Fertilizing Orchids

Fertilizing Orchids

Orchid Fertilizers are available in various forms namely organic and inorganic/chemical. Many people put too much of faith on fertilizers but in natural habitat, orchids receive very low doses of organic fertilizers in form of bird droppings and other mild nutrients carried by rain water.

If orchids are in poor heath, chemical fertilizers can do more damage than benefit. Especially if the roots are damaged, roots cannot absorb fertilizers and chemical fertilizer would start to accumulate on the potting media and this build up of fertilizer can dehydrate the roots and damage the remaining good roots.

Many people think orchid fertilizers as food for orchids but in reality orchids produce their food on their own through photosynthesis. The fertilizer we provide merely aids in providing minerals that facilitate photosynthesis.

Providing overdose of fertilizers does not help the orchids to grow better and overdose is mostly wasted as over flowing water or could harm the orchids if they are not healthy. Following a lower dosage and frequent application (“weakly weekly”) is a much better strategy than applying an overdose.

Never exceed the dosage that this recommended by the fertilizer manufacturer and ¼ or ½ strength the recommended strength is always advisable than a full dosage.

Organic fertilizers

o   Seaweed Extract (Liquid or Powder Form)

o   Fish Emulsion

o   Worm/Compost Tea

o   Humic Acid

o   Cow Urine

Inorganic/Chemical Fertilizers

Chemical Fertilizers are available in various formulations but broadly available in 3 forms

·       Granule

·       Slow Release

·       Water Soluble

Water-soluble fertilizers are more widely used due to their ease of use and are recommended.

Always use inorganic fertilizers that are meant for orchids as they have the necessary trace elements that are required for orchids

  Practice that I follow for fertilizing my orchids

·       I adopt the “weakly weekly” strategy for fertilizing orchids.

·       I alternate 2-3 different varieties of fertilizers. They are seaweed extract, inorganic fertilizer & Humic acid.

·       I water the orchids thoroughly and fertilize the orchids after they are watered.

·       I fertilize the orchids when they are actively growing and reduce their dosage (or cut down) fertilizing when they are dormant

·       I don’t fertilize them with chemical fertilizer when they are sick or in poor condition. I use seaweed extract to rejuvenate sick orchids and they seem to like it.

·       I don’t fertilize Phalaenopsis when they are in bloom.

·       Flush the potting medium once a month to clear them of any fertilizer deposits on the potting media or pot.

·       Clay pots being porous they tend to accumulate more salt on them than the plastic pots and mostly I use plastic pots.