Fertilizer advice and alternatives.

[Ray]

Spraying fertilizer on many orchids is far less efficient that it is with terrestrial plants.

As part of their adaptation to conserve water, many orchids have a thick, waxy, cuticle layer on the leaves that prevents penetration of liquids to the leaf areas where foliar uptake would occur. Then there's the fact - another, similar adaptation - that those areas tend to be concentrated on the undersides of the leaves.

You'll get a lot more "bang for your buck" by pouring large volumes of water, containing small amounts of fertilizer, through the potting medium.

[silken]

Originally Posted by cmoonbeam1

I use a fertilizer specifically for orchids and fill up the sink around once a week with tepid water and a small amount of liquid fertilizer and let them soak for about half an hour.

If you are soaking more than one plant in the same water, it is one way virus is spread. If you only have a few and don't care about virus, that is fine, but just so you know.

[magicsomething]

Hi! Okay, well they look healthy, but I might fertilize them individually just to be safe.

And I'll stay away from the bottle spray.
Thanks!