Wednesday 14 January 2015

Orchid feed

This was a dull old plant for so long. Then I bought the spray. Now it's thrown up new stems and is promising to be a riot of flower!

The plant food is in a small bottle and I'm a bit sniffy about the name - 'Orchidmyst'! I can just imagine some bright spark in a design studio coming up with it. Mist, mystery blah blah blah....
But let's not be churlish, it works!
I never use tap water on my orchids but scoop some rainwater from one of the outdoor butts which I heat to blood temperature before applying. I do this only rarely, most of the time I leave the plants dry. So far so good!

17 comments:

  1. Thanks for the info about Orchids. I received my first one as a gift at Christmas. The label on my plant shows to stand in water for 10 mins every 7-10 days, Your advice is contrary to this ! Now I'm confused.

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    1. I'm no expert, Barbara, and have unfortunately discarded my labels but recall being told that they must never stand in water and shouldn't be fed tap water. In the wild they take their nutrients from a host. I just run a bit of tepid water through them once in a while and let it drain off.

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  2. Orchid Myst, it sounds like magic. I wonder if we can buy that in our country, but I will look for it.

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    1. The ingredients are certainly a bit of a mystery apart from the stated humid and fulvic acids. Perhaps try their website for a list of suppliers.
      www.focus-on-plants.com

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  3. Good to know bc they are such delicate creatures. My friend uses evisn filled ice cubes

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    1. Ice cubes? That's new to me! I wonder how that works.

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  4. Thank You for the information. I will send it on to a friend.
    I grew mine in a side yard. The more I left them alone the better they bloomed. But... I lived by the ocean and they must have loved were they were ?

    cheers, parsnip

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    1. My plants would perish in a moment if planted them outside. Don't you just love a plant that flourishes on neglect!

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  5. Well, no wonder your plants love you so much. No myst-ery there. You are such a thoughtful plant parent.

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    1. I'm an inconsistant gardener, as my plants would tell you if they could speak. (But have been known to kill with kindness!)

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  6. Mine probably needs this mist. No sign of sprouts yet this year. Last year, it had a great show.

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    1. Having a well-earned rest by the sound of it. A bit of mysterious misting might be just the thing to make it think of flowering!

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  7. Beautiful! So good to hear about the mist. I've had pretty good luck keeping my orchid in an east window and once a week placing an ice cube in the plant. I like the idea of warming the water.

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    1. Do tell me, Bonnie, what is the benefit of an ice cube? This is what Coulda also mentioned.

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  8. Thanks for the information about looking after an orchid. Mine lost the flowers some time ago and I've cut down the stem and left it to its own devices, although I do have some orchid feed somewhere stored away. It was a gift and I live in hope that it will revive and bloom again!

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  9. Dig out your orchid feed, Linda, and stay hopeful!

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  10. I have treated my orchids badly compared with you! I shall have to follow your tips! Sarah x

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