Fertilizer recommendations

[Aurical]

Though I've owned orchids for about 6 months I've never fertilized them because I'm afraid of harming/killing them. I know I really should start, but I was wondering if I should buy an orchid specific fert. or if a more general purpose formula would work. I have read that anything not designed specifically for orchids should be applied at 1/3 to 1/4 recommended strength. Does anyone have specific brand recommendations? Can I make up a fairly large batch and store it for multiple applications, or should I make it up each time I fertilize?

If it helps, I have 3 mature phals and one very young plant I think is a Catt. The label said something like "HAW Yuan Gold"

One last question, the plant in the growing phase when it is not blooming, correct? I know different kinds of ferts are needed at different times.

I lied... I have one more question about my catt. When i got it, it came in a tiny plastic growers pot. I repotted it in a phal potting mix (mostly composed of bark chunks). Will it be ok, or should I put it in something else? The leaves are probably 4-6 inches long and there are approx 4 leaves (I'm at work right now so I'm guess-timating these figures from memory which can be quite inaccurate).

Thanks to everyone in advance for their help!

[mayres]

Everyone has their own ideas of what works for them - with nearly every question. For me in my growing area, and with the number of plants I have, I have found small containers of fertilizer made specifically for orchids works well. I have been using Gublers, which I got at Lowes, but I have noted 3-4 different brands at other local stores made specifically for orchids as well. I have also been using worm tea to some extent, which a lot of people on this forum have found to work well. I use it partially for its insecticide properties. Around here most catts are planted in medium bark with added perlite - usually a tad bit smaller in size than what a lot of people use for phals. Yes, ideally all of your orchids should be growing now in the warmth of the season - often, but not always, more so when not in bloom. Keep reading and talking with others that also are growing like plants and find the combination that works for you. Enjoy! mike

[jerrymeola]

All fertilizers are the same.

I use as an example Miracle Grow. Their All Purpose food and Orchid food sit next to each other on the shelf. Same ingredients, same size package, same price, different label and most important different instructions.

Tropical plants dissolve 1 TABLEspoon per gallon and Orchids dissolve 1 TEAspoon per gallon. Use any all purpose fertilizer and dilute more using 1/4 to 1/2 the recommended amounts for tropical plants. (equally increase Orchid food for tropicals)

Use a balanced fertilizer such as 20-20-20 avoid the high nitrogen "Orchid Fertilizer' 30-10-10 and avoid the Bloom Boost 6-30-6

I like Worm Tea (Worm compose liquids) since it is totally organic and has insecticide and fungicide value.

[Orchid664]

Your "Haw Yuan Gold" is not a Cattleya. It is an intergeneric hybrid, Hawaiiara, a cross of Renanthera x Vanda x Vandopsis.

[charleyismydog]

Jerry, I've heard that worm tea won't cause root rot or anything bad really. Does that mean one should use it all the time? How often do you do it?

[PhalPal]

Originally Posted by jerrymeola

All fertilizers are the same. I use as an example Miracle Grow. Their All Purpose food and Orchid food sit next to each other on the shelf. Same ingredients, same size package, same price, different label and most important different instructions.

I'm a label reader also, and I have actually seen (see Jerry above) stuff labeled as an orchid food at $3-$4 more, for the exact same thing except for the label. Try reading Excedrin labels: 'Migraine Excedrin' is almost double the price and all it is is extra strength Excedrin in different packaging. Same can go for fertilizers as we all have learned.

One thing some orchid growers won't use is a fertilizer with it's nitrogen source from urea. Apparently the plant doesn't utilize it as well as urea-free.

Worm Tea- Oh my!! Lots of us use this and love it for many reasons. Links to follow!

[spicy0610]

Originally Posted by PhalPal

Worm Tea- Oh my!! Lots of us use this and love it for many reasons. Links to follow!

Can Worm Tea be used as both fertilizer and insecticide? Ot will it be better to use Worm Tea + fertilizer at the same time?

[gore42]

Be careful... most fertilizers are pretty much the same, but not all of them.

Many fertilizers that are intended for outdoor plants and gardens don't contain the full spectrum of micro-nutrients that are needed for growing healthy orchids, especially if you're growing in an non-organic medium (like S/H), or a nutrient poor medium like CHC, etc. Most of the fertilizers out there now DO contain all of the necessary micronutrients, and some of the common garden variety fertilizers are much cheaper than the orchid ones, so it's worth checking labels.

Also, depending on what you grow, you might want a fertilizer that has extra calcium and magnesium. A lot of Paph growers will add epsom salts instead of getting a Cal/Mag fertilizer, and also add a calcium suppliment to the potting medium like oyster shell, etc (also to buffer the pH).

Finally, I think that a balanced fertilizer is good for general use on most orchids. Generally speaking, plants will take in as much of the nutrients as they need and leave the rest, so a 20-20-20 will have the same effect as a 20-10-20 if your plant only needs 13-9-12. However, for plants that are sensitive to water quality, you might consider using an MSU formula (my tap water formula is 17-9-18) just to reduce the risk of burning your plants' roots.

- Matthew Gore

[PhalPal]

Spicy - There are quite a few threads on this subject but the search came up with nothing, so I have the best link I could find below. Jerry Meola is the expert on worm tea and he has been conducting little experiments with it. It seems to have insecticidal properties as well as being a safe and effective fertilizer. It helped me save a phal with NO roots, soft leaves, surely gone, but i put it in Orchid ICU (plastic dome with moss) to keep it damp and used nothing but worm tea on it for two months. (watering and misting) I now have 4 new roots, 2 new leaves and it is back in soil doing great. A lesson here for me was that I had no problem with fungus or mold growing in the OICU, which can be a problem with sprag and bag, so it probably has fungicidal properties as well. We all love it and I really haven't heard any bad side effects from it yet.

Worm Tea - further testing -accerated growth rate

Jerry if you see this?? I think a sticky on worm tea would be very helpful for all the newbies who visit the forum. The subject invariably comes up and it would be great to have a go to place to explain it. (like Cynthia's skewer method)

[Aurical]

Ok.. so I think I feel better about fertilizing now:

-Balanced should be fine,
-no need to buy more expensive "orchid" special stuff
-check for micro-nutrients

Actually, I could in theory make my own fertilizer at home with the wide spectrum of fertilizers in powder form that my bf uses for the planted aquariums. It would be nice because it would cost a fraction of the price, but neither of know how much to put in.

Does anyone know if I need to give the baby hybrid (Haw Yuan Gold) any special conditions. It had been stuck in a mesh bag hanging from a rack in Lowes without any light/water and it looked none the worse for wear so I assumed it was relatively hardy.

Can someone explain to me exactly what worm tea is? I've read about it a lot on the forum and people love it, but I've never heard of it.

Thanks again everyone!! I'm sure my orchids will be happier now that I'm not afraid to fertilize them.

[charleyismydog]

PhalPal, thanks for that link on worm tea. That's perfect. I'm going to pick some up this weekend!