Houseplants, plant guide
Can you use houseplant food on orchids?
What a moth orchid needs from a feed, how often to give it, and an honest answer on where a general houseplant food fits.
- Best feedOne made for orchids
- RhythmPlain water every 4th time
- WinterSparingly, if at all
Little and often, never lots
A moth orchid (Phalaenopsis) does not grow in ordinary potting compost. It grows in a chunky, bark-based orchid compost, and the RHS is firm that multipurpose or loam-based compost will kill it. It is watered lightly, about once a week while it is growing, and never left sitting in water.
That changes how you feed it. The RHS warns that overfeeding can be damaging, and that feeding every time you water can build up harmful salts around the roots. So the aim with an orchid is a light, regular feed in the growing season, with a rest from feed built in.
Which orchid have you got?
This guide is about the moth orchid, the one with broad, flat leaves and long arching flower spikes that most UK shops and supermarkets sell. Other orchids can have different needs, so check the label it came with.
Feed, feed, feed, then plain water
One simple way to follow the RHS advice while the orchid is growing. Gardeners' World suggests feeding every other week instead; either way keeps it light.
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Watering 1
Water with feed
Made up exactly as the orchid feed's label says. Tepid water, ideally rainwater.
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Watering 2
Water with feed
About a week later, again lightly. Let it drain and tip out the saucer.
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Watering 3
Water with feed
If the bark still feels damp, wait a day or two. Roots that sit wet can rot.
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Watering 4
Plain water only
Leave the feed out. The RHS suggests this every fourth watering, to stop salts building up.
How the feeding changes with the seasons
For a moth orchid in a heated UK home, following the RHS. Watch the plant as well as the calendar.
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Spring
Feed
Start the rhythm
As growth picks up with the longer days, begin feeding lightly and regularly.
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Summer
Feed
Keep it light and regular
Keep up the rhythm. Keep it out of direct summer sun, and mist the leaves in hot weather, not the flowers.
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Autumn
Ease off
Slow down
Feed less as growth slows. A healthy plant that has not flowered for a while can be moved somewhere about 5°C cooler for a month.
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Winter
Little or none
Feed sparingly, if at all
Water a little less often and keep it above 16°C, away from radiators, draughts and cold glass.
Orchid feed or houseplant feed?
What to look for on the label before you feed an orchid.
| What is being compared | Orchid feedmade for orchids | General houseplant feedmade for most houseplants | Tendour houseplant food |
|---|---|---|---|
| Made for | Orchids. | A broad range of houseplants. | The houseplants on your sills, shelves and side tables. |
| Orchid directions on the label | Yes. | Check the label. If it gives none, it was not written with orchids in mind. | No. |
| Best if | Your orchid is the plant you most want to look after. | It names orchids and gives an orchid amount. | You are feeding the other houseplants around it. |
The RHS recommends a specific orchid fertiliser for moth orchids. We make a houseplant food, not an orchid feed, so we have put the orchid feed first.
A customer asked us. Here is our straight answer.
Tend is our liquid houseplant food, made on our family farm at Linstock in Cumbria. The direction on the bottle, a splash around the base and watered in, is written for houseplants growing in compost. It is not written for an orchid growing in bark, and the label gives no orchid amount.
We will not give you an orchid dose we have not checked. So if your orchid is the plant you care most about, use a feed made for orchids. If it sits on a windowsill with other houseplants, Tend is for those.
What the roots and leaves are telling you
Look at the roots through the clear pot first. Most orchid problems are about water, light or warmth, not feed.
| What you see | What it usually means | What to try |
|---|---|---|
| Grey, shrivelled roots | Too dry. | Water a little more regularly and mist the roots, without leaving the pot sitting in water. |
| Soft, brown or mushy roots | Too wet. Roots that stay wet can rot. | Let the bark dry a little between waterings, tip out the saucer, and repot into fresh orchid compost if it is breaking down. |
| White crust on the bark or the pot | Salts building up, from feed or hard water. | Keep to plain water every fourth watering, and use rainwater if you can. |
| Healthy plant, but no new flowers | Usually not hunger. It may need a cooler spell to start a new spike. | Move it somewhere about 5°C cooler for a month. More feed will not do this for it. |
Tend: Houseplant Food
Tend is our houseplant food, for the other plants on your sills, shelves and side tables. It is not an orchid feed.
- How to useA splash around the base of the plant, then water it in. That is the direction on the back of the bottle.
- Size250ml bottle with a pump
- Also good to know100% natural, peat-free and made without synthetic chemicals.
Questions people ask
Can I use Tend on my orchid?
Tend is made for houseplants in general, and its label has no orchid directions, so we do not give an orchid dose for it. For a moth orchid, the RHS recommends a feed made for orchids.
How often should I feed an orchid?
Lightly but regularly while it is growing, following the feed's label, with plain water every fourth watering. That is the RHS advice. Gardeners' World suggests every other week. Both agree: less in winter.
Should I feed my orchid in winter?
Sparingly, if at all, says the RHS. Some growers abroad feed weakly all year round, but in a UK home in winter the plant grows slowly and has little use for it.
Should I feed it while it is flowering?
The sources we follow do not split feeding by flowering. They talk about the growing season and winter. Keep to the light, regular rhythm while it is growing, and ease off in winter.
My orchid has stopped flowering. Will feeding help?
Not on its own. The RHS suggests moving a healthy plant somewhere about 5°C cooler for a month to encourage a new flower spike. After flowering, cut the old spike back to just above the second joint.
Can I use tap water?
Rainwater is best. The RHS suggests tepid rainwater, or water that has been boiled and left to cool to room temperature, as orchids do not like the chlorine in fresh tap water.
