To maintain the health of your orchids and ensure they bloom magnificently, it's important to mimic their natural environment and feed and water them regularly when outside temperatures rise. How often to fertilize orchids in summer? We will explain this to you in this article. We will also give you a few tips on what you can fertilize them with.
With the exception of a few winter months, between mid-October and mid-February, when orchids are fertilized less due to slower development, the fertilization schedule should remain the same for most months of the year. The orchids continue their rapid vegetative development after this period in spring and summer, at which time you should begin fertilizing to meet the needs of their growth. You should fertilize your orchids every two weeks in summer.
Silicon helps against dryness and insects
If you want healthy development of your orchids, you should add silicon to the fertilizer once a month: Add a silicon additive to your usual fertilizer to accelerate the development of your plants and make them more resistant to drying out, insect attacks and microbiological diseases. Adding a silicon additive to your regular fertilizercan your plantsregardless of the type of fertilizer used.
Silicon is a chemical that occurs naturally in soil. It has a positive effect on plants as it promotes vigorous development, measured by the thickness of the leaves and roots of the plant, improves the quantity and quality of flowers and increases photosynthesis activity in the leaves of the plant. The thickening of the cell walls caused by the silicon causes the plant to become more robust inside. Externally you can see that the leaves and pseudobulbs become denser, shinier and greener and that the flowers become more robust and last longer.
What to fertilize your plant with?
Orchids need consistent feeding to thrive. Use a balanced fertilizer, such as 20-20-20 fertilizer, that contains all the necessary trace elements. Independently of,which fertilizer you choose, you should use one that contains little or no urea. If you don't know what fertilizer to use, in most cases you can use the same fertilizer you would use for other container plants. Liquid fertilizer is best. Orchids thrive much better if they are not fertilized excessively, but in sufficient quantities. You can also spray a nutrient-rich fertilizer that has been diluted on the roots. This helps them thrive.
How often to fertilize orchids in summer? Make your own natural fertilizer
To prepare coffee grounds fertilizer you need the following ingredients:
- 250 - 300 g coffee grounds
- container with water
This is how you can make the natural fertilizer yourself:
- You should place the used coffee grounds in a container and fill it with lukewarm, clean water to ensure that the coffee grounds are completely submerged.
- Then give the mixture a full day to settle.
- Removethe coffee groundsfrom the nutrient-rich solution through a filter.
- Pour the solution into an airtight container and store the fertilizer in the refrigerator.
- Fertilize your orchids once a month with this DIY fertilizer that consists of one part coffee grounds solution and three parts water.
