When Is the Best Time to Fertilize Orchids? A Detailed Guide to the Best Fertilizing Times

Besides ventilation and watering, fertilizing can be said to be the third essential principle of orchid growing, and using it well is a highly difficult skill to master. Some flower enthusiasts are not very clear about when to fertilize orchids and how to fertilize them, so please read the full article carefully; I believe you will gain something from it.

We must remember: insufficient fertilizer will not cause fatal damage to orchid plants, nor will it have too great an impact on the growth and development of orchid plants, but excessive fertilizing or improper control of fertilizer strength will cause varying degrees of negative effects on orchid plants, and in severe cases can lead to death. To put it simply, if you can grow orchids without fertilizing, you have mastered the guiding principle of fertilizing. For example, weak seedlings should be grown leanly; for strong seedlings, as long as the growing medium has relatively high fertility, such as Yixiang soil, humus soil, and so on, there is almost no need to fertilize. But the vast majority of novice orchid growers will absolutely not give up unless you tell them to add a little fertilizer to the pot. They also will not give up until the orchid is tormented to death, and this is also one of the pleasures of growing orchids. Therefore, it is necessary to study, explore, practice, and summarize the issue of fertilizing seriously.

　　1.Types of Fertilizer：

1. Organic fertilizer: Use soybean, peanut, corn, sesame, soybean cake, rapeseed cake, sesame residue, rain intestines, etc. to compost fertilizer water, and apply it as a 200-fold solution. It is best to use it after it has been thoroughly decomposed for more than half a year. This type of fertilizer water contains more potassium and nitrogen and is suitable for spring application. It can promote cell division in orchid plants, and with proper water management, the seedling emergence rate is relatively high. This fertilizer has a pungent odor after composting and fermentation, and contains a large number of harmful bacteria and insects. It must undergo strict sterilization and insect killing. It can be used half an hour after adding insecticides such as acetamiprid.

2. Chemical fertilizer: Chemical fertilizers take effect quickly, but their nature is not as mild as organic fertilizers. Old-brand flower fertilizers such as Huabao can be used with confidence.

Accurate fertilizing is based on understanding and mastering the growth habits of orchid plants, so understanding the growth habits of orchid plants is very important.

　　2. Fertilizer management according to the different growth stages of orchids based on their growth habits:

1. Sprouting stage: 8—18 degrees Celsius in spring is the sprouting temperature for orchid plants. During this period, the root system of orchid plants revives, the pseudobulb awakens, and the mother cells begin to become active. After spraying Huabao No. 4 awakening fertilizer twice, add Lanjunwang when watering to promote sprouting. During this period, there are no visible signs of growth on the surface of the orchid plant. Weak seedlings must be allowed to continue sleeping, and fertilizing should be delayed a bit longer.

2. Growth stage: 12-20 degrees Celsius is the normal growth temperature for orchid plants. At this time, the root system of orchid plants begins to spread out, last year's autumn buds break through the soil early, and the current year's new buds are also eager to try. This is the golden period for the growth and development of orchid plants. At this time, attention should be paid to the water and fertilizer management of orchid plants. A complete fertilizer is best for fertilizing, and nitrogen fertilizer may also be applied preferentially. Nitrogen fertilizer must not be too much, otherwise it is easy to cause new seedling leaves to be soft, thin, and large, and prone to carbon maggot disease. At this time, fertilizing can be done by root irrigation at the normal ratio to achieve the goal of strengthening buds and seedlings. This is the first fertilizing at the prescribed amount.

3. Vigorous growth stage in spring and summer: 20—32 degrees Celsius is the vigorous growth stage for orchid plants. Plum rain season. During this period, orchid plants grow rapidly. Although orchid plants need a large amount of fertility at such temperatures, the root irrigation fertilizer we applied earlier still remains in the pot to varying degrees (coarse material retains little or none, so fertilization should still continue). Therefore, at this time, root fertilizer must be applied lightly to reduce the risk of fertilizer damaging orchid plants as temperatures rise. Fertilizing should mainly use phosphorus and potassium fertilizers, and a complete fertilizer may also be applied, with no or little nitrogen fertilizer. This period is a time of high incidence of pests and diseases, so ventilation and water control should be strengthened, and pest and disease prevention work should be done carefully.

4. Stagnant growth stage: This refers to the short stagnant growth stage of orchid plants when the temperature is above 35 degrees Celsius, but there is not much time in a day when it is above 35 degrees. During high-temperature periods, orchid plants actually grow most rapidly, and are also most prone to soft rot and stem rot. To prevent rot, and because some fertilizer remains from earlier applications or the growing medium itself has high fertility, during the dog days of summer, one should seize the opportunity to increase the amount of watering and absolutely must not fertilize. Each time, repeatedly water heavily 2-3 times, using heavy watering to carry away the remaining fertility in the orchid pot. Repeat this 3-4 times to make the growing medium in the pot mild and moderate. This is an important measure for orchid plants to pass the summer safely.

5. Vigorous growth stage in autumn: 32-20 degrees Celsius in autumn is the vigorous growth stage for orchid plants. Because we diluted the growing medium in summer, and orchid plants at this time need a large amount of fertility, root fertilizer should be irrigated promptly (the second deliberate fertilizing), mainly phosphorus and potassium fertilizers.

6. Hibernation stage: Below 8 degrees Celsius, orchid plants basically stop growing and then enter hibernation. Foliar fertilizer may be sprayed appropriately.

　　3.Key Points of Fertilizing：

First, different fertility levels of the growing medium should be treated differently when fertilizing.

Second, different varieties should be treated differently. Different orchid types require different amounts of fertilizer. For example, Cymbidium faberi requires a large amount of fertilizer, while Cymbidium goeringii requires a small amount; only one fifth of that for Cymbidium faberi is enough.

Third, after fertilizing on a high-temperature day at night, "reviving water" should be watered the next morning. It has two functions: first, to wash away the fertilizer liquid adhering to the orchid leaves; second, to rinse away excess fertilizer remaining in the pot medium, so as to avoid fertilizer damage harming the orchid plants.

Fourth, for newly potted orchid plants, root fertilizing can only be done after orchid roots longer than 3cm have grown.

Fifth, do not apply fertilizer on low-temperature days below 10c°, high-temperature days above 35c°, or humid and rainy days with saturated humidity. This is the same as watering.

Sixth, fertilize according to the leaves. If orchid leaves are thin in texture and pale in color, it indicates a lack of fertilizer. If orchid leaves are thick in texture and green in color, it indicates no lack of fertilizer. After fertilizing, if the leaf color becomes dark green, it indicates the fertilizer has taken effect; if the leaf color does not change, it indicates the fertilizer is too weak and the concentration should be increased. If leaf tips are scorched, it indicates too much or too concentrated fertilizer. Immediately water heavily or repot and change the soil for emergency rescue, otherwise it will inevitably die.

Seventh, fertilizing is not suitable when the growing medium is too dry or too wet. If too dry, the orchid plant absorbs too much fertilizer and is prone to fertilizer damage; if too wet, it absorbs little fertilizer and the fertilizer remains in the substrate, also making it prone to fertilizer damage.

Eighth, animal fertilizers and plant fertilizers must be fully fermented. Fresh fertilizer must not be applied, otherwise the orchid will inevitably die.

Ninth, mixing fertilizers must be scientific. Generally, one must grasp that acids and bases should not be mixed, and biological bacterial fertilizer should not be mixed with other fertilizers.

Tenth, spraying methods must be particular. Because fertilizer must be absorbed into the plant body through leaf stomata, and leaf stomata are mainly on the underside of the leaves, spraying should mainly target the underside of the leaves. The nozzle should face upward, and the mist should be fine, so that there are more opportunities to spray the underside of the leaves. At the same time, the spraying amount should not be too large.

Eleventh, be cautious with spraying growth hormones. Growth hormones do indeed have a very good effect on promoting plant growth and development, increasing the germination rate, promoting early maturity, and achieving increased yield, but their main function is to promote cell elongation, and after application, excessive growth and even lodging may occur.

Twelfth, urea must not be applied to the roots; it can only be sprayed on the leaves.

Thirteenth, magnesium and manganese elements must not be applied to variegated-leaf orchids.

Fourteenth, fertilizer must not be applied during the flowering period. Flower buds have a strong ability to absorb fertilizer but a very weak tolerance for it, and flowering will inevitably fail.

4.Summary:

Fertilize as little as possible or not at all. For ordinary growing medium and ordinary seedlings, fertilizing 5~6 times a year is considered not few.

Orchid growers are all a bit orchid-obsessed. When the flowering season comes, they even come out in groups to scare people, which is called an orchid show. Shen Yuanru, the Orchid King, even often got up early at 4 or 5 o'clock to collect dew to nourish orchids; that was the most obsessive. Only by tossing about again and again can one better grasp the nature of orchids.