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OK, I am new to orchids, although, I have several friends who are "expert" growers. They all recommend a product called Orchid Pro. Well, they went on and on about how it contains a form of iron that is different than regular iron, because the pores on an orchid are too small to absorb regular iron, and so, this is why OrchidPro is formulated with Iron sulfate (I think). Anyway, I looked and looked and finally found it on this website, and I am wondering if anyone out there has used it, and does it work as well as folks have told me, and is this it, at the bottom of the page? : http://www.ecofriendlyonline.com/index.html
Thanks for any help. I am beginning to see how orchids can become addictive!
I also found it on Dyna-Gro's website--not sure if it's the same product or not but if it's not you might doublecheck with your friends which one they are recommending. I suspect the Dyna-Gro product is more widely available if they're different products. http://www.dyna-gro.com/ They have a link to the MSDS for their fertilizers, and the iron in them is Iron EDTA, which is just chelated iron, any product that says it has chelated iron is going to have the same kind so if that's what is important for orchids then you probably have more options than just this one. Also from reading both websites it doesn't sound like they're saying their iron is any different or more special than other people's, so if it works especially well I suspect it's the combination of all the other micronutrients, etc that are in it and not the iron in particular.
Thanks! I asked him, and it is in fact a different product. The explanation was a bit over my head so I don't know if I got it all down right, but, my friend explained to me that apparently, a chelated iron molecule is about 60 nanometers (wide?) and an orchid's pores are about 40 nanometers, so, chelated iron molecule is too big, but the Iron sulfate molecule is only 20 namometers, so, it works very well. Apparently, chelated iron is perfect for most flowers, grass, etc. In fact, chelated Iron is what they put in their TurfPro product. Same microbes and nutrients and trace elements, but, different iron. I guess chelated iron is great for everything else, but, for orchids, you need a slightly different type of iron molecule. Can you tell he is a chemist/engineer? Anyway, I have seen his orchids, and they are beautiful and healthy, so, I will just go with his recommendation. I think you are right, however, in that it is much more than just the iron, but, rather the "complete package of microbiology and trace elements" etc... He says to make sure you are getting the right one, not the dynagro, but the one from http://www.ecofriendlyonline.com . Funny thing, it is made by TurfPro usa, and I looked on their website for it, but, they didn't have it on their site.
I use the product (OrchidPro) all the time, and I love it. I just checked the website, and it is on there, maybe you are not looking at the right one. Check your URL, it looks like they have recently updated their website, http://www.TurfProUSA.com
