Hahaha this is so hilarious. People ask me all the time why I use this fertilizer or that one and I always answer because its cheap and a good ratio with most micro-nutrients. Not because its might say its for orchids. I also get asked what rate do I use and I say that it depends on your source water and that you should measure ppm to get a handle on what you are adding to what. And what your growing conditions are versus what someone in Spain or Florida (no pun there) is telling you. Many feed too heavy and create more issues that way. You've got a great channel by the way and some great information and I thoroughly enjoy watching. Just unflasked a hybrid Sarcochilus and am using your "storage container" method. They are only a couple weeks out of flask but 100% survival so far and a couple had basically "0" roots. keep on chuglin!
Thanks so much for your positive comments. Yeah - people are really fixed in their ways - the orchid specialist at my local meeting last night recommended the MSU formulation - I do not bother asking "why" anymore.... And my deflasking survival rate had gotten really high with really nice growth. I have convinced some people to use my approaches and some are slowly coming over. You just cannot argue or question the results that I show over and over again. But, some people actually think that the orchid seedlings that I show in my videos are not the age that I say. There are a lot of faked videos out there, even orchid videos.
I’ve been using a brand called Beat Your Neighbor. It’s very similar to miracle grow. There are greenhouse growers in Wisconsin that make and sell it. It works just as good as miracle grow. They say it’s more of a professional grade. My plants love it!
OK - thanks - tried looking up the contents of your fertilizer but it was not easy to find. If you are using this for orchids, you should check to see if it contains the minor elements that the "plus" orchid fertilizers contain. For plants in soil, this is not as important as it is for orchids, since soil can supply some of these minor elements.
I think if I feed the trees by 3 inches of compost on the top of the ground that would be enough, regarding macro and micro elements . I highly become grateful if I get your advice.
I like to use tea as a root stimulant, seems to work well for that. Am also glade the blue color is food safe. I still wouldn't wanna eat plant fertilizer. But at least that would not add to the problem.
Thanks for watching and for your comment. I cannot imagine what is in the tea that would affect root growth. If it works for you, keep on using it but it may only be providing some very low levels of some elements. Since you are the fishyplantman, there are plant hormones in the kelp and seaweed fertilizers that will positively affect root induction and growth. Yeah - that blue coloration in the fertilizer can stain - food grade but still.....
I think that I am going to have to make a follow up video.... If you look beyond the NPK in fertilizers (the micros), and look at time-release and organics, it gets fun. It's in process - still have to do some more work.
Hi, just came across your channel. I'm also in Southwest Florida. I've used many different fertilizers and have come to the conclusion that they are pretty much the same. Mostly what I use is Peter's/Jack's fertilizer. I've found it a good all-around fertilizer and it's reasonably priced. What I do add to my fertilizer routine is seaweed and I have more robust plants with it. The majority or orchids that I grow are catasetums and last year a product was recommended to me by another catasetum grower is Jim's Purely Organic, which is a combination of all these different meals. I used it on my catasetums and they really took off.
Thanks for watching and for your comments. I have also used seaweed fertilizer, based on recommendations from orchid growing colleagues and my daughter. When you look at the fertilizer components in seaweed extract, it shows only potassium. But, due to the smell and color of the solubilized seaweed fertilizer, there must be more to it! So, I contacted the manufacturer to find out what else is in their product. I think that I need to put together a follow-up video (is it OK for me to acknowledge you? - first name only) on other fertilizer addenda, and natural and organic fertilizers. I am still learning about catasetums.....
@@plantpropagator You are more than welcome to use my name. The product I use is NPK Raw Kelp that I get on Amazon. It can be a tad expensive depending on the time of year you buy it as the price fluctuates, but a little goes a long way. It comes in powder form and I add 1/4 tsp per gallon with my fertilizer. This product doesn't stink like others do. Catasetums are extremely easy to grow here. They're my favorites. ☺️
I probably should consider modifying the nutrients depending on the weather but I do not. The conditions here are warm throughout the year. I do irrigate less during rainy season but that is about it.
I mostly use miracle grow constant feed, love it. I have heard of compost tea for fertilizer but regular tea seems better drank, but the urine it produces would work lol. How do you feel about adding small amounts of sea water occasionally to introduce mineral salts?
Thanks for the comment - I do not recommend using a sea water additive - there are too many unknowns and I believe that NaCl is the main salt, which will not do you much good. I am planning a follow up video on orchid fertilizers. Since posting this video, I have received a lot.of comments and have learned much more about fertilizers. I used to be opposed to organic fertilizers and seaweed extracts but the scientific literature shows that they are useful. And, I found that many of the fertilizers do not contain magnesium, which may be needed, depending on the medium. I will try to get a new fertilizer video posted soon.
Hi , I have big orchard . Olive oil trees and pomegranate . They are 20 years old . The previous years I feed them by chemical fertilizer and not organic fertilizer. For this year I want to give trees just compost and nothing else . What do you advise me ?
Thanks for watching my video. I have not grown olives and pomegranates before. Chemical fertilizer will usually give your plants better growth but it is not required in most cases. Compost will provide some additional nutrients but maybe not quite as much as chemical fertilizer. If you are adding compost to the soil, that will also build better soil structure, which is also very helpful. I am not sure where you are located but, in the US, many of the fertilizers are now labelled as organic and this may be the best of both worlds. Often, the organic fertilizers contain beneficial microbes, which can also be good for your plants. It may be interesting to use compost and maybe add some organic granular fertilizer too. Sorry that I cannot help more. Good luck and thanks again for watching.
Interesting video! Thanks for posting! I've got a question (not fertilizer related) that could be the topic of an interesting video. Can you comment on growing C4/CAM plants (which include many orchids) and how that might affect culture? One of the orchid "myths" that still exist is that you should water your orchids in the morning so they dry by nighttime. However, so many of the species we grow are getting drenched during afternoon/evening monsoons. I've switched to watering my orchids during the summer growing season in the evening (with no ill effect), mostly because that's when I get home from work. I would love some discussion on the topic.
I have added this to my list of future videos - I do need to review this - it has been a while since I have looked closely a the different carbon fixation pathways. I did a quick literature search and found a good relatively recent review of the different machinery present in different orchids. You and I will both learn in this exercise.....
Hi I just love your videos. So informative. Thank you so much. I use fertilizer from Norman’s Orchids. He’s got his own RUclips channel and store in California I believe. Since using it my plants roots are doing great. I only use 1/4 strength however. I live in the Cleveland Ohio area so growing orchids is a definite challenge for me, inside, outside, sunny, rainy, cold, snowy, ugh I have most of them in my east facing window. I have a humidifier running as much as possible, however. During the summer when it’s 90° I turn my air conditioner on and I feel bad for my orchids. I feel like a bad orchid mom. Can you look into the fertilizer and see if it is good or if I should look into something else for them? It’s on the website at Norman’s Orchids. Thx so much. Love the videos. Thx again.
Thanks for watching and for your comments. Wow - we have a lot in common! I am from the Cleveland area too and think that Norman Fang is great. If you are using his fertilizer (1/4 strength is good) and having success, keep on doing that. Norman is very knowledgable in orchid fertilizers and growth. He and my advisor received their PhDs in the same lab at UC-Riverside so we are related - he is my academic uncle. My interview with him can be found here: ruclips.net/video/rbkQg7qBsdk/видео.html My daughter and I are both members of the Greater Akron Orchid Society and I may attend the meeting in September, when I visit. You might consider bringing some of your orchids outside in the summer - most of them will love the rain and humidity and you may see a surge in growth. They like being in the shade - they cannot handle direct sun and you may need to watch for burning. It may be good to try a few outside in the shade, if you have not done that before. Once again, thanks for watching and for your positive comments.
@@plantpropagator I definitely do put some of them outside for the summer. I don’t have any shelter for them yet during the rain and sun, so I’m dragging them in and out but usually when it’s going to rain. A lot. And thank you. I’m glad I’m using a good fertilizer. I love Mr fang. I followed his live stream during Covid. He doesn’t seem to have them as much, sadly. Thank you so much for responding. I know you’re busy. I really appreciate it.
@@plantpropagator also. If you can help me with one of my orchids I would appreciate it! I have the Thecopus Maingayi x Self and the only video I can find on it is in Russian. When I try to change the closed captioning to English only a black dot appears on the screen, no words at all! So basically I can’t find anything about it at all! So far all I’ve found is that it likes moist medium. But I would really like to know as much as possible about it so I don’t fail it! If you can possibly help me out at all that would be great! If not, I understand. Thx.
@@GingerSnap7 I do not know this orchid at all - there are way too many different types of orchids and there is no way that I can learn them all - I am still learning how to grow Cattleyas. If you have not seen this video, I hope that it is useful to you. ruclips.net/video/kMiSKZoH75w/видео.html
@@plantpropagator yeah that’s the only video I’ve watched and understood. I did comment and ask her about more information about the orchid. 👍👍 I’m in the same situation with my little mexipedia. But I finally found someone who knew all about it! ❤️❤️ I don’t know how I end up with the uncommon orchids..😂😂😂 lucky I guess. Great taste as well 😂😂😂
Curious if you've done any research on oncidiums (Sharry Baby) and how they're prone to leaf yellowing/browning during their growth phase--is it a particular nutrient deficiency? I've been experimenting with Cal-Mag, but would be interested in learning if that's really the issue.
Thanks for your comment. I am sorry but I do not have much experience with this. Usually, if the leaves are yellowing and the orchid is otherwise in good shape, it maybe nutrient deficiency. But, so many nutrient deficiencies cause leaf yellowing that I do not know where to begin. Good luck with solving this and keep me informed...
First of all, I am not a medical doctor. But, I do know the chemicals in the fertilizer and they are not bad, at the diluted levels that you use to fertilize the plants -- in fact, they are in the plants at close to the level that they are applied. I would ask an MD what to do - not me.
I should have commented on time-release fertilizers - I strongly support using time-release fertilizers when they are used correctly. I have a story about a PhD student in my lab who was growing sunflowers in the greenhouses. They looked great when they were young but the leaves became dark green, then yellow before flowering. They flowered but the flowers did not look good and the seeds showed very low viability. He did this twice! I finally went to the greenhouse to check his plants and found that the pots were loaded with Osmocote. He was adding a teaspoon of Osmocote to the pot every week, which explained what he was seeing! Although I recommend one or the other, you can use both water soluble and time release fertilizer as long as you do not overdo it. I add time release fertilizer to my orchid seedlings in the greenhouses, where they are misted daily and not fertilized through the automated watering system. I occasionally add a small amount of time release fertilizer, when I am not around to apply the water soluble fertilizer.
Very informative video. I currently use Better-gro fertilizer and I was thinking when I run out of it of switching to Jack’s 3 2 1 formula. Just wondering what you think of that fertilizer (I know you have to be careful that the fertilizer is fully dissolved before adding the magnesium sulfate).
Sorry - I have never tried the 3-2-1 program.I hope that you do not mind but I contacted Peter's to get some information on the benefits of that formulation. It seems that you know about the dissolving before adding the next salt. Please let me know how it works for you.
I first heard of Jack’s fertilizer from watching another RUclipsr, Rick l orchids, I learned a lot about fertilizer from his channel. The 3 2 1 formula was not made with orchids in mind, but I’ve seen other channels that use that on their orchids. I’ve also thought about buying an orchid specific fertilizer called K lite and was wondering what you thought about it? According to the person who sells it orchids can take in too much potassium and it can be harmful. Just wanted to get a second opinion from someone who doesn’t sell that product.
@@EpiphyticAddict I contacted Jacks with your question about the 3-2-1 program and I received a response that I partly expected. They said that it was not developed for orchids and suggested that I take a look at one of their videos on orchid fertilizersSo, I cannot recommend the 3-2-1 program but thinks that it won't hurt to try it, if you want. For the potassium lite fertilizer, I have not heard that this is beneficial for growing orchids and I cannot imagine why orchids would take up too much potassium, over any other comparable elements or cations. Potassium toxicity in plants can be seed if your old leaf tips and edges turn yellow or brown (burn). They also told me that the blue color in their water soluble fertilizer was from added blue dye.
I would like to see you explain the different types of nitrogen. It's confusing and there is a lot of lore about it. Some say Urea is bad. Others say Ammoniacal is bad. It would be nice to have a scientific breakdown of this.
OK - I will have to go to the literature on this one - it is not something that I know offhand or even stress. I think that it is not cleat - there is a lot of information on crop plant nutrition using different nitrogen sources - not much on orchids specifically. And, sometimes the general plant information does not relate well to orchids.....
@plantpropagator Thank you! I have tried reading about it, but I don't have a scientific background (the last science class I took was long ago. I believe we studied what happens when you rub two sticks together 😆). It seems like there are a lot of contradictory opinions out there.
What about adding Cal- Mag and Kelp extract as amendments? Any thoughts?
Great to see your boys helping out.
Excellent! Greetings from Spain 🇪🇸
Thanks for your comment - I am happy that you enjoyed my video!
So glad I found your channel, keep up the good work!
I am so glad that you found me. I appreciate your positive comments! Happy propagating!!
What ppm,s are you using? As constant feed.... And ppm for amendments?
Thanks
Hahaha this is so hilarious. People ask me all the time why I use this fertilizer or that one and I always answer because its cheap and a good ratio with most micro-nutrients. Not because its might say its for orchids. I also get asked what rate do I use and I say that it depends on your source water and that you should measure ppm to get a handle on what you are adding to what. And what your growing conditions are versus what someone in Spain or Florida (no pun there) is telling you. Many feed too heavy and create more issues that way. You've got a great channel by the way and some great information and I thoroughly enjoy watching. Just unflasked a hybrid Sarcochilus and am using your "storage container" method. They are only a couple weeks out of flask but 100% survival so far and a couple had basically "0" roots. keep on chuglin!
Thanks so much for your positive comments. Yeah - people are really fixed in their ways - the orchid specialist at my local meeting last night recommended the MSU formulation - I do not bother asking "why" anymore....
And my deflasking survival rate had gotten really high with really nice growth. I have convinced some people to use my approaches and some are slowly coming over. You just cannot argue or question the results that I show over and over again. But, some people actually think that the orchid seedlings that I show in my videos are not the age that I say. There are a lot of faked videos out there, even orchid videos.
I’ve been using a brand called Beat Your Neighbor. It’s very similar to miracle grow. There are greenhouse growers in Wisconsin that make and sell it. It works just as good as miracle grow. They say it’s more of a professional grade. My plants love it!
OK - thanks - tried looking up the contents of your fertilizer but it was not easy to find. If you are using this for orchids, you should check to see if it contains the minor elements that the "plus" orchid fertilizers contain. For plants in soil, this is not as important as it is for orchids, since soil can supply some of these minor elements.
Miracle Grow makes a few different types - even some specifically made for orchids.
I think if I feed the trees by 3 inches of compost on the top of the ground that would be enough, regarding macro and micro elements . I highly become grateful if I get your advice.
I like to use tea as a root stimulant, seems to work well for that. Am also glade the blue color is food safe. I still wouldn't wanna eat plant fertilizer. But at least that would not add to the problem.
Thanks for watching and for your comment. I cannot imagine what is in the tea that would affect root growth. If it works for you, keep on using it but it may only be providing some very low levels of some elements. Since you are the fishyplantman, there are plant hormones in the kelp and seaweed fertilizers that will positively affect root induction and growth. Yeah - that blue coloration in the fertilizer can stain - food grade but still.....
Very informative video. Thank you.
I think that I am going to have to make a follow up video.... If you look beyond the NPK in fertilizers (the micros), and look at time-release and organics, it gets fun. It's in process - still have to do some more work.
Hi, just came across your channel. I'm also in Southwest Florida. I've used many different fertilizers and have come to the conclusion that they are pretty much the same. Mostly what I use is Peter's/Jack's fertilizer. I've found it a good all-around fertilizer and it's reasonably priced. What I do add to my fertilizer routine is seaweed and I have more robust plants with it. The majority or orchids that I grow are catasetums and last year a product was recommended to me by another catasetum grower is Jim's Purely Organic, which is a combination of all these different meals. I used it on my catasetums and they really took off.
Thanks for watching and for your comments. I have also used seaweed fertilizer, based on recommendations from orchid growing colleagues and my daughter. When you look at the fertilizer components in seaweed extract, it shows only potassium. But, due to the smell and color of the solubilized seaweed fertilizer, there must be more to it! So, I contacted the manufacturer to find out what else is in their product. I think that I need to put together a follow-up video (is it OK for me to acknowledge you? - first name only) on other fertilizer addenda, and natural and organic fertilizers. I am still learning about catasetums.....
@@plantpropagator You are more than welcome to use my name. The product I use is NPK Raw Kelp that I get on Amazon. It can be a tad expensive depending on the time of year you buy it as the price fluctuates, but a little goes a long way. It comes in powder form and I add 1/4 tsp per gallon with my fertilizer. This product doesn't stink like others do. Catasetums are extremely easy to grow here. They're my favorites. ☺️
Thank you for the information
I am glad that you enjoyed it!
Do you adjust the nutrients levels in different weather conditions..ie cold or hot...humid or dry?
I probably should consider modifying the nutrients depending on the weather but I do not. The conditions here are warm throughout the year. I do irrigate less during rainy season but that is about it.
I mostly use miracle grow constant feed, love it. I have heard of compost tea for fertilizer but regular tea seems better drank, but the urine it produces would work lol. How do you feel about adding small amounts of sea water occasionally to introduce mineral salts?
Thanks for the comment - I do not recommend using a sea water additive - there are too many unknowns and I believe that NaCl is the main salt, which will not do you much good. I am planning a follow up video on orchid fertilizers. Since posting this video, I have received a lot.of comments and have learned much more about fertilizers. I used to be opposed to organic fertilizers and seaweed extracts but the scientific literature shows that they are useful. And, I found that many of the fertilizers do not contain magnesium, which may be needed, depending on the medium. I will try to get a new fertilizer video posted soon.
Hi , I have big orchard . Olive oil trees and pomegranate . They are 20 years old . The previous years I feed them by chemical fertilizer and not organic fertilizer. For this year I want to give trees just compost and nothing else . What do you advise me ?
Thanks for watching my video. I have not grown olives and pomegranates before. Chemical fertilizer will usually give your plants better growth but it is not required in most cases. Compost will provide some additional nutrients but maybe not quite as much as chemical fertilizer. If you are adding compost to the soil, that will also build better soil structure, which is also very helpful. I am not sure where you are located but, in the US, many of the fertilizers are now labelled as organic and this may be the best of both worlds. Often, the organic fertilizers contain beneficial microbes, which can also be good for your plants. It may be interesting to use compost and maybe add some organic granular fertilizer too. Sorry that I cannot help more. Good luck and thanks again for watching.
Interesting video! Thanks for posting! I've got a question (not fertilizer related) that could be the topic of an interesting video. Can you comment on growing C4/CAM plants (which include many orchids) and how that might affect culture? One of the orchid "myths" that still exist is that you should water your orchids in the morning so they dry by nighttime. However, so many of the species we grow are getting drenched during afternoon/evening monsoons. I've switched to watering my orchids during the summer growing season in the evening (with no ill effect), mostly because that's when I get home from work. I would love some discussion on the topic.
I have added this to my list of future videos - I do need to review this - it has been a while since I have looked closely a the different carbon fixation pathways. I did a quick literature search and found a good relatively recent review of the different machinery present in different orchids. You and I will both learn in this exercise.....
@@plantpropagator I’m excited!!
Hi I just love your videos. So informative. Thank you so much. I use fertilizer from Norman’s Orchids. He’s got his own RUclips channel and store in California I believe. Since using it my plants roots are doing great. I only use 1/4 strength however. I live in the Cleveland Ohio area so growing orchids is a definite challenge for me, inside, outside, sunny, rainy, cold, snowy, ugh I have most of them in my east facing window. I have a humidifier running as much as possible, however. During the summer when it’s 90° I turn my air conditioner on and I feel bad for my orchids. I feel like a bad orchid mom. Can you look into the fertilizer and see if it is good or if I should look into something else for them? It’s on the website at Norman’s Orchids. Thx so much. Love the videos. Thx again.
Thanks for watching and for your comments. Wow - we have a lot in common! I am from the Cleveland area too and think that Norman Fang is great. If you are using his fertilizer (1/4 strength is good) and having success, keep on doing that. Norman is very knowledgable in orchid fertilizers and growth. He and my advisor received their PhDs in the same lab at UC-Riverside so we are related - he is my academic uncle. My interview with him can be found here: ruclips.net/video/rbkQg7qBsdk/видео.html
My daughter and I are both members of the Greater Akron Orchid Society and I may attend the meeting in September, when I visit.
You might consider bringing some of your orchids outside in the summer - most of them will love the rain and humidity and you may see a surge in growth. They like being in the shade - they cannot handle direct sun and you may need to watch for burning. It may be good to try a few outside in the shade, if you have not done that before.
Once again, thanks for watching and for your positive comments.
@@plantpropagator I definitely do put some of them outside for the summer. I don’t have any shelter for them yet during the rain and sun, so I’m dragging them in and out but usually when it’s going to rain. A lot. And thank you. I’m glad I’m using a good fertilizer. I love Mr fang. I followed his live stream during Covid. He doesn’t seem to have them as much, sadly. Thank you so much for responding. I know you’re busy. I really appreciate it.
@@plantpropagator also. If you can help me with one of my orchids I would appreciate it! I have the Thecopus Maingayi x Self and the only video I can find on it is in Russian. When I try to change the closed captioning to English only a black dot appears on the screen, no words at all! So basically I can’t find anything about it at all! So far all I’ve found is that it likes moist medium. But I would really like to know as much as possible about it so I don’t fail it! If you can possibly help me out at all that would be great! If not, I understand. Thx.
@@GingerSnap7 I do not know this orchid at all - there are way too many different types of orchids and there is no way that I can learn them all - I am still learning how to grow Cattleyas. If you have not seen this video, I hope that it is useful to you.
ruclips.net/video/kMiSKZoH75w/видео.html
@@plantpropagator yeah that’s the only video I’ve watched and understood. I did comment and ask her about more information about the orchid. 👍👍 I’m in the same situation with my little mexipedia. But I finally found someone who knew all about it! ❤️❤️ I don’t know how I end up with the uncommon orchids..😂😂😂 lucky I guess. Great taste as well 😂😂😂
Curious if you've done any research on oncidiums (Sharry Baby) and how they're prone to leaf yellowing/browning during their growth phase--is it a particular nutrient deficiency? I've been experimenting with Cal-Mag, but would be interested in learning if that's really the issue.
Thanks for your comment. I am sorry but I do not have much experience with this. Usually, if the leaves are yellowing and the orchid is otherwise in good shape, it maybe nutrient deficiency. But, so many nutrient deficiencies cause leaf yellowing that I do not know where to begin. Good luck with solving this and keep me informed...
Very interesting video thank you. 🙂
Thank you for your positive comment!
Very informative video. I had to subscribe 😊
I am glad that you subscribed - welcome! I have another "Ask a Scientist" orchid video that I will post later this week.
If a mixture of orchid plus fertilizer is swallowed. What can I do_
First of all, I am not a medical doctor. But, I do know the chemicals in the fertilizer and they are not bad, at the diluted levels that you use to fertilize the plants -- in fact, they are in the plants at close to the level that they are applied. I would ask an MD what to do - not me.
Good info thanks, I mostly use 20-20-20. What is your opinion about time-release fertilizers?
I should have commented on time-release fertilizers - I strongly support using time-release fertilizers when they are used correctly. I have a story about a PhD student in my lab who was growing sunflowers in the greenhouses. They looked great when they were young but the leaves became dark green, then yellow before flowering. They flowered but the flowers did not look good and the seeds showed very low viability. He did this twice! I finally went to the greenhouse to check his plants and found that the pots were loaded with Osmocote. He was adding a teaspoon of Osmocote to the pot every week, which explained what he was seeing!
Although I recommend one or the other, you can use both water soluble and time release fertilizer as long as you do not overdo it. I add time release fertilizer to my orchid seedlings in the greenhouses, where they are misted daily and not fertilized through the automated watering system. I occasionally add a small amount of time release fertilizer, when I am not around to apply the water soluble fertilizer.
Very informative video. I currently use Better-gro fertilizer and I was thinking when I run out of it of switching to Jack’s 3 2 1 formula. Just wondering what you think of that fertilizer (I know you have to be careful that the fertilizer is fully dissolved before adding the magnesium sulfate).
Sorry - I have never tried the 3-2-1 program.I hope that you do not mind but I contacted Peter's to get some information on the benefits of that formulation. It seems that you know about the dissolving before adding the next salt. Please let me know how it works for you.
I first heard of Jack’s fertilizer from watching another RUclipsr, Rick l orchids, I learned a lot about fertilizer from his channel. The 3 2 1 formula was not made with orchids in mind, but I’ve seen other channels that use that on their orchids. I’ve also thought about buying an orchid specific fertilizer called K lite and was wondering what you thought about it? According to the person who sells it orchids can take in too much potassium and it can be harmful. Just wanted to get a second opinion from someone who doesn’t sell that product.
@@EpiphyticAddict I contacted Jacks with your question about the 3-2-1 program and I received a response that I partly expected. They said that it was not developed for orchids and suggested that I take a look at one of their videos on orchid fertilizersSo, I cannot recommend the 3-2-1 program but thinks that it won't hurt to try it, if you want. For the potassium lite fertilizer, I have not heard that this is beneficial for growing orchids and I cannot imagine why orchids would take up too much potassium, over any other comparable elements or cations. Potassium toxicity in plants can be seed if your old leaf tips and edges turn yellow or brown (burn). They also told me that the blue color in their water soluble fertilizer was from added blue dye.
I would like to see you explain the different types of nitrogen. It's confusing and there is a lot of lore about it. Some say Urea is bad. Others say Ammoniacal is bad. It would be nice to have a scientific breakdown of this.
OK - I will have to go to the literature on this one - it is not something that I know offhand or even stress. I think that it is not cleat - there is a lot of information on crop plant nutrition using different nitrogen sources - not much on orchids specifically. And, sometimes the general plant information does not relate well to orchids.....
@plantpropagator Thank you! I have tried reading about it, but I don't have a scientific background (the last science class I took was long ago. I believe we studied what happens when you rub two sticks together 😆). It seems like there are a lot of contradictory opinions out there.
I use for my plants - orchids.