Many types of orchids are known that make a strong impression with their beauty and sophistication (for example, Phalaenopsis). It can be grown at home with careful observance of the rules of care. One of the most important issues in the maintenance of this flower is the correctly selected fertilizer for orchids and methods of feeding.
Color Fertilizer Options
When feeding, it must be borne in mind that if it is too concentrated, this can lead to a burn of the roots. It is not recommended that top dressing for orchids in the form of sticks or tablets be used, which creates an uneven concentration of fertilizers in the ground. Therefore, the following methods are applied.
Careful orchid care will allow you to grow a beautiful plant
Foliar nutrition
Such top dressing is carried out using a spray. When conducting it, the following rules must be observed:
- Before spraying, fertilizers must be dissolved in water.
- It is necessary to use a spray gun that does not form a jet, but performs spraying with small drops.
- Before feeding, shake the prepared composition.
- You need to evenly process the leaves from the upper and lower sides. Aerial roots are sprayed only slightly.
- It is recommended to perform the procedure in the evening or morning hours.
- Not all parts of the plant can be sprayed. This is forbidden in relation to flowers, growth points and shoot roots.
Orchid Phalaenopsis
- After processing, you can not immediately place flowers in direct sunlight. Otherwise, dry leaves may get burned.
Fertilizing in this way is permissible at a temperature of 18-26 degrees. Water should be slightly warmer than air. It is recommended to defend it before spraying.
Root dressing
Important! Before rooting, water the plant. High humidity will reduce the risk of burns from concentrated fertilizers.
You must perform the following steps:
- Dilute the dressing for orchids in water in the concentration prescribed by the instructions.
- The resulting composition is poured into a low and wide dish.
- A pot with an orchid put there for 20-25 minutes.
- A little top dressing is sprayed on the surface of the soil.
- After processing, the pot is placed on a dry tray, allowing water to drain.
For feeding use only defended, soft water, which is slightly warmer than air. It is impossible to put a flower under the direct rays of the sun immediately after its completion.
Fertilizer recipes at home
Top dressing for this flower can be done at home independently. The following are some of the most popular recipes for feeding an orchid.
Eggshell
The crushed eggshell contains calcium carbonate, magnesium, silicon, potassium, phosphorus and other useful substances. To prepare such dressing for orchids, a glass jar is filled with shell and filled with boiling water, allowing to brew for a week.
Coffee grounds
This is another option on how to feed an orchid. Coffee grounds are a nutritious compound that is beneficial for orchids.
Foliar top dressing
It contains potassium, magnesium, calcium and nitrogen. Ground is useful for enhancing orchid growth. When making it must be mixed with the topsoil. It must be borne in mind that this substance contains a little acid, thereby affecting the composition of the soil.
Nettle Fertilizer
In this folk remedy, such recipes can be used.
Chopped nettle should be poured with boiling water and insisted for an hour. After that, you can water the orchid with infusion. However, before this, water it first.
For the second recipe for how to fertilize an orchid, nettle is cut and stacked in a barrel, then filled with cold water. It is recommended to add a little valerian to remove the smell that will occur during fermentation. The composition is infused for a week. Then nettle is removed from the infusion.
Note! This method, how to feed an orchid, can be used within a year from the date of manufacture.
Yeast
They contain phytohormones, vitamins and auxins. To prepare such a fertilizer for orchids at home, do the following. 10 grams of yeast and three tablespoons of sugar are bred in one liter of water. After thorough mixing, leave to infuse for 2-3 hours.
Aspirin
If you dilute a tablet of aspirin in a liter of water, then this composition can be sprayed with an orchid in order to increase its vitality and improve immunity.
Hydrogen peroxide
Exposure to hydrogen peroxide can help grow orchids as follows:
- In the treatment of fungal diseases.
- For disinfection of leaves.
- As a means intended to stimulate the growth of orchids and its flowering.
The drug can be used to process slices on the roots or damage to stems and leaves. It allows you to reliably disinfect the site of damage.
Fertilizer Options
Various types of specialized flower fertilizers for orchids are produced. The following describes the most popular ones.
Agricola
There are several options for Agricola for orchids. They differ among themselves in the ratio of potassium, phosphorus and nitrogen fertilizers. Depending on the stage of flowering, select the desired composition for top dressing. To prepare a nutrient solution, you need to take 5 milliliters of concentrate and dissolve them in a liter of water. If foliar top dressing is performed, then such an amount of the product is stirred in two liters of water.
Spraying
This tool can be used to fertilize not only adult plants, but also children who have been seated separately.
Japanese fertilizers
They are available in several versions, which correspond to different colors. To feed orchids, blue and pink are used.
The first of them contains potassium carbonates, phosphates, magnesium, various bioactive enzymes, vitamins B and C. A balanced composition provides active orchid growth, improved immunity and the full development of the root system.
Interesting! The pink variety of dressing helps orchids bloom magnificently. It contains potassium, phosphorus, magnesium, nitrogen, acids, vitamin groups, bioenzymes and some other useful substances. This type of Japanese fertilizer is used not only in the flowering phase, but in other periods of the orchid's life.
Compo
This specialized fertilizer for orchids is produced by the German company Compo. The tool is presented in several forms:
- In liquid form in a package with a capacity of 500 ml.
- In the form of a set of hermetically sealed ampoules of 30 ml.
- In the form of solid sticks-stacks.
In the latter case, they are inserted vertically into the soil at the edge of the pot.
Fertilizer Compo
This is done so that parts of the orchid can not come in contact with concentrated fertilizer.
Feeding time
An important feature of orchids is that the composition of top dressing depends on the phase of development of the flowers. Next, we will talk about how to properly fertilize a flower in different periods of its life.
Active growth phase
During the period when the plant is actively growing, it must be fertilized twice a month. This will allow the flower to accumulate the right amount of nutrients for development. Of particular importance is the use of nitrogen fertilizers, allowing the orchid to accumulate vegetative mass. However, it must be borne in mind that this dressing inhibits the development of flowers.
When a plant begins to form buds (this occurs two months before flowering begins), it begins to need potassium and phosphorus fertilizers to a greater extent. Such top dressing helps to improve carbohydrate and protein metabolism, helps the plant breathe, makes flowering more magnificent.
Periods of flowering and dormancy
Important! During flowering and in the period immediately preceding it, the use of nitrogen-containing fertilizers must be minimized. They contribute to the growth of green mass, but limit the development of flower buds.
During this period, you can use the complex fertilizers Bon Forte, Effect, Flora or Effect. One of the features of their use is to increase the flowering period. In this case, you can achieve its duration of six months.
At this time, the plant should be fed with useful substances and minerals once every two weeks. Then it is forbidden to apply root dressing. If this rule is not observed, then the plant may not begin to bloom.
When the flowering is over and the last flower fades, the orchid begins a period of rest. At this time, she is weakened and needs support. In the first week, you need to equip the flower with all the necessary substances and trace elements necessary for it to recover and gain strength.
Flowers need liquid fertilizer
In winter, nitrogen and phosphorus top dressing are especially important for orchids. For this you can use fertilizers Lux, Rosop or Mr. Color. During dormancy, the plant needs to be fertilized monthly.
How to properly feed an orchid
When a flower is brought from a store, it must adapt to new living conditions. At first, it is not recommended to fertilize the earth, since the orchid will experience stress from this. If this rule is violated, the result may be wilting, in some cases, the death of the plant.
Often at the point of sale you can buy a plant during the flowering period. If you wait for it to finish and only then feed, then the orchid will be more useful.
In some cases, repeated flowering is possible, which will occur almost immediately after the previous one. In this case, you should not wait for its end, you should fertilize the plant three or four months after the orchid was purchased.
Good nutrition helps luxurious flowering
There are general rules for orchid care. Here are the most important ones:
- Fertilize the orchid only with the use of liquid fertilizers. Solid - can not be used due to the fact that a high concentration can cause a burn in the plant.
- It is not allowed to feed a plant that is weakened as a result of a past illness or attack of insect pests.
- The composition of the fertilizer used must be adjusted depending on what stage of development the flower is at.
Important! It is believed that if the orchid is underfed, it will be less dangerous than an excessive amount of fertilizer.
Properly made top dressing orchids will allow you to grow a healthy and beautifully flowering plant.
