This has not been discussed in a year or so. Some approved it some were
doubtful in past postings. Any new opinions? My orchids are outside
here near Houston on the gulf coast and it has been raining for weeks,
heavy, long rains. My orchids love it and are growing wildly (for
orchids). Seems it would be good to have a constant supply of food for
them. My present problem is that I would have to feed daily as it is
flushed out quickly in this rain! I am exclusive with S/H, is that a
problem? Do the used prills pose a problem? Should they be removed?
Joe T
Baytown (the ol' swimming hole) Tx

jtill wrote:
This has not been discussed in a year or so. Some approved it some were
doubtful in past postings. Any new opinions? My orchids are outside
here near Houston on the gulf coast and it has been raining for weeks,
heavy, long rains. My orchids love it and are growing wildly (for
orchids). Seems it would be good to have a constant supply of food for
them. My present problem is that I would have to feed daily as it is
flushed out quickly in this rain! I am exclusive with S/H, is that a
problem? Do the used prills pose a problem? Should they be removed?
Joe T
Baytown (the ol' swimming hole) Tx

From personal experience, to be administered with a grain of salt.

In S/H I don't recommend time release unless suspended above the mix.
If you feed as normal, the fertilizer will accumulate a small amount as
sediment in the pot and not be washed out by the rain. The roots will
go to the food. It is probably better to be a little light on the
salts with S/H to avoid build up when the rain stops and you get on a
normal watering schedule or you want the plants to rest.

For orchids in bark or CHC. Yes you can use time release. It is
probably best to use the bead (osmocote or miracle grow) style in a
mesh bag suspended above the pot. If you try sprinkling it directly on
the mix it can leave "hot" spots that may cause problems during the
winter when the watering schedule is reduced.

I have mixed time release systemic in the mix of my larger semi
terrestrials and terrestrials(usually Cyms and Phaius) for the summer.
If it is fresh mix I use about 1 TBS per gallon of medium and blend
it in while mixing. If adding it to the top of the pot, I reduce the
amount to about 1/8 tsp per quart (4" pot = 12 square inches) 1/4 tsp
per 6" pot (18 sq. inches). Don't add more than that or too late in
the season or you may have too much accumulated to dissolve and be
inert by the end of the growing season. Check the packaging to see how
long it will feed or the frequency to reapply.

I also take my orchids outside during the summer. This year when the
phals were drying out too quickly after being watered, I added some
(gasp) miracle grow potting mix as a top dressing. It was
pre-moistened and maybe 1/2" or less added to the pot (it was about 1
cup per 6" pot, spread evenly around the top of the mix). The phals
had all been freshly potted into bark and needed a little more moisture
retention. They've taken to it really well, plus I've captured rain
water and use it on my orchids.

There was one grower that told me, he doesn't feed his orchids if it is
raining. The atmosphere is 70% nitrogen, and for some reason a rain
drop captures it and the plant can use it more efficiently than pouring
a bucket of water over the roots. True? Beats the heck out of me, but
I do know that one good rain will do the orchids more good than all the
water I can pour or spray on them. Maybe it's the microdust in rain...

Best wishes,

N.

I am not a fan of the slow-release fertilizers in the first place, as you
really do not have as precise the control over the feeding rate as one might
think. Nancy is right about issues in S/H culture, and I will add that
those prills can clog the air flow to the root system. (By the way, lest
you
get the wrong impression, roots growing into the S/H pot reservoir are no
issue.)

I have heard of folks putting the prills in an old stocking which is placed
on the medium surface or hung above the plant so the rain washes the
nutrients into it, but again, you really have no control.

--

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


"Nancy G." wrote in message
oups.com...
jtill wrote:
This has not been discussed in a year or so. Some approved it some were
doubtful in past postings. Any new opinions? My orchids are outside
here near Houston on the gulf coast and it has been raining for weeks,
heavy, long rains. My orchids love it and are growing wildly (for
orchids). Seems it would be good to have a constant supply of food for
them. My present problem is that I would have to feed daily as it is
flushed out quickly in this rain! I am exclusive with S/H, is that a
problem? Do the used prills pose a problem? Should they be removed?
Joe T
Baytown (the ol' swimming hole) Tx

From personal experience, to be administered with a grain of salt.

In S/H I don't recommend time release unless suspended above the mix.
If you feed as normal, the fertilizer will accumulate a small amount as
sediment in the pot and not be washed out by the rain. The roots will
go to the food. It is probably better to be a little light on the
salts with S/H to avoid build up when the rain stops and you get on a
normal watering schedule or you want the plants to rest.

For orchids in bark or CHC. Yes you can use time release. It is
probably best to use the bead (osmocote or miracle grow) style in a
mesh bag suspended above the pot. If you try sprinkling it directly on
the mix it can leave "hot" spots that may cause problems during the
winter when the watering schedule is reduced.

I have mixed time release systemic in the mix of my larger semi
terrestrials and terrestrials(usually Cyms and Phaius) for the summer.
If it is fresh mix I use about 1 TBS per gallon of medium and blend
it in while mixing. If adding it to the top of the pot, I reduce the
amount to about 1/8 tsp per quart (4" pot = 12 square inches) 1/4 tsp
per 6" pot (18 sq. inches). Don't add more than that or too late in
the season or you may have too much accumulated to dissolve and be
inert by the end of the growing season. Check the packaging to see how
long it will feed or the frequency to reapply.

I also take my orchids outside during the summer. This year when the
phals were drying out too quickly after being watered, I added some
(gasp) miracle grow potting mix as a top dressing. It was
pre-moistened and maybe 1/2" or less added to the pot (it was about 1
cup per 6" pot, spread evenly around the top of the mix). The phals
had all been freshly potted into bark and needed a little more moisture
retention. They've taken to it really well, plus I've captured rain
water and use it on my orchids.

There was one grower that told me, he doesn't feed his orchids if it is
raining. The atmosphere is 70% nitrogen, and for some reason a rain
drop captures it and the plant can use it more efficiently than pouring
a bucket of water over the roots. True? Beats the heck out of me, but
I do know that one good rain will do the orchids more good than all the
water I can pour or spray on them. Maybe it's the microdust in rain...

Best wishes,

N.

On 6 Jul 2006 20:36:25 -0700 in .com Nancy G. wrote:

There was one grower that told me, he doesn't feed his orchids if it is
raining. The atmosphere is 70% nitrogen, and for some reason a rain
drop captures it and the plant can use it more efficiently than pouring
a bucket of water over the roots. True? Beats the heck out of me, but
I do know that one good rain will do the orchids more good than all the
water I can pour or spray on them. Maybe it's the microdust in rain...

Lightning storms do fix some nitrogen, plus some components of smog are
high in nitrogen and are readily dissolved in water.


--
Chris Dukes
"The key to effective management is properly timed hovering."

Ray wrote:
I am not a fan of the slow-release fertilizers in the first place, as you
really do not have as precise the control over the feeding rate as one might
think. Nancy is right about issues in S/H culture, and I will add that
those prills can clog the air flow to the root system. (By the way, lest
you
get the wrong impression, roots growing into the S/H pot reservoir are no
issue.)

I have heard of folks putting the prills in an old stocking which is placed
on the medium surface or hung above the plant so the rain washes the
nutrients into it, but again, you really have no control.

--

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


"Nancy G." wrote in message
oups.com...
jtill wrote:
This has not been discussed in a year or so. Some approved it some were
doubtful in past postings. Any new opinions? My orchids are outside
here near Houston on the gulf coast and it has been raining for weeks,
heavy, long rains. My orchids love it and are growing wildly (for
orchids). Seems it would be good to have a constant supply of food for
them. My present problem is that I would have to feed daily as it is
flushed out quickly in this rain! I am exclusive with S/H, is that a
problem? Do the used prills pose a problem? Should they be removed?
Joe T
Baytown (the ol' swimming hole) Tx

From personal experience, to be administered with a grain of salt.

In S/H I don't recommend time release unless suspended above the mix.
If you feed as normal, the fertilizer will accumulate a small amount as
sediment in the pot and not be washed out by the rain. The roots will
go to the food. It is probably better to be a little light on the
salts with S/H to avoid build up when the rain stops and you get on a
normal watering schedule or you want the plants to rest.

For orchids in bark or CHC. Yes you can use time release. It is
probably best to use the bead (osmocote or miracle grow) style in a
mesh bag suspended above the pot. If you try sprinkling it directly on
the mix it can leave "hot" spots that may cause problems during the
winter when the watering schedule is reduced.

I have mixed time release systemic in the mix of my larger semi
terrestrials and terrestrials(usually Cyms and Phaius) for the summer.
If it is fresh mix I use about 1 TBS per gallon of medium and blend
it in while mixing. If adding it to the top of the pot, I reduce the
amount to about 1/8 tsp per quart (4" pot = 12 square inches) 1/4 tsp
per 6" pot (18 sq. inches). Don't add more than that or too late in
the season or you may have too much accumulated to dissolve and be
inert by the end of the growing season. Check the packaging to see how
long it will feed or the frequency to reapply.

I also take my orchids outside during the summer. This year when the
phals were drying out too quickly after being watered, I added some
(gasp) miracle grow potting mix as a top dressing. It was
pre-moistened and maybe 1/2" or less added to the pot (it was about 1
cup per 6" pot, spread evenly around the top of the mix). The phals
had all been freshly potted into bark and needed a little more moisture
retention. They've taken to it really well, plus I've captured rain
water and use it on my orchids.

There was one grower that told me, he doesn't feed his orchids if it is
raining. The atmosphere is 70% nitrogen, and for some reason a rain
drop captures it and the plant can use it more efficiently than pouring
a bucket of water over the roots. True? Beats the heck out of me, but
I do know that one good rain will do the orchids more good than all the
water I can pour or spray on them. Maybe it's the microdust in rain...

Best wishes,

N.


Thanks Nancy and Ray, all good points, guess I will just re-feed as
usual after a big rain, which has been daily of late. My plants do seem
to like the rain, they are all under trees so the wash down from those
may be helping with food.
Joe T
Baytown

? wrote:
On 6 Jul 2006 20:36:25 -0700 in .com Nancy G. wrote:

There was one grower that told me, he doesn't feed his orchids if it is
raining. The atmosphere is 70% nitrogen, and for some reason a rain
drop captures it and the plant can use it more efficiently than pouring
a bucket of water over the roots. True? Beats the heck out of me, but
I do know that one good rain will do the orchids more good than all the
water I can pour or spray on them. Maybe it's the microdust in rain...

Lightning storms do fix some nitrogen, plus some components of smog are
high in nitrogen and are readily dissolved in water.


--
Chris Dukes
"The key to effective management is properly timed hovering."

Talk about clean rainwater! My plants all have been is at least 10
inches of rain over the last few weeks. Real frog stranglers, but, when
they dry out the leaves are heavily streaked with deposits that
resemble hard water marking. They are under trees so much of that
comes from them but you would think the trees would be clean by now.
Joe T
Baytown Tx

I used slow-release on my phals last summer and went the Houston temps got
to be over 95 degrees it burned my phals and I had to repot everybody and
lost some. I have since learned that Oscmocote is real tricky to use in
potted plants in Houston because it lets go of all the fertiziler when it
reaches a certain heat level. Nutricote? was recommended for the Houston
area. I use it on stuff in the ground but not in potted orchids or other
potted plants.

Lisa


"Ray" wrote in message
...
I am not a fan of the slow-release fertilizers in the first place, as you
really do not have as precise the control over the feeding rate as one
might
think. Nancy is right about issues in S/H culture, and I will add that
those prills can clog the air flow to the root system. (By the way, lest
you
get the wrong impression, roots growing into the S/H pot reservoir are no
issue.)

I have heard of folks putting the prills in an old stocking which is
placed
on the medium surface or hung above the plant so the rain washes the
nutrients into it, but again, you really have no control.

--

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


"Nancy G." wrote in message
oups.com...
jtill wrote:
This has not been discussed in a year or so. Some approved it some were
doubtful in past postings. Any new opinions? My orchids are outside
here near Houston on the gulf coast and it has been raining for weeks,
heavy, long rains. My orchids love it and are growing wildly (for
orchids). Seems it would be good to have a constant supply of food for
them. My present problem is that I would have to feed daily as it is
flushed out quickly in this rain! I am exclusive with S/H, is that a
problem? Do the used prills pose a problem? Should they be removed?
Joe T
Baytown (the ol' swimming hole) Tx

From personal experience, to be administered with a grain of salt.

In S/H I don't recommend time release unless suspended above the mix.
If you feed as normal, the fertilizer will accumulate a small amount as
sediment in the pot and not be washed out by the rain. The roots will
go to the food. It is probably better to be a little light on the
salts with S/H to avoid build up when the rain stops and you get on a
normal watering schedule or you want the plants to rest.

For orchids in bark or CHC. Yes you can use time release. It is
probably best to use the bead (osmocote or miracle grow) style in a
mesh bag suspended above the pot. If you try sprinkling it directly on
the mix it can leave "hot" spots that may cause problems during the
winter when the watering schedule is reduced.

I have mixed time release systemic in the mix of my larger semi
terrestrials and terrestrials(usually Cyms and Phaius) for the summer.
If it is fresh mix I use about 1 TBS per gallon of medium and blend
it in while mixing. If adding it to the top of the pot, I reduce the
amount to about 1/8 tsp per quart (4" pot = 12 square inches) 1/4 tsp
per 6" pot (18 sq. inches). Don't add more than that or too late in
the season or you may have too much accumulated to dissolve and be
inert by the end of the growing season. Check the packaging to see how
long it will feed or the frequency to reapply.

I also take my orchids outside during the summer. This year when the
phals were drying out too quickly after being watered, I added some
(gasp) miracle grow potting mix as a top dressing. It was
pre-moistened and maybe 1/2" or less added to the pot (it was about 1
cup per 6" pot, spread evenly around the top of the mix). The phals
had all been freshly potted into bark and needed a little more moisture
retention. They've taken to it really well, plus I've captured rain
water and use it on my orchids.

There was one grower that told me, he doesn't feed his orchids if it is
raining. The atmosphere is 70% nitrogen, and for some reason a rain
drop captures it and the plant can use it more efficiently than pouring
a bucket of water over the roots. True? Beats the heck out of me, but
I do know that one good rain will do the orchids more good than all the
water I can pour or spray on them. Maybe it's the microdust in rain...

Best wishes,

N.

You can use slow-release fertilizer on orchids. Several commercial
nurseries do it, and I know hobbyists who do it. I've always been told not
to use Osmocote because it is too temperature dependent. Dynamite/Nutricote
(I think they're the same thing) are supposed to be much better. There's
another one advertised for orchids (Throw-and-Grow or something like that).
-danny

In article ,
"danny" wrote:

You can use slow-release fertilizer on orchids. Several commercial
nurseries do it, and I know hobbyists who do it. I've always been told not
to use Osmocote because it is too temperature dependent. Dynamite/Nutricote
(I think they're the same thing) are supposed to be much better. There's
another one advertised for orchids (Throw-and-Grow or something like that).
-danny

Here in South-west Florida the local labs I frequent use Dynamite. Been
getting more rain here, too, and will be adding a teaspoon or two to my
plants this weekend myself.

PE

Pumpkin Escobar wrote:
In article ,
"danny" wrote:

You can use slow-release fertilizer on orchids. Several commercial
nurseries do it, and I know hobbyists who do it. I've always been told not
to use Osmocote because it is too temperature dependent. Dynamite/Nutricote
(I think they're the same thing) are supposed to be much better. There's
another one advertised for orchids (Throw-and-Grow or something like that).
-danny

Here in South-west Florida the local labs I frequent use Dynamite. Been
getting more rain here, too, and will be adding a teaspoon or two to my
plants this weekend myself.

PE

I have Dynamite but will hold off for now. Outside temp. is around 95,
no need to hurry.
Joe T

jtill wrote:
Pumpkin Escobar wrote:
In article ,
"danny" wrote:

You can use slow-release fertilizer on orchids. Several commercial
nurseries do it, and I know hobbyists who do it. I've always been told not
to use Osmocote because it is too temperature dependent. Dynamite/Nutricote
(I think they're the same thing) are supposed to be much better. There's
another one advertised for orchids (Throw-and-Grow or something like that).
-danny
Here in South-west Florida the local labs I frequent use Dynamite. Been
getting more rain here, too, and will be adding a teaspoon or two to my
plants this weekend myself.

PE

I have Dynamite but will hold off for now. Outside temp. is around 95,
no need to hurry.
Joe T



I have a few oncidiums that could use a little dynamite... Or a
chainsaw. Would a few big firecrackers tied together work?

--
Rob's Rules: http://littlefrogfarm.com
1) There is always room for one more orchid
2) There is always room for two more orchids
2a) See rule 1
3) When one has insufficient credit to obtain more
orchids, obtain more credit

I have a few oncidiums that could use a little dynamite... Or a chainsaw.
Would a few big firecrackers tied together work?

KaBOOM! Joe, I use dynamite too. Stay away from Osmocote, as it can blast
under certain water conditions.

Diana

Diana Kulaga wrote:
I have a few oncidiums that could use a little dynamite... Or a chainsaw.
Would a few big firecrackers tied together work?

KaBOOM! Joe, I use dynamite too. Stay away from Osmocote, as it can blast
under certain water conditions.

Diana

Well, for the time being I'll stick with that MSU stuff I got from Ray,
non-explosive. Wouldn't want to hurt any snails!
Booming Joe T
Baytown