Fertiliser

[Gary S]

Hi again.

As per my previous post on potting mix, I am equally interested in what people use for fertiliser on their Cyms and in what dose and how often do they apply it.

I lean towards organically based fertilisers and I use cow manure tea, seaweed extract, fish emulsions and liquid blood and bone at different times at least once a week and I also use maybe once a month the Peters Excel Hi K at the recommended rate - it is very expensive here though as it is fully imported.

Most interested in what other growers use.

Kind Regards

Gary..

[Rodrigo]

My Cyms grow like crazy with this:

"Keep K higher than N and they will grow"
MrCym mentioned this on the old forum, and it works
Regards,

[MrCym]

Well they will certainly bloom well under that fertilizing regime.

We also use an organic topdress in Spring, mainly for the trace elements, particularly iron. Dutch growers would laugh at this.

Twenty years ago many Japanese Cym growers used organics and grew very well but you have to be a bit clued up to succeed as the applications have to be made some weeks in advance of the fertilizer need because the availability from organic sources is slower.

[Rodrigo]

We also use an organic topdress in Spring, mainly for the trace elements, particularly iron.

Can you tell us what this "organic topdress" is?

And, why is iron so important?
I once had a gardener friend give me a bottle of "Chelated Iron". I have never used it still.....

Thanks,

[MrCym]

It has dried blood and other biologicals. You need to add either a little chelated iron to your liquid feed or what we do, to make sure your plants are not held back by an iron deficiency. Remember a little goes a long way but iron is an essential trace element.

[Gary S]

I agree Andy, and that is another reason why we treat the bark with the mix I mentioned in my other post as it has Iron Sulphate as one of the ingredients and once treated it stays in the bark for more than a year or so.

Gary..

[Nigel]

Dutch growers would laugh at this.

Why?

[SARC]

Peters fertilizers are good if your mixing small amounts, but with pen, paper and a calculator you can make up your own out of the raw ingredients for about one third the cost. This works when your running larger amounts through a fertigation system. I know you asked about Cyms, but for my Onks my general rule is to keep the N:K ratio around 1:1 and match the rest into what the plant requires. Otherwise leaf test to see what your missing, although this is an expensive way for small growers but it does give you a really good feel on your imputs. One lesson I learnt about Iron, don't foliar feed it in the morning, do it in the afternoon and irrigate the next day to save on leaf burn! Surprisingly that was even with a low ppm spray.

[Gary S]

Yes have learnt that lesson with iron, that is why I go the route and soak the bark in the formula listed elsewhere that has iron sulphate in it.

This formula was devised years ago by a very good orchid grower , who no longer grows orchids, but when he did his collection was extremely well grown, not a mark on the foliage anywhere and the growth was phenomenal on all the species he grew.

I find the occasional monthly feed with Peters and weekly organic based fertiliser is working well for me with the species I grow.

Cheers

Gary..