Charles,

My understanding is that the wet-then-feed methodology came about due to the
old practice of feeding infrequently, but heavily. When I first got
involved with the orchid collection at what is now the Atlanta Botanical
Garden in the mid-'70s, feeding was done every three or four weeks, and the
solution used was four- to five times that commonly used today.

If you feed a dry pot with that solution, you'd kill roots like mad. By
first using clear water only, you essentially saturate the velamen, greatly
limiting the minerals that can be absorbed - in essence diluting your
fertilizer mixture in the velamen rather than in the bucket. A ridiculous
process that wastes time and chemicals, in my mind.

The concept that a dry sponge needs to be wetted before it can absorb fully
is just another one of those poorly-thought-out scenarios to try to explain
something in orchidom. It's hogwash. That would only be true if you wring
the now-wetted sponge out before that second soaking. Anyone watering, then
squeezing their plants' roots before feeding?
--

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


"Charles VanDyke" wrote in message
...
Some people in our orchid group water their orchids thoroughly with plain
water before watering with a fertilizer solution. Is this necessary and a
generally recommended procedure?

Thanks

Charles VanDyke