Newbie mistake with fertilized bark

[musamusa1975]

Hi
I fear I may have made a blunder in repotting two amps and an albo I bought about two months ago. I repotted right away and may have used miracle grow orchid bark. I didn’t realize till today, when I was about to repot something else, that it’s fertilized. It’s possible I didn’t use it (I don’t really see any bark chunks). If I did there’s a good chance the bag was so old that the fertilizer pellets had completely decayed. Anyways the plants look fine now. Does anyone have any idea when I’d start to see problems if any? I’d just as soon leave them be, but of course I’d repot again if there’s a chance I’d lose them

Thanks
Michael

 

[Grey Moss]

Unless the bark inside the bag was wet or it was stored in a warm place exposed to sunlight that fertilizer is unlikely to have been effected much.

 

[musamusa1975]

Unless the bark inside the bag was wet or it was stored in a warm place exposed to sunlight that fertilizer is unlikely to have been effected much.

The bag says it fertilizes for six months-but you think that means six months of normal use with water? I'm pretty sure the bag was open for awhile, though it may have been dry. Any idea if I would already be seeing damage by now if there is an issue?

 

[Grey Moss]

Yeah, that 6 months only starts after it has been mixed into soil. Time release fertilizers only activate with moisture and warmth. Even if the fertilizers began releasing it would have nowhere to go but in the bag, back into the bark chips.

It's hard to say if it'll cause an issue. Nepenthes can certainly handle fertilization up to a point and if the bark isn't a major component of the media it could be fine.

 

[musamusa1975]

Thanks. I'll keep an eye on them. If they start declining I'll have a good idea why.

 

[Gadz]

Everything that Grey Moss said. I think the signs will come on quite suddenly and you won't necessarily be able to stop their decline. You could measure the conductivity of water you run through the media or unpot just to check the media. It may be worth it to repot into something you are confident is free from fertilizer and very deliberately and sparingly add small amounts of fertilizer after the plant is stable and you have gotten a feel for how the plant responds to being fed.

 

[herenorthere]

Orchids tend to be fertilized pretty lightly by growers who know what they're doing, so even Miracle-Gro has little incentive to include a heavy dose in that bark. I'm going to guess that it tends towards the acidic side of fertilizer formulations, which also might be the most suitable for most CPs.

By the way, fertilizer accelerates the breakdown of bark and I once saw a couple bags of that stuff in a low-volume nursery and the bark seemed to have gotten damp and broken down already. I don't remember noticing any fertilizer pellets and have no idea how they add the fertilizer. I've never used it.