Magnesium Deficiency in Orchids: Signs, Symptoms, & Secrets

[@TammyWorley-p8x]

Thank you for this helpful information! Very good to know since I am having some trouble w my orchids in this area👍👌You're funny too and I always get a chuckle when I watch your videos!😁😊

[@ninagrigorov7097]

Thank you for this wonderful video!

[@josejkoonthanam]

Good video with new information.I used to spray Epsom salt.Soaking orchids in Epsom salt is a new idea. I will make a try.It will also help to lessen my watering schedule. I keep my orchids in hanging mode outside in a thatched transparent shed.Congrats.

[@Orchideria]

Hi Jose, Thanks for watching the video and leaving a comment. I appreciate it. 🙏

[@AlokeshBagchi]

Fantastic Video.. Thank you so much.Regards from India.

[@Orchideria]

Thank you, Alokesh. I have never been to India, but it seems like a wonderful place with all the different spices and food. I think we are getting more Indian novels and movies, but that's as far as my information goes about India. I suspect India has many of the same varieties of orchids as Brazil does.

[@mariofaggiano8247]

Wow dear Amanda, i love your detailed information i noticed that one of my pholanopsis has floppy leafs I think it could be Magnisium deficiency since I use egg shells as calcium am not worried I use a blender to create a powder calcium to add to my orchids the only thing I am not 100% is how much egg shell powered to I use or add to the orchids. Your help is much appreciated from Melbourne Australia. Have a great day. Oh dam I forgot to mention your such a Georges lady are you married. Joking. But I am very honest with people if you have it i say it. Good luck.

[@Orchideria]

Hi Mario, Hehehee... Uhm, well... About the eggshells, I would honestly try something different like CalMag or another product. I've been reading more about that recently and am changing my mind about the eggshells. I am reaching the conclusion they may not be as beneficial as I had thought initially. Thanks for watching and leaving a comment. I appreciate it.

[@susancampbell2112]

Great information! Epsom salt soak, followed with rain water, RO water or distilled water thorough flush will dissolve excess mineral build up and flush it away. First video I've watched from your collection! Subscribed and going to watch all of them! Thanks!

[@Orchideria]

Hi Susan, Thank you for subscribing and for watching the video. I appreciate it!

[@z9622-x8h]

Thanks!!

[@luisabellon5869]

Thank you. Great video. Shows detailed problem identification AND solution. Best.

[@Orchideria]

Hi Luis, Thank you for watching.

[@benoitpaquette2866]

Thank you so much for your science! Tell me, how would you go for a very beginning of Mg+ déficiency on a weak blooming phal. bought last weak. Epsom salt first and then black tea, or tea first and then epsom, or the two together? I started with tea soaking during day time, dry the night over. What's next. Tell me because I thrust you and your videos. Thank you in advance!!

[@bettapalfish9057]

Thanks for the video. I never saw magnesium deficiency in an orchid before not even with supermarket orchids. How long does it take to get the deficiency? Have a Happy Easter 🐣

[@Orchideria]

Hi Bettapal, That is an excellent question, and I really don't know the exact answer. I know with Calcium Deficiency the very first signs are within 40-45 days. I'm assuming the same is with Magnesium, but I'll get back to you on that. If it were Calcium, to reach the state of the orchid in the video, it would have to be deprived more than 6 months, closer to a year. This orchid showed visible signs when I bought it, but I was too drawn in by the promotional price to really look at it before I bought it. Oh, and thanks for the Happy Easter! May your Easter be blessed as well. 🙏

[@mzny4314]

Thanks for the great and informational video. I have three grocery store rescue orchids that need an epsom salt soak. I made it a little weaker for the first soak, next week might be a tablespoon instead of half. Crossing my fingers! Thanks again 👍

[@Orchideria]

Hi Mzn, Absolutely! You can always increase the dose. Thanks for watching.

[@josephrapp7211]

Thank you for info.I suspect calcium problem as lower leaves on Vanda Pach. are yellowing BUT the yellowing begins right down the middle. and spreads from there. Do you think it is magnes.? will adding epsom salts help? I ferti them already with NPK....maybe too much? ...1x/week is what I do in this summer weather. The other vanda is not yellowing,,,,they receive identical care-very bright light,daily watering,good air circulation with fan. The one with problem is much smaller with less roots which look healthy. Well......that's enough. Thank you for help!!!!!

[@anandaplasticsurgey]

Thanks for the excellent video on magnesium deficiency. Was having my orchid leaves turning yellow and dropping off. Was not sure why. Now have got the answer. Thanks again.

[@Orchideria]

Hi Ananda Dorai, Thank you for watching. I appreciate it. It's always a relief to know what's happening to the orchid. You mentioned yellowing and dropping off... If the yellowing is only the bottom leaf, then it's normal. Phals usually drop 2 leaves a year, which will be the oldest leaves. Is the yellowing all over the orchid or o ly on the oldest leaves? I'm glad the video helped. :)

[@anandaplasticsurgey]

@@Orchideria Hi Amanda, The yellowing was at the bottom leaves but they started falling off , about 3-4 leaves. It’s then when I panicked 😱, was desperate for some answers. Most people said it was over watering and so on. But I noticed the flower spikes have a Keiki on each of them. There are also new leaves coming. So am quite happy for them. I could send you a picture of my orchid, if you wish to see them.

[@iant.gilchrist4264]

Thanks again for a great video with lots of information.

[@Orchideria]

Hi Ian, Thank you for leaving a comment. I apprecaite it.

[@tara_27244]

to prevent magnesium deficiency, would you say that MSU feed has sufficient levels of magnesium? Trying to decide if I should use cal mag separately as I don’t want to overdo it as MSU contains these already. Or perhaps I’ll get it to keep on hand to use an occasional treatment if I see any mag deficiencies develop.

[@Orchideria]

Hi Tara, The MSU does have enough Magnesium but I add CalMag too since I always see a growth development when the orchids get it. So you won't get magnesium deficiency with MSU, but it might be good to supplement it every once in a while.

[@tara_27244]

@@Orchideria good to note. May aid in getting them to rebloom the following season ;).

[@aida087]

Hi Amanda. Is it possible to mix tea water, Epsom salts and eggshell water together to fertilize my Orchids in water culture or should I use them separately, I want to do it right and not overdo it.

[@Orchideria]

I would do them separately. If your orchids reacts badly, you'll know which one is was.

[@aida087]

@@Orchideria Aah great idea, thank you so much for your input Amanda.🥰🙏🏼🙏🏼

[@conniehalvorsen5652]

This helps to know . I give Magnesium weak weekly to all my orchids . My Magnesium is hydroponic then the salt does not not build up so much and water clear once a month.

[@Orchideria]

Hi Connie, Thank you for commenting! I appreciate it.

[@christinenorton2510]

That explains a lot. Thanks for the help.

[@Orchideria]

Hi Christine, Thanks for the comment.

[@Jaenara_24]

Started by watching the fertiliser video and now addicted with most of ur videos. Let's say I do encounter this problem. During the process of recovery. What type of environment I should place the orchid. Since the Phalaenopsis leaf are thin and patch with yellow ( even already full yellow but still attached ). #they grown under artificial full spectrum light, quite strong, btw it's my summer bloomer actually facing the probs now, just notice that I'm lacking with mag. Thanks for this vid !

[@Orchideria]

Hi Jimmy, Thank you for commenting! I appreciate it. The best environment is one that the orchid will bloom naturally under all the conditions that it has had in the wild. So keep the humidity higher. There isn't really a different treatment that you would do in term of recuperating the orchid compared to one that is healthy just because of magnesium. the orchid should bounce back in a month. Just keep applying the magnesium, Epsom Salt and sometimes a bit of dolmite lime helps too.

[@Jaenara_24]

@@Orchideria Thanks for the advice

[@MK-yu3tc]

Good informative video. Can magnesium deficiency result in less flowering? Two of Dendrobiums have had excellent vegetative growth, how ever when leaves are held against light sourse i can see patches, a symptom of magnesium deficiency. Wondering if this is the cause of less flowering

[@Orchideria]

Hi MK, I can't say for sure that Magnesium deficiency is the cause of less flowering. I'll look into it and get back to you. What I can say is that for Dendrobiums, less flowering is most likely caused by too many hours of shade. Does your orchid produce tons of roots? If it does, then you need upgrade the light. A Dendrobium in shade will not produce flowers, but thousands of roots. I'll get back to you with more info later.

[@MK-yu3tc]

@@Orchideria Thanks Amanda

[@petrichor7121]

My phal has yellowing on the newer leaves with a couple of what looks like little nodules.. before that it started to get purple. Could you tell me what could be wrong?

[@Orchideria]

Hi Petri, With the yellowing of the newer leaves, it's a mobile nutirent deficiency, so the problem will be either nitrogen or nitrate, phosphorous, potassium, magnesium, zinc, and molybdene. Usually it's solved by upgrading the fertilizer, since most of these are found in good quality fertilizers. The purple could be lack of potassium, but its hard to tell. I made a video about purple leaves, and maybe there could be a place to start if it isn't nutirent related. I can't tell you for sure exactly what nutrient it is without seeing the orchid.

[@petrichor7121]

@@Orchideria Thank you so much! I kinda suspected that it was the fertilizer since the one I use is pretty generic and the feedings have been few and far between. It's potted in coal, by the way. I was so afraid to do anything wrong and damage or, worse case, kill the plant.. Thanks again! 😊

[@elbeem20001]

Thanks a lot for this ...

[@Orchideria]

Hi Lyn! I'm glad it was useful. :)

[@mariofaggiano8247]

I use lava rocks mixed with river pebles, i find that to works so much better than bark or spagnamoss which I don't like because it holds so much water, where with lava rocks they still absorb water and hold water longer. So watering is not a problem, well at this point I am still at the beginning of building my green house so having my orchids inside in the back room which was a veranda more then 50 years ago than someone closed it up with corrugated tin roof but they never added any insulation so early hours of the morning it gets very frosty I check the temperature and it gets down to around 12° and 15° when I get up at about 5am I put my oil heater on to warm up the back room, i also cover them so it's not so harsh on the orchids with the cold weather, i hope am doing the right thing. I am using glass jars as pots we have these large steel windows but we have security shutters which helps to keep the room warmer and cooler in summer, my wife is not a green thumb so it's up to me to do it all , she does try to help when I am not home for a few weeks.

[@Orchideria]

Hi Mario, Sounds like a beautiful project! I was wondering during how that was going. I think for the Phals it might be a little bit on the cool side, but they won't die. Usually Phals can do well above 13 degrees at night. If you have warm growing orchids, that might be a problem.

[@mariofaggiano8247]

Hi Amanda thank you for your reply, i cover my phals every night till i finish my green house unfortunately its taking longer than i expected to take due to rain, its when i have good weather i need to do other things when its bad weather i end up with all the time in the world. Not sure this world turn but its driving me crazy anyway ive got some soft sheets of polystyrene i got f rrom our local tool shop and i cover them with that than i had old sheet i cut up and using it as a cover so double covers on my phals. When i use the bathroom during the night i always check the tempreture and it stays around the 15° by 4am my oil heater kicks in and warms up the back room. As for the egg shells poweder how much should i give my phals i heard from other orchid growers that calcium is never enough give calcium its not going to hurt the orchids, i always find asking lots of people i get a better understanding if its good or bad regardless on what t hge question is also how may times a week i should give calcium and magnisium i use Epsom salt but again how much Epsom salts should i use over a 12 month piriod. Thank you in advance.

[@josephrapp7211]

joseph Rapp.I forgot to say, I do use Cal-Mag too. re the post below. Ph is adjusted below6 and TDS is usually 370.

[@Orchideria]

HI Joseph, thank you for watching my video. It's hard to tell and pinpoint one specific nutirent that causes deficiency and the yellowing doen the middle. It shouldn't be calcium, since you are using the Cal Mag and your other fertilizer nutirents are all good. My guess is that it may be a little too much. Are the tips brown too? Or is the yellowing just down the middle?

[@josephrapp7211]

@@Orchideria Thank you for responding. Yellow is right down the middle.....I truly appreciate ur taking time to answer. Joseph

[@atanuphukon228]

Thank you.

[@Orchideria]

Hi Atanu, Thank you for leaving a comment. I appreciate it.