Why no slow release fertilier
 

I notice that I rarely see mention of slow release fertilisers on this board. Is it because orchid growers prefer more control over dosage perhaps - or is there some other reason ?

Cheers

For me, it’s primarily a matter of control.

I know several growers who use the slow-release stuff as a “minimum base” dosage, then use water soluble fertilizer in addition.

i don’t think isurus79 visits this beginner forum much, but from what i gather he primarily uses slow release in these little baskets. they r in all his plants in his vids and he has spoken about it to some extent.

but for us we have just never used them and if it ain’t broke don’t fix it sorta scenairo.

I use slow-release on orchids that have high fertilizer needs due to rapid growth rate - like Cymbidiums and Catasetinae. Sometimes I'll use it on Catts if they look anemic. But except for the fast-growers, I like the control of dilute liquid fertilizer. A lot of my plants are higher-elevation cloud forest orchids that need very little so would not want to risk over-doing it for those.

Some plants like some Dens shouldn't have fertilizer past late summer, so it's safer to use immediate release on them. And delayed release fertilizers are formulated to release fertilizer at relatively low temperatures. Using them in high temperature growing areas leads to the nitrogen being released much more rapidly than promised on the label.

I use slow release on all of my orchids for half the year (summer) because I am not physically there with them to do it any other way.

They are on auto-pilot in a shade house all summer while I am away. I put slow-release in the little plastic bonsai baskets and attach one to each of my mounted or hanging plants and sprinkle a little in each potted plant. They seem to do fine.

When I am with them from Nov-May, I use a variety of products to a schedule I developed and apply with a hose-end sprayer.

If I was physically present year round, I honestly probably wouldn't use the time-release at all.