Feeding the Masdies

[Brabantia]

Since many years I search on the Net what is a good regime for feeding the Masdevallia.
I read the most various opinions and often very diverging.
This last in date from a renowned producer (on its site):
"Fertilizer: as with most orchids the mantra is “weekly, weakly”. We fertilize once a week at a low rate of 100 parts per million nitrogen".
Is that a low rate ??
If the maths are correct this mean 750 to 850 ppm of total salts (in function of the percentage of Nitrogen in the fertilyser). It seems to me a little bit high .
On Wiki I read: They should be fertilized with a half-strength mixture of a balanced fertilizer once a month and a high nitrogen fertilizer can be used for single applications in the spring and fall.
How high is a full strengh ??
Here in Belgium a nursery recommend 65 ppm N from a 13_3_15 Ca Mg one time per week. I have tested ... roots burn!
So in touch with your experience can you recommend me a level of feeding and a frequency which would be completely allowable to feed Masdevallia without the risk of burning roots or seeing appearing black stains on leaves. Thank you in advance.

 

[Chicago Chad]

experiences will vary depending on overall culture. From my experience growing Masdies and the like that 100 PPM N is way too much. Often deadly, but not always. I would suggest using under 50 PPM N at all times. I tend to go even lower. I have seldom, if ever had a problem with fertilizer being the reason that these plants aren't blooming, assuming you are feeding for that reason.

I only use distilled water as well. I have found that K like, MSU clean water formula, and other hydroponic organic ferts all work well in the right proportions.

I do not venture into all the technical measurements so to speak. I typically use a 1/4 tsp of pulverized fertilizer during warmer months and less than that during the winter. I also fertilize at almost every watering, with some breaks in winter.

 

[Erythrone]

For plants in bark mix, I used to feed at 25 to 60 ppm N every watering and they grew very well.

But since I grow most of my Masdies in sphagnum moss, the few plants in bark are now fed with weaker solution. I fertilize with every watering all the masdies, in bark of sphagnum, at 5 to 10 ppm N.

 

[Rick]

I only have one Masdie, but a handful of other Pluerothalids (like Restrepia and Scaphosepalum).

I spray with about 1-5ppm N daily using a K lite base with a tiny addition of Mg and PO4.

This is the best growth I've seen with these plants, some of which I've had for about 10 years (and getting fed maybe 1X a month) with 50ppm N from standard MSU.

 

[Paph_LdyMacBeth]

Feeding masdies! This is crazy talk


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[Ruth]

I had some trouble with what I think was over fertilization of my masdies last summer. I lost a couple and few more of them had what looked like to me burned leaves. I am concerned that I am over fertilizing still. I am curious about your ppm's. I use RO water and when I test it before adding any fertilizer it is usually around 4 to 6 ppm. When I add fertilizer it usually goes to around 75 to 100. Should I even add any fertilizer(I am using K-lite mostly)?

 

[cnycharles]

I'd just toss a few crystals of fert into the water and measure/see what that brings it up to. Most probably get fed by moss on trees so are getting very little (and never drying out). If you dry them out then the salt concentrates on the plant


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[Brabantia]

I had some trouble with what I think was over fertilization of my masdies last summer. I lost a couple and few more of them had what looked like to me burned leaves. I am concerned that I am over fertilizing still. I am curious about your ppm's. I use RO water and when I test it before adding any fertilizer it is usually around 4 to 6 ppm. When I add fertilizer it usually goes to around 75 to 100. Should I even add any fertilizer(I am using K-lite mostly)?

You must stop giving some fertilyser when it is warm and when it is not enough light. Is of June to the end of August and in December and January here in Belgium. This is what I do.

 

[Brabantia]

I only have one Masdie, but a handful of other Pluerothalids (like Restrepia and Scaphosepalum).

I spray with about 1-5ppm N daily using a K lite base with a tiny addition of Mg and PO4.

This is the best growth I've seen with these plants, some of which I've had for about 10 years (and getting fed maybe 1X a month) with 50ppm N from standard MSU.

Thank you for your intervention Rick. To feed Masdevallia I am a little wary about fertilysers with a lot of Calcium because I pointed out that the young shoot had difficulties to go out of their shields. I allocate this to a lake of suppleness of these. In effect Calcium hardened the walls of the shield.
This is good to protect the leaves from fungus or insect bites but can cause problems when the new leave is swelling.
Nowadays I use a 3_1_2 fertilyser with a reduced quantity of Calcium and Magnesium (versus KLite), 1/6 of Nitrogen is in the ammonium form. I feed At 30 ppm N one time per week. For all my orchids I use rain water ... we have enough here in Belgium.

 

[Stone]

I'm having very good results by using say 5 or 6 pellets of osmocote on top of the mix in a 4 inch pot along with a cheap standard complete liquid feed and 1/4 strength every second or third watering (which is everyday at the moment) I have only 5 species but they can take pleny of feed as long as they remain moist to wet. They have also had blood and bone sprinkled on them and kelp often too!

 

[Rick]

Thank you for your intervention Rick. To feed Masdevallia I am a little wary about fertilysers with a lot of Calcium because I pointed out that the young shoot had difficulties to go out of their shields..

As you can imagine, insitu leaf tissue data on Masdevalia is rare, but I do have 1 data point sent to me from Alfredo Manrique on the Peruvian species Msd. reginae
N = 16.8
P = 1.3
K = 5.7
Ca = 11.7
Mg = 1.8

All mg/g

Can Ca be overdone? certainly. But no more so than for any other species.

Pretty close to the average of Panamanian epiphytic orchids in Zotz article we looked at 2 years ago.

 

[Eric Muehlbauer]

I've always given masdies the same fertilizer regimen I give my paphs (not counting strap-leafed). I just lay off the fertilizer completely during the hottest summer weather.