The more fertilizer you give an orchid, the more harm you do: a brief discussion of orchid fertilizing methods

Promote Chinese orchid culture, spread orchid knowledge

Many orchid growers always attach great importance to fertilizing, and almost every day what they think about is fertilizing their orchids. In fact, fertilizing must be restrained. Without rational fertilizing, it will only bring harm to orchids, causing the consequence of pulling up seedlings to help them grow.

Orchids are not fertilizer-loving plants, and their fertilizer needs are limited. Moreover, orchids need certain conditions to absorb fertilizer; they cannot absorb fertilizer at just any time. Let me discuss several necessary conditions for fertilizing in my personal view:

1. Suitable temperature: under normal circumstances, the generally accepted temperature is that absorption can begin only above 15°C, and the range of 15-25°C is the best time for fertilizing. In actual practice, I personally feel that fertilizing should begin when the temperature stabilizes at 15°C, while the real peak of fertilizer absorption should be between 20-30°C. Within this temperature range, orchids grow fastest and absorb more fertilizer. Above this temperature, too much fertilizer easily causes excessive vegetative growth. When fertilizing below 15°C, the orchid root system is simply soaking in fertilizer water, absorbs very little, and there is no benefit at all, only harm. What often happens is that the crystal tips turn black and rot;

2. Sufficient light: without light, photosynthesis cannot occur; with insufficient light, photosynthesis is also weak. Under such conditions, absorption is slow and the absorbed fertilizer cannot be transformed, just like indigestion in humans. Therefore, fertilizing also needs the cooperation of light. During the plum rain season, if you keep fertilizing blindly, stem rot and soft rot come one after another. This is also the consequence of blindly applying fertilizer.

As for the continuous rainy weather for more than a month in our area this year, with very little sunlight, the examples of many growers suffering losses to varying degrees because of this can illustrate the point. The reason is that we are used to using slow-release fertilizer here, and during the plum rain season there is plenty of moisture and the temperature is also suitable for the release of slow-release fertilizer, but because there is no sunlight, the fertilizer cannot be absorbed, which creates this consequence. Therefore, during the plum rain season, when there is sunlight, it is better to apply quick-acting water-soluble fertilizer;

3. Strong seedlings: in the past, orchid growers also pointed out: fat orchids should not remain thin for long, and thin orchids should not be fattened suddenly. This means that fertilizing for strong seedlings should keep pace, while for weak orchid seedlings, fertilizing should be light, that is, apply thin fertilizer frequently, and proceed step by step slowly;

4. Complete root system: fertilizing an orchid that has just been potted in a hurry is very unfavorable to orchid growth. Because for an orchid that has just been potted, the root system has not yet fully recovered. If fertilizer is applied at this time, the old root tips cannot absorb it, and new root tips have not yet grown out, so the harm is considerable. Books in the past often emphasized starting fertilizing only after three months. Although this is somewhat conservative, it is not without reason. According to observation, under very suitable conditions, new roots take at least 20 days to grow well. But in reality, how many hobbyists' cultivation conditions can reach that kind of condition? Of course, under the currently popular soilless cultivation conditions, applying a little Magic Fertilizer appropriately when repotting still works well;

5. Sufficient water supply: the absorption of fertilizer needs the assistance of water to be completed. Without enough water supply, after fertilizing, the water evaporates, the fertilizer concentration increases, and root burn is unavoidable.

The above points do not include foliar feeding. In my view, foliar feeding is only suitable for old, weak seedlings with poor root systems, just like giving a person an IV to supplement nutrition. Strong plants do not need foliar feeding; excessive foliar feeding can cause root degradation. Moreover, if the concentration of foliar feeding is not well controlled, it easily causes fertilizer damage to new shoots, leaving irreversible, permanent white fertilizer-damage scars.

Orchid Bar, your good teacher on the road of orchid growing