Should I stop high nitrogen fert?

[mattryan]

Hello I hope my heading says it all. I have gotten some orchids over the past couple of months. Some of them were not in bloom and I did a repot and have been giving them a high nitrogen fertilizer, I have seen some new growth and am not sure if I should stop now that fall is coming. The others that I purchased have finished flowering (also a repot after flowering) and I see the start of new growth on them as well. They are a mini catt, pot. catt Chief Orange 'Sweet Orange', A noid Onc. and a Onc. Gower Ramsey. Should I still fert with the 30-10-10, just cut down on the frequency, or switch to 19-31-17. I really don't know if I should be trying to get them to spike as I have only had them for a very short amount of time. I would like to get them used to their new media and not set them back. They are all outside , some to varying amount of time depending on when I purchased them, I will bring them in before it gets too cold. I do not grow under lights, but will have them in a south facing room with a sliding door over winter, so light should not be a problem. Sorry for all the questions, but I have 1 more. I purchased 2 reed-stem epi's over the spring-summer. They both have been putting up new canes and lots of roots are forming. I have them in full sun until round 12 and water them everyday as they are in very small pots. My question is do they need a cool down for them to bloom? I can't find anything that tells me how to get them to re-bloom. Thanks again!

[Ron]

Hi I never, never ever use any high nightron type fertilizer on any of my orchids, just a good balanced type all they year around.
Excessive nithrogen promotes rapid leaf growth, often to the determetal of good flowering growth.
When to use a high nightrogen type fertilizer has always bee an isssue no one has solved expertly.
I like use use a fertilizer rather high in the K type, this promotes good strong growth and bonus flowering mode
My 2 cents worth

[mattryan]

Thanks for the response Ron. I am thinking that maybe I might need some new growth, not flowering this year and since I am 1/2 a world away from you hopefully someone on my hemisphere can chime in.

[Hummer344]

I use a formula high in N only for a couple of feedings in the spring. I feel I get more new growth that way. The rest of the year I use a balanced formula. This season I am going to use a low N formula on half my cyms and a balanced formula on the other half. See what, if anything is the difference.

[Ray]

The best way to get plants to bloom is to grow them well in all respects - light, temperature, humidity, air movement, watering, and nutrition.

Switching to a low nitrogen fertilizer will not cause them to bloom, but if they are ready to, it will allow it, as you have removed the bloom-preventing action of the high nitrogen.

Like Ron, I never use a high-N fertilizer, but I can understand Hummer's logic about a brief spring-time boost to the foliage growth.

[Stitz]

I use a high nitrogen formula alone during spring. It uses ammoniacal and nitrate nitrogen only, no urea. I hope to gain faster utilization of the nitrogen with this mixture.

When the sunlight period begins to decrease after the summer solstice, I use a different formula with a lower nitrogen ratio in the N-P-K. I don't see that maintaining high nitrogren is of value. I have no data to support my actions.

--Stitz--

[TheBlazingAugust]

From what I have heard is that when growing in bark mixtures, it is best to use a high-nitrogen fertilizer, as there is bacteria in the bark that eats away at some of the nitrogen.

[cable]

The "bark depletes nitrogen" thing is supposedly an old myth. Bacteria that would deplete nitrates need anaerobic zones to grow in. I suspect that bark is porous enough to keep that from happening even in the interior of the bark pieces (which orchid roots can't reach anyway!)

[Stitz]

Cable,
Welcome to the orchidgeeks forum!

--Stitz--

[11Orchid126]

I would consider the 19-31-17 a high nitrogen fertilizer also, so switching to it would not solve the problem.

And I agree with cable, that growing in the home, nitrogen eating bacteria is not an issue. An old wives' tale.

[Stitz]

Originally Posted by cable

The "bark depletes nitrogen" thing is supposedly an old myth. Bacteria that would deplete nitrates need anaerobic zones to grow in. I suspect that bark is porous enough to keep that from happening even in the interior of the bark pieces (which orchid roots can't reach anyway!)

Originally Posted by 11Orchid126

I would consider the 19-31-17 a high nitrogen fertilizer also, so switching to it would not solve the problem.

And I agree with cable, that growing in the home, nitrogen eating bacteria is not an issue. An old wives' tale.

if this is "An old wives' tale" , my mentor Merritt Huntington was an old wife!

--Stitz--

[11Orchid126]

In grammer school (back in the forties) I was taught that Christopher Columbus was the first explorer to discover America, but we now know that's no longer true, but for generations scholars spouted the fact. You can't fault anyone who believed them. But you can open your mind to new possibilities.

Some Fertilizer Tips from Hawaii:

Our own experience, through trial and error, has proven that equal number fertilizers (ie: 10-10-10, 14-14-14, etc.) that are commonly used in the greenhouse environment, provide poor results for the home orchid grower. The relationship between sunlight and nitrogen is key to orchid blooming success. One needs to keep in mind that the available light on the windowsill or under lights is nowhere in comparison to the optimum light received in the greenhouse environment, and it is impossible for orchid plants to break down the amounts of nitrogen in order to produce blooms. There is an easy solution to this dilemma! By using a low nitrogen formulation of "Blossom Booster" fertilizers with low first numbers, the plant is allowed sufficient nitrogen for healthy growth while allowing it to reach its flowering stage. Ignore the package labeling and use the following in your regular orchid care regime.

Use a BLOSSOM BOOSTER fertilizer (ie. 10-30-20) at 1/4 tsp. per gallon of water every week, along with Superthrive™. (Weak applications allow the plant to absorb the nutrients far better than heavy monthly applications.) DO NOT USE ANY HIGH NITROGEN FERTILIZERS AT ANY TIME, by doing so you will have large green plants with very few or no flowers (bark does not leach out nitrogen).

[plucker]

High doses of nitrogen will burn the root systems.
Urea is a waste of time in orchids, as it usually breaks down in soils. Orchids are grown in soil less conditions, so the urea will just wash down the drain.

100 PPM is about the ideal for growth if you can manage it.