In another article, “Growing Excellent Plants“, I explained how I grow my plants using Kelpak, K-Lite and a plant probiotic. Many think it’s all just a sales pitch, but in reality, there truly is a benefit of the “First Rays Regimen” for growing plants, and here is an independent endorsement, taken with permission from posts at the Slippertalk Forum:
Jenny St. M. is an in-home grower living in Maine. In October 2019, she acquired a Phragmipedium richterii. At the time, the plant had four growths and “6 or 8 OK roots”. She repotted it into a 6″ pot containing a blend of large bark, medium lava rock, charcoal, lots and lots of perlite and then top dressed it with tree fern fiber. The plant does not sit in water, but freely drains when she waters it almost daily. Her well water is about 70 ppm TDS and a pH of about 7.3. Every two or three days, she applies K-Lite fertilizer solution (1/4 teaspoon/gallon or about 50 ppm N) and every three or four weeks adds Kelpak to that at 1 tablespoon per gallon. Until they ceased production, Inocucor Garden Solution was applied monthly as well.
Here is a photo of the plant taken in early September 2020, less than a year after repotting, with 11 growths:
And here is a photo of the root system when the pot was cut away:
I grow my phragmipediums and paphiopedilums in Semi-Hydroponics, and see very similar root system development. Most of my other plants are grown using more traditional culture, and they, too, have excellent roots, giving me further proof that the “First Rays Regimen” is broadly applicable.
You know what they say… “Grow good roots and you grow good plants!” Kudos to Jenny for her excellent growing abilities.