Fertilizers make me confused!!!

[bil]

At the end of the day, I think the secret is to learn as much as you can, read as widely as possible, and then try and give the plant as close as possible to what in your best judgement it would get in the wild.
Learn some more.

Then, if the results aren't to your liking, try and fine tune it.
Learn some more.

It's a constant surprise and delight where a hobby can take you.

Keeping fish took me way further into water chemistry & physics, dietary science and Japanese language than I ever thought I'd go.

[D_novice]

I too am a biology (living organisms) addict. Years ago, I gave up the fish hobby (malawian cichlids) because it took too much time - water changes, filter cleaning, nurse tanks, etc. I had about 145 gallons in our ~ 900 square foot Manhattan apt, plus another 80 gallons at my office. Interestingly - or not - I'm now spending inordinate amounts of time on these exotic plants! Now that I think of it, I only took up the fish thing after I realized growing orchids under lights in that apartment wasn't going to work for me.

And I only got back into orchids because I can grow cymbidium outdoor with minimal effort here where I live now in Northern California. Then I discovered store bought Phals like my south facing windows here. And so it begins.

Yes, we all have to experiment and find what works. That's what makes it fun (though I've noticed orchid hobbyists do love repeating the rules they've read in books and magazines and heard at meetings!) :-)