Orchid Fertilzer on Other Plants???

[Ray]

All plants need pretty much the same elements in their diets. As has been pointed out, the primary differences between the needs of plants are the ratios of those elements.

A plant biologist once told me that the "sap" in epiphytes is considerably lower in concentration than that of most other plants - something on the order of 1/4 - so "orchid strength" fertilizer solutions will be no issue for other plants.

[Neverend]

I use orchid fertiliser for all my plants... works well as far as I can see..

[Royal]

In addition to the NPK ratios and cocnetrations, the form of Nitrogen matters as well. Urea is one form or source of nitrogen, but it needs to persist in the soil to be broken down into nitrogen compounds usable by the plant. Epiphytic orchids like to have the simple forms ready and available (no soil), so most orchid fertilizers contain little or no urea.

Maybe a chemist wil chime in and tell me I'm way off, but this is how it was explained to be.

[Hedge]

On my Miracle Grow for ericaceous plants, orchids are shown as one of the houseplants that will love it. As my tap water is very hard, after standing to release the chlorine, I alternate between this and a proprietary orchid feed and seem to be getting good results. I also throw orchid feed on to other plants. I tend to use weak tomato feed on my cacti though, as the high K is supposed to encourage the flowers (tell that to my Christmas cactus which sulked until March!)

Happy growing
Hedge