Mehitabel, I use it regularly. I use it once a month, and I really do believe it makes better leaves. It also changes the ph of the water slightly, so if you don't have any, you might want to get some test strips from an aquarium store and check the ph before and after you add it to see how much it changes your water.

Hey, 126. Thanks for the reply. I'm going to try it-- my tiny new phal leaves seem to be taking their time toughening up.

So you just use it on a regular basis, but not every watering. I'll get some tomorrow and try using it that way.

Thanks for offering your experience. Much appreciated :)

I have been thinking about using it, too. would you use it by itself or with K-L-N, for example.
sue

I have used it regularly with my fertilizer. Read SOMEWHERE the other day that it lowers the pH so to be careful if you already have acidic water. The test strips sound like a grat idea.
Just my 2 cents.
Jan

Ihave used it for several years and highly recommend it. While I still prophlactically spray systemic fungicide before our rainy season and use orthene to discourage thrips, protek has toughened the plants to insects, (i.e: scale, mealy bug and mites) and I haven't seen any black rot since starting to use Protek on a regular basis. It is recommended to use alone but I first dilute my fertilizer, then add the diluted Protek. If you don't follow this, you will get a gel formation which will plug your sprayer. Go for it!

I use Protek (with fertilizer) every week, and have been doing so for several years. I also check the PH of he water. This is one product I'll likely always use. I think of it as an "immune enhancer".

Carol

thanks, mehitabel, for starting this thread. thanks to everyone else for the info. now i will have to get some.
sue

Me too !! Thanks, as I know my water is highly alkaline !

C-

Chryss, ProTek will further alkalize your water, making it very bad for your orchids, especially since most of them need a slightly acid water (i try for the 6.00-6.5 range).

Phosphoric acid is probably the best acidifier. Vinegar is said to be toxic to orchids. Use the ProTekt, but adjust the PH.

Carol

I've used ProTek and I've noticed that it helps with heat tolerance for the few plants that I grow outside.

Carol,

I hadn't heard that about vinegar. I clean the leaves and use it to lower the pH on a regular basis (for at least a couple of years now) with no detrimental effects.

Yikes! Did I have bad info about it lowering the pH, or did I put in my head backwards? If it makes it higher I am going in the wrong direction with the pH for my water. I will definitely get myself some litmus strips!
Jan

Well, I bought some today, and watered all the outdoor phals with it.

The idea of making them more resistant to rots and pests of various kinds as well as heat stress in a good ole Missouri summer was too much to resist.

There are lots of tiny, very tender new leaves out there that are suffering from the heat and heavy rains. I think I'll notice it pretty quickly if they toughen up.

Clint, I've used vinegar for cleaning the orchids, and also tried it for a short while to acidify the water. Then I noticed (somewhere on the web, long forgotten site), that vinegar is toxic to orchids. Not wanting to take a chance and slay all my 'chids, I decided to try the phosphoric acid. Fortunately, they were out of stock, so I devised my own formula(s) and have never needed any additives for PH. Using R/O water helps.

If vinegar doesn't harm your orchids, I say, stick with it.:)

Carol

If ANYTHING you're doing doesn't harm your 'chids, I say "stick with it" !!! Also make sure to be VERY attentive WHENEVER you vary any pa rt of your regular culture ! Think I'll pass on this stuff for now, still recovering from my MSU trauma ! Been back on Dyna Gro and my 'chids are happier now !

C-

how about using coffee? whenever i have coffee left from the prev. day, i dilute it and use it on all my plants. it doesn't seem to harm the orchids and from a prev. post, it helps get rid of some unwanted guests -
sue

Checking everything outside this morning after using the Pro Tek yesterday:
New (and old) leaves noticeably stiffer. It's just too different. Yesterday morning (and all the previous mornings) the new leaves were as limp as a shoe lace. This morning no longer looking and feeling fragile.

I can hardly believe it would work so fast. But I have read that you can detect fertilizer in an orchid 20 minutes after treatment, so I guess it's possible.

Am going to give another treatment in about a week, then go to the once a month or two treatment.

Thanks to everyone for the replies. I'm very glad I tried it.

Hello, my mom just accedently watered our new orchid with vinigar and water. I looked it up on Google, but none of the results gave enough info. Please ell me what to do. The suspense is killing me!!!