Ray, great tip on the 10 divided by. Growmore Orchid 20-20-20 calls for one
teaspoon per gallon of water every 10 to 14 days. Label also calls for
pre-watering of dry plants. Looks to me like a label that will get you into
trouble in the winter.


If you are using city or well water do not be in any hurry to throw away
your tub of "Bloom Booster". Argo may have shown that the extra P does not
improve flowering, but in my opinion he does not address their real benefit.
The 'hardness' in city and well water will slowly concentrate in the potting
mix driving the mix pH up. To combat this growers will acidify their water
or periodically do an acid drench with weak phosphoric, citric, or sulfuric
acid. "Bloom Boosters" elevate their phosphorus by adding extra phosphoric
acid and thus they are a convenient way for the small grower to fight
'hardness' buildup. For many growers, the use of a "bloom booster" every 4
to 8 weeks will help keep the media pH in the ideal range.

If you are using RO or very clear water, throw away that tub of "Bloom
Booster", the extra phosphoric acid is likely to get you in trouble.

Pat Brennan

"Ray" wrote in message
. ..
If you are able to dig up a copy of the June 2004 (I think that was the
date) "Orchids" magazine, there is an article by Dr. Bill Argo of
Blackmore Co. and a horticulturalist at MSU about a study that basically
proved that "Bloom Boosters" are unnecessary, and in my opinion, wasteful.

Their conclusion was that excessive nitrogen was the reason for slow- or
non-blooming orchids, and it was the diluting effect of the extra
phosphorus in the so-called bloom boosters that helped, not the extra P
itself. Plants really only need a tiny amount of phosphorus, so all of
the extra is lost into the soil and groundwater.

Based upon their study, they found that a steady diet of a
moderate-nitrogen concentration was far more effective than was the use of
bloom boosters, and they developed fertilizer formulas accordingly.

Basically, for a general collection, they found that a complete formula
fertilizer - one containing a vast array of macro-, minor-, and trace
elements, if fed at about 100 - 150 ppm N regularly, was highly effective.

I switched to their formula over two years ago, use it at 125 ppm N at
___EVERY___ watering, and my plants are doing great.

By the way, if you divide 10 by the % N in the fertilizer formula, it
tells you the teaspoons per gallon for about 125 ppm N, so if you round up
or down a bit for convenience, you're still in the range.

One last comment - watering first, then fertilizing is a waste. Doing so
saturates the velamen with pure water, greatly reducing the absorption of
nutrients from the fertilizer solution, and it was a methodology concocted
when it was common to feed infrequently and heavily, yet preventing
burning of the roots. Feeding regularly and in a more dilute
concentration is far safer and in my opinion, more closely replicates
natural conditions.

--

Ray Barkalow - First Rays Orchids - www.firstrays.com
Plants, Supplies, Artwork, Books and Lots of Free Info!


wrote in message
oups.com...
I wait until the flower spike turns yellow/brown & dried out before I
cut it off. Then I know it's not going to make more flowers on the
same stem. I have 2 kinds of fertilizer, the first being an ordinary
Schultz regular-plant fertilizer, which was all I had for ages here in
the middle of nowhere, & they did fine with it... & the 2nd is a
Schultz orchid fertilizer which is supposed to encourage bloom. This
is probably pretty amateur, but if it starts making a new leaf after it
blooms, I fertilize with the regular stuff for a while, then the orchid
stuff after the leaf gets to be a good size. Often they will make a
leaf or 2, then another spike, but I have had some start new spikes
right away before the old one has turned completely brown. I figure
that means they have enough leaves & are just ready to bloom again. So
it might not take 6 months for yours to rebloom.
I don't fertilize every time; you can get a buildup of salts from too
much fertilizer.
As well as good light, I am under the impression phals also need a
temperature drop at night to bloom, although not as fussy as some
orchids. So if yours is on a windowsill that gets cooler at night,
that might help too.
The more experienced growers here can probably give you more scientific
advice than me & set any of my errors right too.
Yes, they are addictive. I started with "just one" some years ago, &
now have 16 orchids; the only reason I don't have more is that I
literally have no more windowsill space. The last remaining spot
belongs to the kitty
Good luck with it.

Alison