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How to use orchid fertiliser: mix, flush and crown

Updated: October 2026

You already have a bottle or a vial, and the plant is in bark on a UK windowsill. How to use orchid fertiliser is the sink procedure: dilute or insert, water, flush salts, keep liquid out of the crown, and look at a new vial the next morning. It is not a ranking. The ten listings are on the [orchid fertiliser comparison](/hub/fertiliser-soil-and-bark-mulch/orchid-fertiliser). Genus detail stays on [Phalaenopsis fertiliser](/hub/fertiliser-soil-and-bark-mulch/orchid-fertiliser/sub/orchid-fertiliser-phalaenopsis). Doses are the amazon.co.uk bullets or the named brand page from 19 October 2026. We did not time a vial. A qualifying purchase can earn a commission at no extra cost to you.

You already have a bottle or a vial, and the plant is in bark on a UK windowsill.

Our top picks

Westland Westland orchid plant feed concentrate, 200 ml

Best overall

Westland Westland orchid plant feed concentrate, 200 ml
9.2/10about £7.58
View offer
Doff Doff orchid drip feed, 10 × 30 ml

Alternative

Doff Doff orchid drip feed, 10 × 30 ml
9.0/10about £6.01
View offer
Growth Technology Orchid Focus Grow, 100 ml

Best value

Growth Technology Orchid Focus Grow, 100 ml
8.6/10about £3.35
View offer
On this page
  1. 1.Mix a concentrate
  2. 2.Insert a drip vial
  3. 3.Flush and the crown
  4. 4.When to stop

Mix a concentrate

Focus Grow and Bloom say 5 ml in 2 litres of rainwater or tap water. The mixing field is 1:400. Other Growth Technology pages state 5 ml per litre. Do not merge the rates. Pour through the bark, drain, and do not leave a saucer of feed. Westland's 200 ml bottle is a squeeze doser. The listing field is 1:5. The brand page states 5 ml in 1 litre, every second watering in spring and summer, every fourth in winter, and keep the mix off foliage. If the bottle disagrees, the bottle wins. Water the bark first. UK texts say a dry mix can burn roots. Squeeze over a jug, not the crown. A field of 1:0:0 is not a recipe, and Topline's 175 ml bottle has no printed rate. If you cannot read a volume of feed and a volume of water, use the orchid fertiliser buying guide before you invent 5 ml.

Insert a drip vial

Doff, the Westland droplets, Baby Bio and ZOPPER are ready to use. Moisten the mix, open the tip, invert the vial and push the tube into the bark. The boxes claim about 15 days, 4 weeks or up to 30 days. Saved texts often say the vial emptied in a day, did not drip, or blocked. If it is empty next morning, flush with plain water and do not insert a second vial that day. You still water. A vial is not a holiday waterer. UK Grow is a different job: a light weekly foliar spray, decanted into a sprayer and kept off the crown. That format choice is on orchid drip feeder versus concentrate.
Westland Westland orchid plant feed concentrate, 200 ml

Testsieger

Westland Westland orchid plant feed concentrate, 200 ml
9.2/10about £7.58
View offer

Flush and the crown

When the label is silent, the Royal Horticultural Society moth-orchid guide is the default: a specific feed, used lightly while the plant grows, plain water every fourth watering, and no water left in the crown. An empty vial the next morning means the pot is already fed. Winter is spare or none if growth has stopped. A warm sill with new roots is not a cold-rest Cymbidium.

When to stop

Stop when the plant is not growing, and pull a drip vial out of a resting pot. Stop and get help if the crown is black and wet, or roots are mush and you do not know what to cut. More feed will not repair rot. These listings are fertiliser, not pesticide. If a child or a pet swallows the liquid, use NHS 111 or a vet, and store the bottles away from food. The procedure is mix or insert, water, flush every fourth watering, keep the crown dry, and look tomorrow.

Common questions

How do you mix a concentrate from this set?
Orchid Focus Grow and Bloom say 5 ml in 2 litres on the amazon.co.uk bullets. Westland's 200 ml bottle has a squeeze top. The 5 ml in 1 litre sentence is on the brand page, and the listing records mixing field 1:5. Follow the label you hold. Water the bark first on the Westland jug, pour through, drain, and keep the mix out of the crown.
How do you insert a drip vial?
Moisten the mix, cut or open the tip, invert the vial, and push the tube into the bark. Doff says replace every 15 days. Other vials claim 4 weeks or up to 30 days. Those are box lines, not timed tests. If the vial has dumped or has not moved by morning, flush or clear the tip before another dose.
Do you still water when a vial is in the pot?
Yes. A drip feeder is not a watering system. Doff's own page says you still water as usual. Coarse bark can dry around a blocked tube. If you skip watering because a vial is in the pot, the roots can dry out while the bottle sits beside them.
How often should you give plain water?
The RHS moth-orchid guide says plain water every fourth watering so salts flush out. That is the default when the label is silent. Love Orchids talks about a lighter, roughly monthly feed. BBC Gardeners' World talks about a weekly generic feed at reduced strength. If the pack gives a season rule, follow it.
What do you do if the vial is empty the next morning?
Treat the pot as already fed. Flush with plain water, let it drain, and do not insert a second vial the same day. An overnight dump is a full dose through open bark, not a fortnight of slow feed. Next time, cut less of the tip. If dumps keep happening, switch to a measured concentrate.
Can you spray feed into the crown?
No. Keep liquid out of the crown after a drench, a drip or a foliar mist. The RHS moth-orchid guide says not to leave water in the crown. Blot with kitchen paper if a drop lands there. UK Grow's weekly spray is for leaves, not the centre of a moth orchid.
Should you feed every watering?
No. Feeding every watering with no flush lets salts build in bark. Use the printed season rule on the bottle you hold, or the RHS pattern of a light specialist feed and plain water every fourth time. Winter is spare or none unless the plant is clearly growing.

Related pages

Best orchid fertiliser

Orchid fertiliser

Orchid fertiliser buying guide for a UK windowsill

Orchid drip feeder versus concentrate on a windowsill

Phalaenopsis fertiliser on a UK kitchen windowsill

Sources

Public UK and maker sources from the research digest, used for this page in October 2026. Prices, stars and review counts are from the ten amazon.co.uk listings captured on 19 October 2026. A drip duration is a listing claim. A no-urea line is recorded only where the bullets say it. Westland's NPK is from the maker's page, not from the amazon listing. This is not a laboratory test.

  1. RHS, how to grow Phalaenopsis (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  2. RHS, fertiliser labels explained (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  3. RHS, fertilisers: types and uses (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  4. GOV.UK, manufacturing and marketing fertilisers (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  5. Fertilisers Regulations 1991, Schedule 2 (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  6. Westland orchid feed (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  7. Doff orchid drip feed (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  8. Growth Technology, Orchid Focus Grow (retrieved 19 October 2026)