Blood and bone and ??? for orchids

[rosie]

Ok, I am going to throw this out there. Somewhere I read, by mixing "old" blood and bone" and some other chemical e.g. lime ?? in equal parts, was a good fertilizer for the lazy orchidist. Just sprinkle it on top of potting mix and this is a generally good when it gets hosed in. Am I correct in this recipe? What ever that second ingredient was, it didn't harm my orchids, but I think made them flower more.(I just can't think what the second ingredient was).

[ORCHIDJOE]

If I have spent money on a special plant I would rather make sure that I feed it with the right stuff, you can try but I would value my orchids more, good luck, let us know what happens.

[raybark]

Back in the days when little was known about the science behind plant nutrition, such sources may have been the norm, but such an approach is incomplete nutritionally, and I feel that modern fertilizers give you more control.

[rosie]

Hi Joe and Ray. Thanks for your input. In March of this year, we moved from our house to a new one, so I had over 150 orchids to move. In a small greenhouse (12 ft x 8 ft) they had to survive at my daughter's house, before a new greenhouse could be built at new accommodation, (my daughter has a black thumb). So I knew my little chids would not get the attention they had been getting. So I read somewhere about this concoction of B. & B. + calcium? or lime?. So I sprinkled a little on top of potting mix, and prayed for rain. The orchids were moved back into my care August this year, and I don't know--- but the orchids, apart from some sunburn on some of them, have never flowered so profusely. I have 8 cattleyas, 3 vandas, all in flower, and had 7 dendrobiums, which never flowered before. Coincidence?

[catttan]

Hi Annette, I believe what works for you is right for you. In the 1960s we used to buy blood solution in bottles and dilute this with water and use this as fertiliser for our orchids and this was a very good source of N. But now I find it less messy with the more 'modern' fertilisers. I wonder if anyone has tried 'hoof and horn' as in the John Innes Potting compost.

[zainal abidin]

Hi Rosie if possible better not to use the blood as you know how sure the blood is safe, think about that it's a medium for Hepatitis B,C and HIV too, my worry when you spray small droplets of water maybe in contact to your eyes,any open wounds or abrasions you will be in trouble just use modern fertilizer as explained by cattan and raybark.

[ksriramkumar]

Dr Zainal is absolutely correct. last thing you would want is to pick up infection from open wound or abrasions. better to use latest balanced fertilizers

[raybark]

I have been doing a great deal of reading on plant nutrition, specifically applied to epiphytes (there just isn't all that much out there), and have concluded that they simply don't need all that much - certainly far less than tropical plants, or annuals, including food crops.

Think about it - a corn plant might go from a seed to 3 or 4 kilograms mass in the matter of 4 months. Most orchids won't reach that mass in a lifetime, so the demand for the nutritional "building blocks" is far, far less, and the application of excessive food won't enhance blooming, and in fact, can actually quash it, especially with too much nitrogen.

Rosie's last comment may have given a bit of a key - and although I cannot rule out the impact of the diet - I'd bet the increased sun level the plant evidently got in her daughter's greenhouse ("...apart from some sunburn on some of them...") might have played a significant role.

[BigSteve]

Blood fish & bone is a popular feed in the UK for all types of plants , it is very readily available.I have used it for orchids as well as other organic fertilizers , they are supposed to be slow release.I still use it on my phrags as i feed them very little (about a 1/3 strength) compared to my other orchids , usually about 1 teaspoon to 1 tablespoon(depending on size) twice a year, didn,t seem to do Phragenstein any harm.I have changed over to mainly a "complete" fertilizer(similar to MSU i believe) but still give plants some bat guano tea occasionally.Why? mainly so i don't have to add calcium/magnesium to my fertilizing regime but still @ a less rate then recommended.

[cumulo]

Be careful with that term, lime! If you mean to use limestone or prilled limestone, then you are OK with plants that don't require an acid side of neutral medium. It (limestone) is useful, as is crushed oyster shell or clamshell bits for some of the paph's, too. You can get bloodmeal and bonemeal at many nurseries. It is a more expensive way to buy fertilizer, but the bloodmeal is pretty safe. Don't use much bonemeal, however; you can over-do the Phosphorus if you use as much as some packages suggest. speak to somebody who has real success with mixing bloodmeal and bonemeal for orchids before you start spooning this to your plants.