How to Make Your Own Nutrient Formula for Orchids

Create a nutrient-rich orchid fertilizer with inexpensive items.

Orchids are beautiful flowers, but their beauty isn’t achieved without hard work, dedication and the right nutrient-rich fertilizer mix. In order to thrive, orchids require three key nutrients: nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium. Nitrogen is an element that promotes healthy leaf growth, while phosphorous helps maintain and promote overall growth. Potassium is crucial to the health and vitality of your orchid’s root system, leaves and stems. Create your own nutrient-rich orchid fertilizer with inexpensive, readily available ingredients.

Things You'll Need

• Apple juice bottle
• 2 cups warm water
• Medium-size plastic storage container
• 1/4 cup molasses
• 3 used teabags
• 1/2 cup bonemeal

Instructions

1. Fill a newly emptied apple juice bottle with 2 cups of warm water. Replace the cap, shake the bottle vigorously and pour the contents into a medium-size plastic storage container. The rinse loosens the remaining apple juice residue, which is rich in potassium, from the bottle's walls. Don't use straight apple juice, as the product is too acidic for the orchid.

2. Add a quarter-cup of molasses, the contents of three used tea bags and a half-cup of bonemeal, which is available at home improvement and hardware stores, to the rinse water. The molasses is also high in potassium, while the tea bags provide you with the nitrogen you need and the bonemeal covers the orchid’s phosphorous requirements.

3. Stir the ingredients together thoroughly and pour two tablespoons of the mixture into the soil of a single potted orchid. Repeat fertilizing the orchids with this amount once-a-week.

Tips & Warnings

• Cut back on the amount of fertilizer used, but continue to fertilize the orchid weekly, if a white crust begins to form on the potting soil or if the leave’s tips begin to show signs of damage. These are both signs you are overfertilizing the orchid.

• Flush out the orchid with water once a month to remove the leftover fertilizer residue from the soil.

• Rinsing the remaining product from an empty orange juice bottle is another method to provide your orchid with potassium.

References

• Mother Earth News: Easy Plant Fertilizer for Houseplants
• Fine Gardening: The Pros and Cons of Bonemeal
• Care for Your Orchids.com: Homemade Orchid Fertilizer Recipes