| I think for a beginner the immersion method of watering is the best. It actually is the best for anyone but as your collection grows it becomes too time consuming.
Do not be too concerned about how long you leave the plant in the water. Once you remove it, it drains to the same amount if you soaked 5 minutes or 5 hours. Outdoors I often leave plants immersed overnight.
Just add the fertilizer to the sink when you are soaking the plant. If you have anyway to collect rainwater, keeping a bucket full outside for immersion works well if weather permits. Rain water is much better than processed city water or most well waters.
Cynthia was correct about all fertilizers being basically the same. Cheap budget brands sometimes skimp on trace elements but most major brands are equally good. Fertilize at the rate of a teaspoon per gallon or less. Orchid fertilizers (package instruction) give this dilution rate while all purpose fertilizers recommend 1 tablespoon per gallon for tropicals.
The balance on fertilizers however is very different. 30-10-10 "Orchid fertilizers" are good for boosting leaf growth sometimes at the expense of flowers. It is good for old decaying bark which uses the excess nitrogen for decaying the bark.
Bloom Boost fertilizers (which I do not like) 15-35-10 are OK when in flowering season but usually not worth the effort.
Balanced fertilizers 20-20-20 are the best overall for general orchid care. It is the only one to use for sphagnum or hydroponically potted plants.
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jerry  |