Weakly Weekly

[elitebettas]

All of my orchids are in periods of new growth and I have been feeding them with just under a TEAspoon per gallon of water. Each time I water I soak the plants in a gallon jug cut in half for 15-30 minutes. I water twice a week when in new growth and fertilize once a week as well. Too much fertilzer? Should I cut it back to every two weeks?

[Fabolusus]

It depends on the fertilizer. What does the package recommend? I think most people use 1/2 or 1/4 the recommended dose, depending on the nutrient ratio of the fertilizer.

[PhalPal]

elitebettas - fabolusus is so right. It depends greatly on the fertilizer. If you are using a standard plant type, use 1/4 to 1/2 of what is recommended on the bottle. If you are using a fertilizer made specifically for orchids you do not need to dilute it further.
No matter what you are using you are doing it too often. Go to every two weeks and don't be tempted to make a stronger solution. Not fertilizing at all is MUCH better then fertilizing too much. There are some professional growers on this forum that do not fertilize AT ALL and have excellent plants and flowers.
To complicate it even further, it can depend on what type of plant you have. Post some pictures if possible and someone can give you even more specific advice.

Soaking plants for 30 minutes twice a week sounds like a bit too much water. Again, what type of plants do you have, and what part of the country do you live in? Are the plants indoors or out? What type of medium are they in? Once we get a bit more information we can make more educated suggestions.

[elitebettas]

I have ascosendas, one HW Lava Burst, One oncidium twinkle fragrance fantasy, one oncidium sharry baby, two dendrobiums and one cattleya in the south east window. The ascosendas get watered twice daily. Everything is in new growth right now and cannot seam to get enough water. Growth is great. The temp is a steady 82 degrees (except for night when it falls a bit) for the most part. Humidity is almost constantly 50% (except for night when it rises) and there is always some sort of air movement from outside. Depending on the plant's light requirements, they are spaced either hanging a foot fromt he top of the window (ascosendas), in the middle of the window (Lava burst and oncidium twinkle) or right on the sill-everything else. So while in new growth I feed weakly weekly and water twice a week if we'd had lots of sun and warmth, if cloudy for a while, only once a week. So far so good...They've been all growing this way for alittle over 8 months

[Hummer344]

It sounds to me like to much water. Also, if you are soaking each plant in the same bucket then you take the chance of spreading disease/pests from one plant to all plants. I live S. of San Francisco. The temps here are in the high 70's to mid 80's right now & I flood all plants with a water wand once a week. If it gets hot I will water more frequently. Fertilize every two weeks or when I feel like it. LOL.

[elitebettas]

When i soak they all get soaked (up to the rim of their pots) in a gallon jug cut in half-foilage isn't soaked just the medium. It seems though that when in new growth now they won't tolerate once a week. I cut it back and my cattleya with new growth-the psuedobulbs started to really shrivel-i watered and by the next day they were as plump as plums, lol-a sure sign that the root system isn't suffering from overwatering, but underwatering. I have though cut back the fertilizing to every two weeks