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Fertilizer
Orchid care comprises 4 major issues as discussed on this web site:
IN ADDITION, an extensive chapter on this web site about fertilizer mixtures comprising a number of assisting ingredients and agents, can be reached by clicking: Fertilizer
| BASIC ORCHID CARE discussed in 20 interactive chapters, a photo gallery with more than 7,000 interactive full screen orchid photos, and orchid classification system on: MöhltiMedia's Orchid cd rom. |
Fertilizers mixtures can be defined as follows: a fertilizer mixture should contain all food components, other ingredients and additional agents that, besides water, CO2 and light, are necessary and essential to optimize orchid growth and blooming as well as improve health protection of orchids in cultivation.
WARNING:
Fertilizer that is to be applied to orchids must not be applied in a solution in water that is too strong. Low-light growing orchid plants such as mottled leaf paphiopedilums and others that grow best in light in the range below 800 foot-candles should have fertilizer solutions that are only one-fourth of the normally recommended strength. For example, if the label says use 1 teaspoon per gallon of water, you would use 1/4 teaspoon in that amount of water. Should you be given the normal strength in terms of grams/liter, such as 1 gram per liter of water, you would reduce the amount to 1/4 gram/liter.
Even vandaceous orchids appreciate strengths at about 1/2 the normal label strength. Better that you apply too little and not kill your orchid. Orchids in the wild usually see their food dissolved in rain water containing only 15 parts per million (PPM) of dissolved nutrients. That's only 0.015 grams/liter! Phragmipediums, even those considered to be "high" light level plants, are notorious in demanding very low strength solutions of fertilizer.
'INTELIGENT' or 'SMART' FERTILIZERS
Wouldn't it be attractive to have a fertilizer system that would not be harmful to your orchid plants even if given to the orchid plants in a ten times overdose? In other words, fertilizer systems whose effectiveness and efficiencies are independent of the fertilizer solution strength. Such inteligent fertilizer systems have been developed lately and are currently becoming available.
For more information on the availability of 'inteligent/smart' fertilizers e-mail to: info@mohltimedia.com
A well balanced and engineered inteligent fertilizer mixture should comprise, among others, the following:
For more information about the below mentioned issues, click on the corresponding underlined words
| Inorganic bulk elements serve as basic assisting materials for growth, blooming and root development. |
| Inorganic trace elements serve as assisting materials for, among others, cell wall development. |
| Fertilizer component solvation promoting agents keep the ingredients/agents soluble for enhanced absorption. |
| Food absorption assisting/promoting agents enhance the absorption speed of nutrients by orchids. |
| Water droplet reducing agents reduce the presence of harmful water droplets on leaves and roots. |
| Water film formation promoting agents enhance the formation of water films on leaves and roots. |
| Oxygen slow-release agents produce oxygen to reduce fungi growth and oxidize ions to nitrates. |
| Bug discouraging agents dislodge or kill insects or pests. |
| Ph buffering agents keeps the pH or acidity levels within a favourable range. |
| Water quality control agents improve the quality of water and fertilizer solutions. |
| Fertilizer strength control agents prevent the presence of too strong fertilizer solutions. |
Click on one of the above underlined issues to learn more about their role in the inteligent fertilizer.
For more information on the availability of 'inteligent/smart' fertilizers e-mail to: info@mohltimedia.com
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Often, a fertilizer mixture is characterized by a set of 3 numbers denoting the percentages present of the inorganic elements in the order N-P-K. If a fourth number is added, it represents the percentage present of N-P-K-Mg, or the percentage present of N-P-K-Ca, as indicated on the fertilizer's container.
A typical fertilizer for promoting growth of orchids is a nitrogen (N) rich fertilizer mixture such as: N-P-K = 12-8-4.
Nitrogen can be present in fertilizer mixture as urea molecules (O=C(-NH2)2), ammonium ions (NH4+), nitrite ions (NO2-) or nitrate ions (NO3-).
Never use urea for orchids because urea as such cannot be abdorbed, consumed and incorporated by orchids. Urea requires micro organisms to be converted into nitrate ions that can be absorbed, consumed and incorporated by orchids. This urea to nitrate conversion process takes a long time (up to three months) and usually the added urea has alreday been flushed out of the potting mix well before it has been converted to useful nitrates. Urea can become part of salts that build up in the medium also and which, unless flushed from the medium, can cause root burn. Urea as such thus is useless for orchids.
Ammonium ions can be consumed by orchids but at a lower rate than nitrates. Ammonium ions can be oxidized to nitrates by certain oxidizing agents and thus consumed quicker by orchids. Such oxidizing agents are oxygen in aerated potting media, or special added oxygen-release-agents in inteligent fertilizers which are also active in non-aerated media.
Also nitrite ions can be converted into nitrates, by oxygen or by specially added oxidizing agents in inteligent fertilizers, and thus consumed quicker by orchids.
The best nitrogen source for orchids are nitrates as they are consumed the quickest of all nitrogen sources by orchids. Therefore, nitrates will assist in the orchid's growing process after the shortest time as compared to all other nitrogen sources.
A typical fertilizer for promoting blooming of orchids is a phosphorus (P) rich fertilizer mixture such as: N-P-K = 15-30-15 or 10-60-10.
Phosphorus is often present in fertilizer mixtures as phosphate ions (PO4---) as obtained by disolving potassiumphosphate in water. The P-percentage content is usually expressed as weight-% P2O5 molecules.
A typical fertilizer for promoting root development of orchids is the magnesium (Mg) containing potassium (K) rich mixture N-P-K-Mg = 8-12-24-4.
Potassium is often present as potassium ions (K+) as derived from dissolving potassiumphosphate or potassiumnitrate. The K-percentage content is usually expressed as weight-% K2O molecules.
Multifunctional magnesium ions (Mg++) can be derived by dissolving magnesiumsulphate in water. The Mg-percentage content is usually expressed as weight-% MgO. Care must be taken to prevent the formation of insoluble solid magnesium salts after adding Mg-ions to a fertilizer solution. Special dissolving agents have been added to inteligent fertilizers . Otherwise, Mg-ion containing solutions must be given separately from non-inteligent fertilizer solutions to avoid the formation of insoluble (and thus useless) Mg-compounds.
Multifunctional calcium ions (Ca++) can be derived by dissolving calciumnitrate in water. The Ca-percentage content is usually expressed as weight-% CaO. Care must be taken to prevent the formation of insoluble calcium salts after adding Ca-ions to a fertilizer solution. Special Ca-ion dissolving agents have been added to inteligent fertilizers to prevent the precipitation (= formation of) insoluble calcium salts. Otherwise, Ca-ion containing solutions must be given separately from non-inteligent fertilizer to avoid the formation of insoluble (and thus useless) Ca-compounds.
In addition, fertilizers should contain a number of other ingredients and agents possessing special functions as mentioned in the list under set of essential ingredients.
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These elements should be present in a fertilizer mixture in the order of hundredths of a percent only. They often serve purposes like building blocks in cell membranes to regulate solution transportation through cell membranes, etc. Also, trace elements are necessary to build assemble materials in leaves such as enzymes and the like that assist in the photochemical growth process.
If certain trace elements are present in too large amounts in fertilizer mixtures, they can acts as poisonous materials and kill or (severely) damage orchid plants.
If the pH of the fertilizer solutions is not well enough controlled and drift too much to the acidic side, certain trace elements (e.g. Zn) can become available and absorbed in such lage amounts that might be lethal for orchids. Als, too acidic fertilozer solutions can prohibit the absorption of other trace elements (e.g. Fe) by orchid plants.
So, not only the amount of trace elements but also the pH of the fertilizer solution must be contrlled in order to provide a balanced mixture suitable for absorption by the orchids.
Irrespective their small relative abundances, if trace elements are absent, orchids will not grow and bloom optimally.
In addition, fertilizers should contain a number of other ingredients and agents possessing special functions as mentioned in the list under set of essential ingredients.
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This tendency to solidification of fertilizer components reduces their availability for absorption by orchids and thus the effectiveness and efficiency of the components to serve as growth and bloom promotors for orchids.
In order to prevent the formation of insoluble materials, certain water soluble component-complexing materials should be added to fertilizer mixture solutions to ensure each fertilizer component's solubility. In doing so, the availability of components and ingredients is increased and therewith the effectiveness and efficiency of fertilizers.
In addition, fertilizers should contain a number of other ingredients and agents possessing special functions as mentioned in the list under set of essential ingredients.
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An optimal combination of such chemical and physical states ensures a 'loosely sticking' of the fertilizer components to the leave and root surfaces thus enabling a significant mobility of the components of those root and leave surfaces.
Certain agents promote the existence and presence of the desired chemical and physical states of the fertilizer components therewith strongly influencing and enhancing the effectiveness and efficiency of the fertilizer components' absorption process through the cell membranes of root and leaf skins.
Especially under cultivation conditions where orchids lack (their original) natural environments, food absorption promoting agents can positively influence the orchid's well being.
In addition, fertilizers should contain a number of other ingredients and agents possessing special functions as mentioned in the list under set of essential ingredients.
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If the presence of fertilizers is confined to droplets on root and leaf surfaces, the active and thus effective total surface area for absorption is confined to that of the droplets only.
To increase the active and effective fertilizer absorption area, the fertilizer droplets should be transformed into a fertilizer solution film, covering the entire root and leaf surface areas.
Water droplet reducing, or water film forming enhancing agents (surfactants)increase significantly the root and leaf surface areas available for fertilizer absorption.
However, care must be taken that the surfactants are optimally matched to the dessired fertilizer components' 'loosely sticking' properties. The wrong surfactant can disturb or destroy the chemically and physically desired states needed to achieve an optimized 'loosely sticking' character and thereby severly hamper the rapid absorption of fertilizer components by the orchids.
In addition, fertilizers should contain a number of other ingredients and agents possessing special functions as mentioned in the list under set of essential ingredients.
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Water film formation promoting agents by specially modified ('loosely sticking character' matched) surfactants) assist in the converion of fertilizer containing water droplets into a fertilizer containing water films. The fertilizer ingredients are thus dispersed over the entire root and leaf surface areas in the preferred physiacl and chamical 'loosely sticking' states thereby increasing significantly fertilizer and food absorption efficiency. This should result in better growth and blooming of orchids
In addition to the enahnced absorption of food components, water films dry up more quickly than water droplets. Quickly drying water films prevent undesired long time presence of water droplets on vulnerable orchid parts such as young shoots. The thus achieved absence of water droplets reduces the potential hazard of young shoot rot, etc.
In addition, fertilizers should contain a number of other ingredients and agents possessing special functions as mentioned in the list under set of essential ingredients.
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Under certain conditions (undesired) fungus weight increase in the potting mix can be of the same order of magnitude as (desired) orchid weight increase.
Fertilizers should comprise oxygen releasing agents in order to reduce the presence of undesired organisms therewith reducing rot and other undesired effects.
Oxygen releasing agents can convert (oxidize) ammonium ions and nitrite ions into the quicker consumed nitrate ions thus enhancing the growth rate of orchids.
In addition, fertilizers should contain a number of other ingredients and agents possessing special functions as mentioned in the list under set of essential ingredients.
Back to set of essential ingredients
Bugs are a potential hazard to orchids. The presence of bugs can be reduced with pesticides or with bug discouraging materials.
A well balanced and engineereed fertilizer mixture could contain bug discouraging materials.
Such bug discouraging materials comprise ingredients that do not act chemically on bugs like a pesticide does, but act physically on bugs like discomforting them through deregulating their breathing system and the like.
Even hard scaled pests have shown their vulnerability for the physical activity of bug discomforting agents.
In addition, fertilizers should contain a number of other ingredients and agents possessing special functions as mentioned in the list under set of essential ingredients.
Back to set of essential ingredients
Micro-organisms cause decay and acidification of orchid potting mixes derived from organic materials such as bark and the like. The acidification of orchid potting mix is the biggest potential hazard for the healthy growth of orchids.
The pH of the orchid potting mix after watering increases continuously as a consequence of the decay products generated by micro-organisms as a consequence of the decay process of orchid potting mix.
During drying up of the orchid potting mix, the pH of the wet orchid potting mix increases even more owing to the increasing concentration of decay products during drying up.
A well balanced and engineered fertilizer mixture should contain materials to de-acidify the orchid potting mix during and after watering and thus buffering (= keeping constant) the pH of the potting mix even during the drying up process.
Various orchid potting materials possess different acidification rates. Therefore, a well balanced and engineered fertilizer mix should contain potting mix independent pH buffering agents.
In addition, fertilizers should contain a number of other ingredients and agents possessing special functions as mentioned in the list under set of essential ingredients.
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Water can be chemically or biologically contaminated.
There are a number of methods to obtain pure water. Reverse osmosis of water is one of them. Rain water is another although rain water might be contaminated in industrial areas.
Fertilizer mixtures should contain agents that purify water in chemical and biological terms. Undesired chemicals should become immobilized. Undesired organisms should be neutralized.
In addition, fertilizers should contain a number of other ingredients and agents possessing special functions as mentioned in the list under set of essential ingredients.
Back to set of essential ingredients
Text
In addition, fertilizers should contain a number of other ingredients and agents possessing special functions as mentioned in the list under set of essential ingredients.
Back to set of essential ingredients
End of orchid information
End of orchid information
