Hey, Pat. I use Nutrricote, which is a timed release fertilizer, with supposedly a better time-release coating, and at least had at one time, more micronutrients, than Osmocote. It's available at HD as "dynamite".

I started using it on orchids on recommendation from Fender's Flora Orchids. Check out their newsletter for a couple of years back, where they recommended it *in addition to* the weakly weekly. I also know Odom's uses Nutricote because I've seen the grey pellets in plants I've gotten from them, including recently.

Never had any problems with the nutricote over-fertilizing.

Great for summer outdoors, where rain interferes with watering "schedules".

I went through a similar pattern as you did, Pat...From every week, booster every fourth week...to when I have time. I would like to get back on a weekly schedule with the liquid fertilizer

I use Nutricote (Dynamite)- add a scoop to every pot at the beginning of our growing season (late Feb- early March, approximately)..And second time later in the season

Olya

My base solution is 1/2 tsp. of 18-18-18 or 20-20-20 or equivalent twice a month with no pre watering for non-sensitive orchids. That guarantees there will be at least one plain watering in between feedings and I give it as long as there is active growth. I bump it up or down for plants that are sensitive or need more feeding. Sensitive plants get pre-watered and 1/2 that dosage 2x per month. Heavier feeders (usually in baskets or very well drained medium) get the base solution 4x a month, but will have had several plain waterings between feedings.

I've read feeding techniques that get more complicated than that but so far my interest has not been sparked. If I were growing outside or in a greenhouse, I imagine everything I'm doing would be subject to change.

John :>)

Weekly, weakly with MSU for pure water with two drops Superthrive per gallon. When I'm in a hurry, I tell the 'chids this is pot flushing week. Mounts gets sprayed with a pump up sprayer thing with the same fertilizer mix after the initial water spray.

Brooke

My understanding is that Nutricote is only effective at warm temps. The fertilizer only releases when temps are above 74-80 degrees. It is good in summer, but unless you keep your room temps up, you should use another fertilizer.

I use MSU for Pure at recommended strength about once a month. More often when new growth is starting...

Dens get nothing until spring.

Jane

I also live in Z9. I went through the same schedule as you until my well pressure prevented me from getting enough pressure in the GH to use the syphoning system I had to spray them and I was left with the overwhelming job of trying to fertilize by hand. So-I started putting nutricote Dynamite on them and getting most of them outside on tables under trees, hung on poles strung between branches, anywhere I thought O.K. I brought them in when we had the freeze and forgot a few. They dont show anysign of damage. I think we wear ourselves out worrying about what we should do and it gets to be a job instead of a pleasure. I have almost all catts, a few denbs and oncidiums.

I have a "whenever I get to it" schedule.
I always have something going on in the greenhouse, its as big as a small house (just under 1750 aq ft) so I usually don't do every plant "by hand". And, its a tropical rainforest, so there tons more stuff in there than just orchids.

Many of my orchids are mounted on plaques and cork on the walls, on palm tree trunks, and on other media. Those get sprayed with whatever is in the hose end sprayer...that's usually either Peter's Excel 15-5-15 Cal/Mag water soluble or Jerry's Grow...regardless of species.

The potted orchids (and ALL other potted plants) get Nutricote. In addition, all potted plants except PALMS get some sort of water soluble fertilizer (sometimes its Peter's Excel, sometimes its home made beer fertilizer, sometimes its Miracle Grow)a couple times a month.

Palms get Palm Fertilizer or Nutricote depending on the palm (some burn with regular Palm Fert so get Nutricote)

Orchids get nothing special. They get full strength whatever is being sprayed at the moment. I don't buy special orchid fertilizers.

All plants (especially palms but also all the bareroot orchids like Vandas) get a chelated micronutrient spray 2-3 times a year.

I get tons of blooms, and lots of growth.

Great, helpful thread, Pat!

Thank you, Jane, for noting the temperature qualifications for Nutricote release.

For lack of experience with fertilizers, I'm a johnny-one-note, so far, and really appreciate everyone's input here.

Sweetcicely

Outside in Miami---mounts, s/h with prime agra, prime agra as regular medium in baskets and pots---everything from phal-type dens to oncidiums to catts to vandaceous to phals to paphs and everything in between---get 1 tsp of anything from Dyna-Gro Grow 7-9-5, or Bloom 3-12-6, to Excel 15-5-15 Cal-Mag, usually with a drop of Superthrive and 1/4 tsp. Dyna-Gro Protekt per gallon every week or so, not precise, with several plain waterings in between in summer. If we have a week of weather below 70 in winter I put off fertilizing longer.

In late March and early October I hit them two weeks consecutively with 1 T each of Epsom salts and potassium nitrate per gallon. (The nobile Dens get no more fertilizer for the winter after the fall serving of this.)

Since I have been doing this, the phal type dens have been in nearly continual spike or bloom, and things that never bloomed for me have popped.

Jan

Thank you all for your replys!! I find it so interesting to read about what others do. And, there are some ideas here I am going to try (frankly the fish fert smell is really beginning to get to me and it lasts for DAYS!).
Thanks again everyone!!
Pat.........

LOL....I bought the fish stuff once and mixed one batch...couldn't bring myself to use it and threw it out...
must be good... it smells so bad....
Jan

Well I will probably get yelled at here but here we go. So this summer I didn't fert enough to say so I was away for five weeks and my mother took care of them with out fert. The rest of the summer I could not find my fert and was too broke at the time to buy more. I found it and started again. After a summer without they grew as much or more and are blooming more than they ever have.

I will still routienly fert just because it makes sense but it may not matter as much as it seems to.

I use fish emulsion. Sure it stinks, but many of my older orchids seem to respond to it better than other types of fertilizers. In the winter, I also feed a solution of Epson salts.

I discontinued fish fertilizer as I found it to be too caustic to plant roots. I do, however, use liquid seaweed once a month, MSU three times a month, and a plain water flush for the fourth week. The plants seem to respond to this regimine. Lately I've been dabbling with worm tea.