| JLu makes some excellent points. And Jerry's point that orchids require few nutrients is also worth highlighting.
I have not systematically fertilized my orchids for maybe 5-6 years. I give my Cymbids a shot in the spring and that's about it. The only "building blocks" (to use JLu's term) available to them is what is present in the potting mix and the city water I use. For this reason I am of the opinion that fertilizing is not required but that depends on one's growing circumstances. For example if you are using a completely inorganic mix, there aren't going to be very many of those building blocks available for the orchid to use.
While I am fully satisfied with the results I get (check out the thread Orchid du Jour to see some of my postings), it does beg the question as to whether my results would be better if I did fertilize. Maybe one of these days I'll get ambitious enough and go back to fertilizing and find out.
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