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| with other members help i think this can be sorted for you. I have not heard of the brand university before. What you have is only for groath with orchids. Groath fertellizers are high in Nitrogen. A flowering fertillizer is needed also. As a flowering fertellizer is low in Nitrogen I ferteillize my Orchids with Campbell,s, Groath and Flowering. I feed all my orchids one a week with groath fertellizer once the flower spikes are finished. As soon as winter starts I stop useing the groath Fertellizer. my orchids get a light mist spray of water ( tank water ) in the cooler months. As soon as winter is over I then use the Flowering one. I feed once a week mixed in with water aded to the pot. Also a light mist spray on the leaves of the plants. In between fertellizing I use tank water for my plants. I hope this helps you Last edited by fred; 03-11-2007 at 12:34 AM. |
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| -grumble grumble- ok my bottle of tap water msu says 4.75 - 1 - 5.75 i feed it at 50ppm for the plants in semi hydro (1 tsp/gal) and 150ppm (3 tsp/gal) when i'm using it as regular fertilizer for plants in media, once a week.--oh duh--once every *two* weeks. -smacks self- my bottle is greencare msu but pkged by firstrays so it has a firstrays label. i suspect yours may be the same, sharyn. --so if my math is right, what you've got is 3x strength of what i've got. mine also has iron manganese zinc copper boron and molybdenum in trace amounts. Last edited by janet_a; 03-10-2007 at 07:52 PM. |
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| Janet, I think you're right. Sounds very similar. Thanks for getting up off your and helping me out here! Just kidding - thanks for the lesson. I don't know what other trace elements may be present because it's a hand written tag.Arlene: I've been just about everywhere to find a balanced fertilizer with no luck. The big box stores don't carry it, and even an orchid greenhouse doesn't carry it - so I think I'm going to have to resort to an online order. I didn't think finding an orchid fertilizer would be so much of a hassle. I already have a small supply of fertilizer but both of them have more nitrogen than anything else. I can tell you from very little experience that my Dens. do not like it - therefore, my quest to get something balanced, or at least something with less nitrogen. Suggestions welcome. |
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| the fertellizer I use has a rayio of 10.13.16 its made up of nitrogen present as nitrate form 5.9% nitrogen present as ammounium from 5.9% Total nitrogen 11.8% Total phosphorus water soluble present as mono ammonium phosphate 13.2% Total potassium present as potassium nitrate 16.6% Zinc present as zinc sulphate 0.01% Molybdenum present as sodium molybdate 0.01% Cobalt present as cobalt sulphate 0.002% Manganese present as manganese sulphate 0.05% Iron present as Iron EDTA Boron present as bonic acid I would feed this once a week. |
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| hi, I thought The high nitrogen content is for growth and high Phosphorous is for flowering and high potassium is for plant metabolism and (balance)osmotic pressure. fred: Your earlier post suggests othewise. can you please clarify that? Thanks. |
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| sorry about that thanks for pointing that out. It does not help posting when one has visitors. I went back and fixed that up. I use the campbells 11-13-16 all year round. As I only grow small growing orchids I find this the best. |
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| Hi Gang, I just thought I would put in my 5cents worth: N = Nitrogen '7'-9-5 Nitrogen is the first major element responsible for the vegetative growth of plants above ground. With a good supply, plants grow sturdily and mature rapidly, with rich, dark green foliage. P = Phosphorus 7-'9'-5 The second major element in plant nutrition, phosphorus is essential for healthy growth, strong roots, fruit and flower development, and greater resistance to disease. K = Potassium (Potash) 7-9-'5' The third major plant nutrient, potassium oxide is essential for the development of strong plants. It helps plants to resist diseases, protects them from the cold and protects during dry weather by preventing excessive water loss. 7-9-5 is just the makeup of some guy's idea of what he thinks is good fert. Many firms produce differing levels of NPK for different types of plants, and as others have mentioned, suggest that different formulas should be used at start of growth season and at start of fruit/flower development. What you use depends on your own experience. Maybe Cynthia could post some basic general rules on orchid fertiliser, (She may have already done so!) Bill |
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| Billc: I wonder if the grower is using this higher potassium level in this formula because of the cold, dry winters here? Does that make any sense? I've just never seen a formula like this 13-3-17 and really wasn't sure what it meant. Thanks for your explanation. Just when I think I understand the fertilizer stuff - I have a new query! |
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| sharyn here is my fertilizer from MSU 13-3-15-8Ca-2Mg for pure water (reverse osmosis and rain water) here is thier other one MSU 19-4-23 for tap water *(Ideal for the Northeast region Well or Municipal water supplies) instructions -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- MSU fertilizer was formulated at Michigan State University with the help of PhD Bill Argo of the Blackmore Company. The closest to nutritionally complete of any orchid fertilizer on the market.# -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- MSU 13-3-15-8Ca-2Mg for pure water (reverse osmosis and rain water) Formulated for a regime of constant feeding. Depending on you growing conditions a nitrogen PPM of 100 to 150 is a good starting point. This will satisfy most nutrition requirements safely for growing in slightly less than ideal growing conditions i.e. lower light or temperature. To achieve this a slightly heaping 1/2 teaspoon and a full teaspoon of MSU per gallon produced the following analysis: .6 tsp 103 ppm - nitrogen 10 ppm - phosphorus 99 ppm - potassium For a TDS of 177ppm per gallon. 1 tsp. 172 ppm - nitrogen 17 ppm - phosphorus 164 ppm - potassium For a TDS of 353ppm per gallon. If your growing conditions are ideal you may wish to MAX OUT your nutrition at 250ppm. 1.5 tsp. or MSU produce the following analysis: 257 ppm - nitrogen 26 ppm - phosphorus 126 ppm - potassium For a TDS of 529ppm per gallon MSU - Guaranteed Analysis Nitrogen (Nitrate 12.5%) (Ammoniacal 0.7%) 13.00% Phosphorus (as P2O5) 3.00% Potassium (as K2O) 15.00% Calcium 8.00% Magnesium 2.00% Iron 0.18% Manganese 0.09% Sulfur 0.09% Zinc 0.04% Copper 0.04% Boron 0.02% Molybdenum 0.02% Components: boric acid, calcium nitrate, copper sulfate, iron EDTA, magnesium nitrate, manganese sulfate, potassium nitrate, potassium phosphate, sodium molybdate, zinc sulfate.
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| Perfect Dennis! Almost the exact formula. This helps me a bunch. Thanks so much for your replies. I'm still on this upward learning journey and thanks to you and others, I feel blessed that you and the other forum members share your knowledge and helpfulness to those of us still learning. |