Orchid Food

Determining The Correct Orchid Food

Executive Summary about Orchid Food by Alan Stables

Orchid food is usually a type of fertilizer that has been created especially for orchids. The more rare the orchid species is, the more difficult it will be to find the right kind of food. The type of orchid and the environment that it is in are factors in what kind of fertilizer will work best.

In nature, orchids are fed by anything that is around them. Rainwater full of minerals, excrement from passing animals and birds, and piles of dead leaves all provide an orchid with the nutrition that it needs to survive.

A fertilizer for your orchid should contain a mixture of potassium, phosphorous and nitrogen. Each of the three main nutrients plays an important role in the growth and development of an orchid. Nitrogen is especially important anytime there is new growth on your orchid. Potassium and phosphorous contribute more when the plant is blooming in preparation for the next growth spurt.

Using an incorrect fertilizer or improper dosage will damage the plant. The best thing that you can do is pick an orchid food and administer it on a schedule that is appropriate for your type of orchid.

Orchid Fertilizer

Executive Summary about Orchid Food by Jan Wilson

Orchid plants make their own food using carbon dioxide, water and sunlight, so orchid food/fertilizer actually refers to orchid nutrients. Like most other plants, orchids need the macro elements (nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium) and a range of micro elements, such as calcium and zinc.

Potassium is the element that is responsible for flower development and phosphorus for flower production. Commercial orchid fertilizers list the N:P:K ratio as numbers, for example 30-10-10 has three times the nitrogen concentration as potassium and phosphorus. Because these ratio numbers are merely percentages, the gardener needs to work out the actual concentration of nutrients that the plant requires.

Most orchids are grown in soil-less potting mixes and so micronutrients need to be fed to the plant. Orchids that are grown in bark medium will require more nitrogen as bacteria present in the bark utilize nitrogen for themselves. Water-soluble orchid fertilizers work well. When in doubt, too little is better than too much.

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