Will Orchids Grow Back With Standard Plant Fertilizer?

To encourage orchid growth, it is essential to fertilize your orchid weekly during growth and every other week when dormant. Orchids appreciate a balanced houseplant fertilizer or specific orchid fertilizer, which can be water-soluble or diluted to half or quarter strength. Fertilizing during the growing season is crucial, starting in early spring when new growth is noticed.

To fertilize your orchid, use a weak 20-20-20 fertilizer solution once per week, especially during peak growing periods in spring and summer. It is important to fertilize subtly every week rather than heavily once a month. Orchids don’t require regular, year-round fertilization, but occasional supplement of nutrients helps give the plant the energy it needs to create new blooms.

Liquid fertilizers for orchids should be easy to absorb by their medium. Nitrogen promotes good leaf and shoot growth, but most orchids are native to nutrient-poor environments and suffer from strong fertilizers. Water your orchids with pure water before fertilizing them, and do not fertilize every fourth watering.

Some orchid growers use high-nitrogen fertilizers like 30-10-10 to grow more leaves and then switch to a balanced one. A liquid fertilizer is mandatory when fertilizing orchid plants, and you can use a special orchid fertilizer or other organic or mineral fertilizers. Ideally, the fertilizer should contain nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, calcium, magnesium, sulfur, iron, manganese, and other essential nutrients.