Submitted by: Michael Orr

To grow that specimen orchid you are going to need some orchid fertilizer, but how do you go about this effectively? Let’s look at using orchid fertilizer easily and safely to boost your plants and keep them flowering for as long as possible. This article will cut through some of the technical jargon and uncover a few strategies to help you use fertilizer properly.

Most professional orchid growers will have very specific fertilizer programs for the different orchid types they grow. This is great, but how many people have the knowledge to be able to mix and match their own custom made formulations. Let’s face it, you want a simple way to apply your orchid fertilizer without killing your plant, and hopefully encourage it to grow and flower beautifully.

Do I Really Need to Add Orchid Fertilizer. Yes you do! Orchids in nature will take up all the nutrients they require from their environment, keeping them healthy. An orchid growing in a pot in your home is not in a natural environment and you must give it the nutrients it requires to survive. We do this by giving the plant a good balanced fertilizer. Growing your orchid without fertilizer may not kill it but the plant will not reach it’s full potential.

Plant fertilizer usually comes in two forms:

Slow Release Fertilizer usually in granules to mix in with your potting medium or as pellets to stick into the pot near the plant.

Liquid fertilizer comes as a ready mixed product ready to apply or as a powder or concentrate ready to dilute before application.

Slow release fertilizer is not commonly used for orchids as it is difficult to control the amount of fertilizer your plant is getting. A ready to apply liquid fertilizer is your easiest option.

Specialist orchid fertilizer or general plant fertilizer?

General fertilizers used properly will give good solid results. By using a specialist orchid fertilizer you can go that bit further and they can give some spectacular results. I would advise you to get the plant established and happy before trying out any specialist orchid feeds. You can also look into some good organic choices that are available.

When choosing fertilizer you must look for one that contains no urea! Urea is a compound commonly used in plant fertilizers however orchids hate it and it can eventually kill them, so avoid at all costs.

My number one tip for applying orchid fertilizer is… Weekly Weakly. If you feed your orchid too much it will suffer very quickly. Orchids prefer weak solutions of fertilizer an a regular basis. I recommend using half the suggested rate of general plant fertilizers and I reduce the rate of specialist orchid fertilizer by about 20%. Apply this feed once a week in place of regular watering when the plant is growing actively. Do not feed in the winter and in spring start off with once every two weeks. Always aim to slightly under feed too little is better than too much!

Remember to flush. When you are regularly applying liquid fertilizer, toxic salts can build up in the plant compost. These salts are harmful to your orchid. Simply flush the plant once a month by giving it a very heavy watering. This will remove the excess salts.

Applying orchid fertilizer can indeed be a very scientific and complex exercise. I highly recommend keeping things as simple as possible. Follow the above guidelines to get started and applying orchid fertilizer will be a safe and rewarding pleasure.

About the Author: Michael Orr is an experienced orchid grower. His website at

orchidcarenow.com/

has a unique take on orchids. There you will find out how to apply orchid fertilizer the easy way.

Source:

isnare.com

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