On Sat, 12 Jul 2003 16:27:48 -0400, "Ray"
wrote:

If you consider that the velamen is a bunch of dead cells that act like a
sponge, then it makes sense that watering first will fill the voids in the
sponge, allowing it to soak up little fertilizer solution - a wasteful
situation in my opinion.

My take is that this effect probably shows up more with mounted plants
than those that are potted. With potted plants the media holds the
the fertilizer solution until the orchid has a chance to absorb it.
With mounted plants, the fertilizer solution runs off the previously
saturated roots before they can absorb any more fluid.

deg