Yes and no. Yes, you can mist your other plants with leftover orchid fertilizer, but don’t expect it to meet your other plants’ fertilization needs. Remember, orchids prefer weak fertilizer. This means you are probably using a 25% strength orchid fertilizer to feed your orchids. While this is perfect for your orchids, it is too diluted for other plants. Oftentimes, fertilizer burns on the leaves are a result of over-fertilization. To prevent this from happening, make sure you use a weak orchid fertilizer, meaning dilute your orchid fertilizer down to 25% strength before using it. I went over how to do this above, in the section “how to apply orchid fertilizer as a mist spray.” If you aren’t sure where to start, here are some top-rated orchid fertilizer mist sprays available online.

For more information on choosing an orchid fertilizer, read this guide on how to fertilize your orchid. That guide will walk you through the NPK ratios and the other, more common methods of fertilizing your orchid. Popular Orchid Fertilizer Mist Sprays For best results choose plants which are suited to the conditions in your home. Most plants are labelled indicating their likes and dis-likes. When misting your orchids with a fertilizer mist spray, do this in the morning, once a week. Applying the fertilizer mist in the morning will give enough time for any excess liquid to dry before nightfall. In the fall, as the orchid is preparing for the next blooming season, use an orchid fertilizer that is higher in phosphorus.

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Applying orchid fertilizer as a mist spray is also known as foliar feeding. The orchid food is typically misted onto the underside of orchid leaves for best results. The orchid leaves will then absorb the fertilizer. Lightly mist the top and undersides of the orchid leaves and roots with a fine layer of orchid fertilizer mist. Misting the undersides of orchid leaves is key, as the orchid will be able to best absorb fertilizer from here. You can use Superthrive as a mist spray (on the leaves) or as a poured solution (on the orchid roots). It can supplement your orchid’s weekly fertilization sessions. It can also be used on your other plants in addition to standard plant fertilizer.

Misting your orchids with a fertilizer solution is a fast and simple way to feed your orchids. You can do this each week when you water your orchids. However, just as misting an orchid is controversial, feeding orchids with a mist spray is also controversial due to the many risks involved. When wiping down the orchid leaves, also make sure the cloth is not overly damp. You don’t want to leave residual wet streaks or water on the leaf. Overly wet leaves can end up with fungal infections. Fertilizer Burn When you mist your orchid, whether with plain water or with a diluted fertilizer, you are coating your orchid’s leaves and roots with a fine layer of moisture. If you don’t have adequate air circulation around your orchid, this can create an environment perfect for fungal and bacterial growth. Same if you mist your orchids in a high humidity setting without adequate airflow.In addition, fertilize less frequently during the fall and winter, when orchid growth slows down. During this time, your orchid can get by with once a month fertilization or less. Some orchid species don’t need to be fertilized at all when growth slows down. In addition, orchid-specific fertilizer is, as you would guess, tailor-made for orchid use. While it will provide some nutrition for your other plants, orchid fertilizer won’t match the NPK needs of your other plants. Further dilute the prepared fertilizer with additional water to create a 25% strength fertilizer. To do this, mix one part of prepared orchid fertilizer with three parts of water. Wet orchid leaves plus poor air circulation and/or high humidity will lead to fungal issues in your orchid. Namely, your orchid can develop rot, brown spot, crown rot, and other problems. This can happen even if you don’t mist your orchids, but misting can certainly cause problems to appear much faster. Many orchid growers have used an orchid fertilizer mist spray with great success, while others haven’t noticed much of a difference. Keep in mind that it may take a few weeks of misting with an orchid fertilizer spray before you see any notable difference in your orchid’s growth and appearance.