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Orchid Fertilization PDF
Orchid Fertilization PDF
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All Photography: Stephen R. Bachelor Salt deposits from a hard
water supply form on a Cattleya leaf.
CONCLUSIONS
Providing orchids with sufficient nutrients to grow and flower is
by no means an up-hill battle. Nutrients are available from
sources other than fertilizers, particularly existing water supplies
and organic media. Competing for nutrients, nevertheless, are
fungi present in the media. Their needs, as well as an orchid's,
can easily be met with the frequent but light application of water-
soluble fertilizers containing the elements most in demand —
nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium — in a ratio suitable for the
media involved. Conditions within the potting media strongly
influence an orchid's ability to absorb available nutrients and
water. The substrate as a factor in orchid health will be further
considered in the next article of this series. — 84 Sherman Street,
Cambridge, Massachusetts 02740.
R EFERENCES
Brady, Nyle C. 1974. The Nature and Properties of Soils. Eighth
Edition. Macmillan Publishing Company, Inc., New York.
Davidson, O. Wesley. 1961. Principles of Orchid Nutrition. Am.
Orchid Soc. Bull. 30(4): 277-285.
Davidson, O. Wesley. 1978. Orchid Ailments Not Caused by Insects
or Diseases. Handbook on Orchid Pests and Diseases. Revised
Edition. American Orchid Society, Inc., Cambridge, Massachusetts.
McLellan, Rod I. 1961. Necessity of Feeding Orchids Grown in
Bark. Am. Orchid Soc. Bull. 30(4): 274-276.
Meyer, Bernard S., Anderson, Donald B., Bohning, Richard H. and
Douglas G. Fratianne. 1973. Introduction to Plant Physiology.
Second Edition. D. Van Nostrand Company, New York.
Poole, Hugh A. and T.J. Sheehan. 1973. Leaf-tip Die-back of
Cattleya — What's the Real Cause? Am. Orchid Soc. Bull. 42(3):
227-230.
Wilcock, Donald. 1973. Fertilizing and Allied Factors. Am. Orchid
Soc. Bull. 42(6): 909-917.