Petula's Sensation'Spreading Black' x Petulas Flame'LehuaContrats'

[alanbar]

I just purchased this Paph. It is almost open. Should I be fertilizing it now? Thanks in advance!

 

[TyroneGenade]

Hi and welcome,

Every reply is going to be different because we all do it slightly differently.

I use Ray's K lite fertilizer as well as osmocoat. I put a 1/10th dose of K lite in my spray bottle and mist every day. Once a year, when the new growths start I sprinkle a little osmocoat along the edge of the pot. Paph roots run along the inside edge of the pot.

Every now and then I will sprinkle some Epson salts into the crown of the plant to increase the magnesium. Magnesium is needed for chlorophyll as well as the plant's immune system. It is remarkable how the Epson salt greens up the plant's. I expected there to be ample magnesium in K lite but I guess not - at least not the way I use it.

Water the plants once a week if they are in bark. If you are growing indoors in a dry environment then put it under the faucet and let water run through it to flush it. This may not be a good idea if you have hard tap water. The idea with the flush is to prevent salt build up.

Good luck and dont forget to post pictures.

 

[Carmella.carey]

All my orchids get fed exactly the same no matter what there doing. You have to think mother nature doesn't say "Oh this paph is going to bloom it won't be given any nutrients" so adjust your feeding to the light levels, temperature, day lengths and time of year not blooming that bud won't do anything but take strength from the plant if your not putting some in.
Patrick

 

[Carmella.carey]

Hi and welcome,

Every reply is going to be different because we all do it slightly differently.

I use Ray's K lite fertilizer as well as osmocoat. I put a 1/10th dose of K lite in my spray bottle and mist every day. Once a year, when the new growths start I sprinkle a little osmocoat along the edge of the pot. Paph roots run along the inside edge of the pot.

Every now and then I will sprinkle some Epson salts into the crown of the plant to increase the magnesium. Magnesium is needed for chlorophyll as well as the plant's immune system. It is remarkable how the Epson salt greens up the plant's. I expected there to be ample magnesium in K lite but I guess not - at least not the way I use it.

Water the plants once a week if they are in bark. If you are growing indoors in a dry environment then put it under the faucet and let water run through it to flush it. This may not be a good idea if you have hard tap water. The idea with the flush is to prevent salt build up.

Good luck and dont forget to post pictures.

Epsom in the crown of the fan I will have to try that, in fans that have bloomed or new growths?
Patrick

 

[Ray]

There is no "one, correct answer".

For potting medium, consider that , in nature, many paphs live with their roots spread laterally in the thin layer of compost that accumulates on the forest floor. It drains freely when it rains, but stays pretty evenly moist in between. Your goal is to simulate that in a pot, in your growing conditions, with your watering habits (or ability).

Some grow in bark chips, some in moss, or other materials individually or blended. I have move al of my paphs into a mixture of lightweight expanded clay aggregate (LECA - used in hydroponics) and rock wool cubes.

One must fertilize, but that is pretty low on the "Maslow's Hierarchy" of orchid needs, as they are slow growers in the plant world. I have found that if you sum up the concentrations of the nitrogen in the solutions applied, shooting for a sum of 100 ppm is quite reasonable. By that I mean, if you feed once a week, use a 100 ppm N solution. If twice a week, use 50, etc. if you divide 2 by the nitrogen percentage on the fertilizer label, the result is teaspoons/gal of 25 ppm N. (2.3/%N gives the result in ml/L.)

Every now and then I will sprinkle some Epson salts into the crown of the plant to increase the magnesium. Magnesium is needed for chlorophyll as well as the plant's immune system. It is remarkable how the Epson salt greens up the plant's. I expected there to be ample magnesium in K lite but I guess not - at least not the way I use it.

The "Epsom Salt in the crown" thing sounds like a terrible idea to me, as it is quite hydroscopic, so forms a puddle in there quite readily. That would certainly be the case in my humidity. Frankly Tyrone, I think you're underfeeding. Foliar feeding isn't all that good. I'd bet that if you'd water regularly with a reasonable does of K-Lite, you wouldn't have the need to make them "green up" again.

 

[TyroneGenade]

Thanks, Ray. I will take your advice and fertilize a bit more aggressively and see how that pans out. I know I switched to my current method a long while back for a good reasons but since then a lot has changed.

I haven't had any issues with dropping a few grains of epson salt into or near the crown of the plant. As I spray every day, after dosing with the epson salts, I don't think the epson salt sticks around long enough to pose issues.

Thanks

 

[Ray]

@TyroneGenade That makes sense. I was picturing a pile of granules.