The Orchid Garden

fertilizer and lite

Question:

first question. I have north side windows and the sun reflects off the white house next door. it never is direct sun lite but checking it with a lite meter it is constantly 4000 foot candles from sunup till sundown. phals sitting on the window sills would that be to much lite for them since the book says 1500 footcandles max? also would that be enough lite for cats? Also I mix dyno grow and superthrive a gallon at a time and that last for a month of watering. is that ok to let it sit or should I only mix enough to use at one watering?.I  have only been growing orchids for 8 months now and the more I grow the more questions I need answered. I would like to know once and for all if I should fertilize every week or two weeks? and why does it always say to mix half the amount of fertilizer then the package says? wouldn’t the companys change there directions to meet that amount.also I invested in a lite meter and can’t believe how some windows that I thought was such good lite wasn’t and vice versa.    joe

Response:

The first thing you have to realize is that there are no hard and fast rules that apply to everyone.   We all have very individualized situations that are hard to duplicate elsewhere.  When the books say 1500fc, that is a general ballpark figure that you can feel free to disregard when you find that a somewhat brighter situation might work for you.  The key is to try out that window, but carefully watch the plants to see how they are doing. As far as fertilizer goes, I’d be careful about giving Superthrive at every watering.  A little bit goes a long way.  Some people do use it frequently, but be careful because it can lead to  deformity in the flower or plant if overused.  I think that once a month is enough.  The fertilizer question is really something that you have to work out by experimentation.  The amount of light, temperature, season, media, and type of orchid all are variables in the fertilizer equation.  The general rule is "weekly, weakly."  So if you fertilize every week, then use half strength.  Try different ways of fertilizing and see what works for you.  Don’t be tied to what the books or any of us might say.  Let your orchids tell you what is right. __ Ken Woodward ___ ____Newton, MA___

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – first question. I have north side windows and the sun reflects off the white house next door. it never is direct sun lite but checking it with a lite meter it is constantly 4000 foot candles from sunup till sundown. phals sitting on the window sills would that be to much lite for them since the book says 1500 footcandles max? also would that be enough lite for cats? Also I mix dyno grow and superthrive a gallon at a time and that last for a month of watering. is that ok to let it sit or should I only mix enough to use at one watering?.I  have only been growing orchids for 8 months now and the more I grow the more questions I need answered. I would like to know once and for all if I should fertilize every week or two weeks? and why does it always say to mix half the amount of fertilizer then the package says? wouldn’t the companys change there directions to meet that amount.also I invested in a lite meter and can’t believe how some windows that I thought was such good lite wasn’t and vice versa.    joe

Response:

Hi Emily, One quick comment: adding dyna grow and super thrive is good but it drives the pH way down. Orchids (and most plants) like a pH around 6.0 (slightly acidic). Dyna gro and super thrive will drive the pH down to 3.1 – too acid! See our web page for a discussion on pH (and other orchid topics) at: http://www2.cybernex.net/~epeople/orchid/orchid.html Hope that helps. Joe & Marilyn – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – first question. I have north side windows and the sun reflects off the white house next door. it never is direct sun lite but checking it with a lite meter it is constantly 4000 foot candles from sunup till sundown. phals sitting on the window sills would that be to much lite for them since the book says 1500 footcandles max? also would that be enough lite for cats? Also I mix dyno grow and superthrive a gallon at a time and that last for a month of watering. is that ok to let it sit or should I only mix enough to use at one watering?.I  have only been growing orchids for 8 months now and the more I grow the more questions I need answered. I would like to know once and for all if I should fertilize every week or two weeks? and why does it always say to mix half the amount of fertilizer then the package says? wouldn’t the companys change there directions to meet that amount.also I invested in a lite meter and can’t believe how some windows that I thought was such good lite wasn’t and vice versa.    joe

Response:

Yes, but Dyna-Gro, SuperThrive and ProTekt in RO water can give perfect pH. — Ray Barkalow –<– First Rays Orchids http://www.firstrays.com Secure Online Ordering & Lots of Free Info

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Hi Emily, One quick comment: adding dyna grow and super thrive is good but it drives the pH way down. Orchids (and most plants) like a pH around 6.0 (slightly acidic). Dyna gro and super thrive will drive the pH down to 3.1 – too acid! See our web page for a discussion on pH (and other orchid topics) at: http://www2.cybernex.net/~epeople/orchid/orchid.html Hope that helps. Joe & Marilyn first question. I have north side windows and the sun reflects off the white house next door. it never is direct sun lite but checking it with a lite meter it is constantly 4000 foot candles from sunup till sundown. phals sitting on the window sills would that be to much lite for them since the book says 1500 footcandles max? also would that be enough lite for cats? Also I mix dyno grow and superthrive a gallon at a time and that last for a month of watering. is that ok to let it sit or should I only mix enough to use at one watering?.I  have only been growing orchids for 8 months now and the more I grow the more questions I need answered. I would like to know once and for all if I should fertilize every week or two weeks? and why does it always say to mix half the amount of fertilizer then the package says? wouldn’t the companys change there directions to meet that amount.also I invested in a lite meter and can’t believe how some windows that I thought was such good lite wasn’t and vice versa.    joe

Response:

Fertilizer companies tell you to use more than you need because they want to sell more fertilizer. — Matthew Swift Swift’s Orchids 6658 Carnelian St. Rancho Cucamonga, CA 91701 Phone/Fax 909-483-5590 http://www.swiftsorchids.com

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – first question. I have north side windows and the sun reflects off the white house next door. it never is direct sun lite but checking it with a lite meter it is constantly 4000 foot candles from sunup till sundown. phals sitting on the window sills would that be to much lite for them since the book says 1500 footcandles max? also would that be enough lite for cats? Also I mix dyno grow and superthrive a gallon at a time and that last for a month of watering. is that ok to let it sit or should I only mix enough to use at one watering?.I  have only been growing orchids for 8 months now and the more I grow the more questions I need answered. I would like to know once and for all if I should fertilize every week or two weeks? and why does it always say to mix half the amount of fertilizer then the package says? wouldn’t the companys change there directions to meet that amount.also I invested in a lite meter and can’t believe how some windows that I thought was such good lite wasn’t and vice versa.    joe

Response:

Dave Neal, President of Dyna-Gro, on the other hand, is very candid about recommending low dosages. His logic – and good logic, IMO – is that a plant in nature gets almost no nutrition, but what little it gets it gets all the time.  By feeding a plant in weak concentrations, you’re giving it the stimulus to put out new roots in search of more food. And you know what that means – the better the root system, the more a plant is able to take up nutrition and be big and healthy. — Ray Barkalow –<– First Rays Orchids http://www.firstrays.com Secure Online Ordering & Lots of Free Info

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Fertilizer companies tell you to use more than you need because they want to sell more fertilizer. — Matthew Swift Swift’s Orchids 6658 Carnelian St. Rancho Cucamonga, CA 91701 Phone/Fax 909-483-5590 http://www.swiftsorchids.com first question. I have north side windows and the sun reflects off the white house next door. it never is direct sun lite but checking it with a lite meter it is constantly 4000 foot candles from sunup till sundown. phals sitting on the window sills would that be to much lite for them since the book says 1500 footcandles max? also would that be enough lite for cats? Also I mix dyno grow and superthrive a gallon at a time and that last for a month of watering. is that ok to let it sit or should I only mix enough to use at one watering?.I  have only been growing orchids for 8 months now and the more I grow the more questions I need answered. I would like to know once and for all if I should fertilize every week or two weeks? and why does it always say to mix half the amount of fertilizer then the package says? wouldn’t the companys change there directions to meet that amount.also I invested in a lite meter and can’t believe how some windows that I thought was such good lite wasn’t and vice versa.    joe

Response:

first question. I have north side windows and the sun reflects off the white house next door. it never is direct sun lite but checking it with a lite meter it is constantly 4000 foot candles from sunup till sundown. phals sitting on the window sills would that be to much lite for them since the book says 1500 footcandles max? also would that be enough lite for cats?

Possibly enough, but measuring these things are not always straight forward. Also, plants use the red and blue ends of the (visible) spectrum more than the middle (which is why they look green to us.)  You could have 10000 foot-candles but if it is all green light and not blue and red then it still wouldn’t be enough light!   Anyway, if it was me I’d try some of the lower light requiring catts such as primary hybrids with sophronitis species. [snip] I would like to know once and for all if I should fertilize every week or two weeks? and why does it always say to mix half the amount of fertilizer then the package says?

I mix my fertilizer at 1/4 to 1/5 dilution of what the directions say, for catts.  They are efficient feeders.  Also fertilize on occasionally, during growing periods. -dan

Response:

Filed under: Growing Orchids

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