Here are some fertilizing tips to help you take advantage of what Mother Nature is giving us.

Pot. Neon Sky

Fertilizers for Your Orchids

All of this burst of energy in our orchids is in preparation for their next bloom season. Take advantage of what Mother Nature is giving us and fertilize correctly in the spring. New growth on your orchids and stronger root systems mean you’ll enjoy more and better flowers when they
bloom. That is the goal, right?

So early in this spring’s growth cycle, we have learned to increase the Nitrogen (N) in our fertilizer schedule.  Nitrogen is the first number in a fertilizer formula. We use a bark growing-medium, so using a fertilizer like 30-10-10 or 20-2-20 (or any fertilizer formulation with 20 or 30 as the first number) works well to promote even more new growth to help Mother Nature do her wonders.

Fertilize with this high Nitrogen fertilizer two or three times in the spring.  Then go back to the fertilizer you normally use.  When customers ask us what type of fertilizer they should use in general, we tell them “Whatever is on sale!”  The most important factor is not the brand of fertilizer you use but rather your diligence in fertilizing on a regular basis:  once a week weakly or once every two weeks; even once a month.

We also use Epsom Salts (Magnesium sulfate) for our orchids. Sufficient Magnesium is not normally available in most fertilizers. But it is necessary because it makes your orchids function more efficiently.  Sprinkle one teaspoon to one tablespoon on the top of the orchid’s potting mix and water in.  Or add it to your liquid fertilizer solution at the rate of one teaspoon to one tablespoon per gallon.

Another essential nutrient always missing in the usual fertilizers is Calcium (Ca).  Calcium, like magnesium, is required in large amounts but these chemicals do not play well with others in normal fertilizer mixtures.

The easiest and most efficient way to supply both Magnesium and Calcium is to use a Cal-Mag Fertilizer like 16-3-16 +CA +Mg. This is our “go to” fertilizer in the summer during rapid growth and in the Fall for phals.  This blend we use separately from all other fertilizers.

Be sure to water your orchids thoroughly when you do water or fertilize. And pay attention to those roots hanging outside of the pots. They need nutrition and water also because they are supporting the plant’s new growth.

Spring is also a great time to expand or upgrade your orchid collection. It is an excellent time to purchase smaller orchids because they will grow well throughout the spring and summer for you and will be in great shape for the fall and winter season.  Of course, smaller orchids are usually less expensive so you can purchase more!

Our orchids in 3 inch pots are large enough to be repotted into 4 inch, 5 inch, even 6 inch pots! And when you repot your orchids in the spring, they will take advantage of their new medium and keep growing!  We all know that it is much easier to repot a 3 inch or 4 inch pot into a larger container than to struggle to remove a large orchid from its overgrown container and divide and repot it!

Enjoy your orchids this spring. Take good care of them and you will be rewarded with lots of exciting blooms and more vigorous plants!

Fender’s Flora

During this past week-end we had some high winds. One of the problems with growing orchids out doors is that when rough weather happens it happens to my orchids. Tall growing plants such as C. purpurata make great sails, and when there not secured to their growing place, topple to the ground. With a broken pot I am forced to re-pot.

The plant was potted in feb 2010 and was doing well. It was well contained in it’s pot, so I could have simply placed it in a replacement pot. But I thought I’d do a complete re-pot and attempt to show the progress. Each of the photos is a thumbnail, so clicking on a photo will show you a higher-resolution photo.   You’ll need to click the back arrow to continue on this page.

Take a look at the left most photo above. This is a cross section of the old potting material  used in the prior potting of this plant. Note the base of packing peanuts. The growing media is a combination of bark, charcoal, sponge rock, and tree fern. I’ll be removing most of the old growing meterial, and to facilitate removing the old media I’ll soak the plant. First I soak in a beach solution (1 cup/gal), then rinse, then a soak in water with a teaspoon of a rooting hormone. I use DYNA-GRO KLN  (second photo from the left). I select a pot that will handle the plants root mass. I soak the pot in a bleach solution. and finish by washing with a detergent.  (third photo from the left).   The final photo above shows the  root mass right after it’s removed from the soak.

The left most photo above shows the roots now freed of the packing peanuts. The saturated roots are pliable and will release the old potting material with the gentle persuasion of my finger tips. When I remove the old material, I like to work over a trash can or other container to catch the material as it falls from the plant. The next two photos show the roots with old material removed. Removing the old material from the middle of the root mass takes patience, but with practice you can easily move the roots and release the material with very few snapping sounds. The snapping sound is usually a broken root. Many growers will trim the root mass back. These older roots can continue to grow once cut or broken as long as the damage is not close to the rhizome. Knowing this allows me to be less stressed when I do damage a few roots during the removal of the old material. I also use a flow of water from my garden hose to ‘jet’ away the media. Note the right most photo above, you will see the new root tips, take care not to damage the new growth. This new growth will help to establish the plant quickly.

It’s my belief that many epithetic orchid need to be securely attached in order to root into the new pot. I’m now using large chucks of horticultural grade charcoal as my base in the bottom of the pot. The packing peanuts are also a fine choice for establishing the base of the pot. The desirable characteristics of  the base materials should include little or no moisture retention, provide very good drainage, and the base material should not breakdown readily. The base material of charcoal and clay pellets meets these characteristics and create a very firm base to rest the plant. Prior to placing the plant in the  pot, I work  my potting material inside the middle of the root mass. I accomplish this by holding the plant upside down and gently placing potting material around the root.  I set the plant in the pot and use a pot clip or two to secure the plant on the base. Don’t worry when some of the potting material falls from the plant when turning the plant upright.  The right most photo shows the plant in the pot. I situate the plant with the old growth snugged up against the pot  and the new growth an inch or so from the pot edge.

While most people use a mix when re-potting,my approach is to keep my potting materials separate and create the mix by adding them a little at a time, and alternating through each material. On this re-pot I’m using Hydroton clay pellets, sponge rock, charcoal, and tree fern. Hydroton is a name brand, you may also see these clay pellets under the name aliflor, or LECA. The clay pellets come in several sizes. I’m working with pellets that are about 1/4 to 1/2 inch in diameter.

The four photos above shows the progress of working first the pellets, then the sponge rock, then the tree fern. I push the materials into the cavities using a bamboo stick. I use the material in order of size, charcoal, then pellets, then sponge rock, then tree fern. I use a light tapping after placing each material into the pot. The tapping will cause the materials to settle into the roots. My goal is to fill all the cavities around the roots in the pot. Initially I’m using a  higher ratio of large material to fine material, and switch the ratio as I get near the top of the pot.

In the first photo on the left above I have rotated the pot to work on the other side. Notice the bamboo stick in this first photo, I’ve worked a path through the roots in order to have better access for my potting materials. Also note the pot clip I mentioned earlier.  The second photo from the left  is showing a completed layer of material. When I place material into the pathway  I created in the first photo, I initially work it towards the middle of the pot and up. As I work the material to fill all the voids I work to  pack the material . The third photo from the left shows a layer of sponge rock before I tap it and pack it. The right most photo shows the completed re-pot.