12-1-1-10Ca-5Mg, with all of the trace elements. Bill Argo, the guy who developed the "MSU" fertilizers, derived the formula from the MSU stuff for us.

This formula was created in response to recent studies suggesting that excessive potassium, whether applied-, obtained from- or accumulated in growing media, can have a negative impact on the health of plants, especially in the absence of adequate calcium and magnesium levels.

One of the lines of logic is that most epiphytes live in very potassium-poor environments (phosphorus as well, but plants don't need much P, anyway), so have lost their ability to manage the uptake. If the plant takes up too much, it can actually block the uptake of calcium and magnesium, and they are critical nutrients.

I've been using it exclusively for about 5 months so-far, and see no signs of deficiencies. In fact, they seem to be doing very well. Some are reporting better growth...

I'm from Argentina, I want to know if the k-lite I can buy from internet? or marketed in South America