Heavy feeding 'chids

[uncasteeb]

How do you know an orchid is a heavy feeder ?
I have read this many times & just wondering how this is known.
Does it mean that the plant can take a lot of fert without showing ill effects or is there some scientific proof that they require a larger amount of fert than normal !
I use to take supplements which were many times more than the daily recommened amount , did this make me stronger or bigger !
Not that i noticed but it did turn my pee some interesting colours
My body just passed these extra minerals through my body without using them.Basically just peeing my money down the pan.

[LJA]

Steve, I think that qualification, that something is a heavy feeder, is based on people's experience with certain genera.

For isntance, the heaviest feeders I grow are Vandas, meaning that, during active growth, they can use and benefit from levels of fertilizer applied much more often than other types of plants before getting "over-fertilized" and showing tip burn. There's a hugely noticeable difference between vandas that are fed heavily in terms of how much they'll grow and bloom in a season, and those fed only lightly. Side by side, you'd be able to immediately tell which got the food. Under the light levels vandas need to bloom profusely, heavy feeding and watering definitely helps them out.

Maybe other people have experience with different kinds of plants that really benefit from pouring on the fertilizer during active growth; vandas (since I grow them) are the only ones I know of offhand.

[bench72]

Just from reading and stuff... Cymbidiums are supposedly heavy feeders as well... I mean some people even grow these in straight horse manure!!!

[peteMc]

I have read this about Stans as well; I've been feeding them more than twice as often as the others, without any tip-burn or other ill effects. They're easier to flush out than my others, being in baskets, so I don't worry about salts building up.

Haven't held out on them, so don't have a comparison to make.


p