Fertilising ...is it necessary

[King Kjeldz]

Yes Amey....exceptional response

[Brutal_Dreamer]

Amey, I have promoted your post to an article for the library here. Thank you for your help!

cheers,
BD

[Halloamey]

Thanks a lot Bruce

Amey, I have promoted your post to an article for the library here. Thank you for your help!

cheers,
BD

[panam]

Amey, as always, you come through for us and provide a lot of information in a user-friendly manner. Thank you for sharing your knowledge with us. I feel we should be paying for part of your educational expenses!

[Halloamey]

haha Thanks a lot Patty I do get a stipend for my research work. Actually I am thankful to this forum, that I can get some stuff out of my head as this is the only place this stuff is appreciated, other people consider me an orchid nut

Amey, as always, you come through for us and provide a lot of information in a user-friendly manner. Thank you for sharing your knowledge with us. I feel we should be paying for part of your educational expenses!

[mauraec]

Wow, Amey. Thanks for taking the time and effort - I, for one, always get something great out of your extended posts, even when you are getting into the basics. And I agree with everything you said. Our water in Atlanta is particularly pure (result of a Federal lawsuit when the water was unbelievably bad), so I need to fertilize. I switch around my fertilizers, and fertilize pretty weakly, but not as weakly as I would if I was fertilizing more often - I do it once every three weeks - I also add Superthrive and a tiny amount of Physan (to prevent fungus, bugs, etc.) when I fertilize (learned that from Geoff!). People have widely differing opinions on Superthrive, but I don't think it hurts, and, as I'm getting into more informed and regular care of my orchids, I'm getting much better results. All I have to do is neglect them for a week and they let me know how unhappy they are by flopping and wilting all over the place (except for my catts - they seem to enjoy a little neglect). Go figure.

[leafmite]

I am probably overly excited, I know, as my catts, dens, neos, etc, usually only put out one or two new growths each summer. I've always wondered how others have 'super growth'. Many of you likely already know the 'secret'. My orchid fertilizer lacks many of the trace minerals that the better ones have. I was doing a little research for some of my other plants (proper plant nutrition) and decided to apply my ideas to my orchids as well. I have been adding an 'iron' supplement (this plant suppliment contains other trace elements, too), powdered milk (I don't know if this does anything), and Epsom Salts to my regular fertilizer. The supplement doesn't burn plants but it needs to be crushed to get it to dissolve. I am really thrilled at the results.
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[cakedaddy]

Thanks Amey! Your posts are always so great. So many of us make posts assuming that others already know what they find to be basic, myself included. You covered it all for everyone! You rock!
And leafmite, what's this iron suppliment?
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[leafmite]

Are we allowed to use names? I suppose it will be deleted if we can't. I am using Ironite. I bought it for my jasmines, citrus, and other plants that need extra iron.
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[cakedaddy]

You can use the names of products. You just can't say where you buy them.
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