The Key Period for Fertilizing and Watering Orchids and Fertilizer-Water Management Methods

The key period for fertilizing and watering orchids refers to the plum rain season, the arrival of the summer solstice, and the stretch through the end of August. So growing orchids only requires three months of effort (June, July, August). If your orchids can pass through this key period safely and healthily, it will bring you a whole year of good mood. The focus during this period is to do a good job of fertilizer and water management for orchids on a subjective level.

Watering and fertilizing are processes of subjective judgment made by an individual based on objective phenomena, so how do you handle this process well?

June to July is the period of the year when air humidity is relatively high, and watering requires attention to 4 points:

1. Do not water after rain, and do not spray water on orchid leaves when air humidity is high.

2. This stage is the key period for orchids to grow roots and leaves, so you must achieve a proper balance between dry and wet. The so-called proper balance between dry and wet means that when watering, you must water thoroughly, and after it is thorough, try to wait until the humidity of the growing medium is below 30% wet before watering again (even 20% wet is fine). Only in this way can the root system become well developed and be encouraged to grow downward.

3. Keeping the growing medium at a too-wet level for a long time puts the roots and leaves of orchids in a saturated state of moisture. If you water or spray again, the roots and leaves of the orchids cannot absorb it, which can very easily lead to new shoots rotting, soft rot, stem rot, and various diseases. Only by properly controlling the balance between dry and wet can orchids grow healthily.

4. The time for watering and spraying can be chosen in the evening or early morning, and should not be done during periods of high temperature and sunlight.

For fertilizing, you only need to remember 2 principles:

First, apply thin fertilizer frequently.

Second, whether applying root fertilizer or foliar fertilizer, try to do it in the evening.