I've had an Aeranthes ramosa for a little under a year, in which time I have never fertilized it. Several months ago I moved it from a pot to a mount for the sake of convenience, because the orchid bark would fall out whenever I watered. After getting the plant stable, it began to grow much more slowly than before, I assume because the urn it's on doesn't break down and release nitrogen. So I now have a 30-10-10 miracle fro orchid fertilizer that I've diluted to about one half two thirds strength (I was trying to make it full strength in half the recommend amount of water, but I ended up less than half filling the measuring cup).
I have two questions. First, I spray the orchid twice a day rather than watering, because it needs to be kept constantly moist. What I've been doing is alternating between fertilized and unfertilized water, so that I can wash away salt build-up. However, am I washing away the fertilizer by doing that? Alternatively, am I fertilizing too often? I know weekly is often the fertilizer suggestion, but I suspect that I spray too little of the fertilizer solution at a time for that to be effective. Second, should I further dilute the fertilizer? I've read this species should be fertilized lightly, but I don't have a good sense of what that means, or if it means how often or how much.
I have two questions. First, I spray the orchid twice a day rather than watering, because it needs to be kept constantly moist. What I've been doing is alternating between fertilized and unfertilized water, so that I can wash away salt build-up. However, am I washing away the fertilizer by doing that? Alternatively, am I fertilizing too often? I know weekly is often the fertilizer suggestion, but I suspect that I spray too little of the fertilizer solution at a time for that to be effective. Second, should I further dilute the fertilizer? I've read this species should be fertilized lightly, but I don't have a good sense of what that means, or if it means how often or how much.