Epsom salts -- can anyone verify

16 years ago

Hi, all. I used epsom salts (magnesium sulfate)and iron chelate for years for greening up gardenias, jasmines and tropicals. The hard water here seemed to deprive them of something over the winter. The effect of the epsom salts and iron chelate on them was almost immediate, and leaves were not only greener, but seemed to be thicker and sturdier as well.

I have read various places that growers give phals epsom salts when spiking to help them keep all their leaves. And various people who give orchids epsom salts in the fall.

This year, I had a number of smallish phal violacea hybrids, and the new leaf on these little plants often came in really delicate and tender. I didn't like that, seemed as tho it would make them too susceptible to crown rot, so I gave them a tiny dose of epsom salts, my old reliable.

I believe that the new leaves toughened up considerably after that. Anyone out there with experience or knowledge of plant chemistry to say "yay" or "nay" to this theory about magnesium sulfate toughening fragile new leaves?

Any experiences you can share about using this would be helpful and appreciated.

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Comments (6)

t_bred
16 years ago
Mehitabel, I am not exactly sure of the process but I often use it on seedlings adapting to the outdoors. I believe a magnesium defiency can affect the uptake of iron.

Movement: Moderately mobile

Function: A component of the chlorophyll molecule and involved in enzyme activation.

Deficiency Symptoms: Interveinal chlorosis on older leaves, defoliation of the lower leaves at the advanced stage.

Corrective Procedures: Magnesium sulfate (Epsom Salts) application to the root substrate at the rate of 1 pound per 100 gallons of water will return the chlorotic tissue to the normal green color within 1 to 2 weeks. Do not mix with other fertilizers.
richardol
16 years ago
Epsom salt is used by some orchid growers. It doesn't hurt. I use it very irregularly, adding it to fertilizer maybe 3 times a year, not on any particular schedule.
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Epsom salt will work, but usually just in the short term. Epsom salt is very water soluble and will each out of the soil fairly quickly. Dolomite Lime is a good source, it is made of calcium and magnesium and is more stable for the long term. A great thing is to use compost with a high percentage of tree leaves in it. Trees have deep roots that can go down into the bedrock, depending on the tree and get many of the minerals they need that way. Dolomite Lime can usually be bought at home depot or lowes, or if not available, you can buy over the net but the shipping costs are going to be outrageous. I would use some dolomite lime now to start correcting the issue, and add compost this fall and again next spring.
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Debbie - I use DynaGro, Peters Specialty for AV - 1/8 of a teaspoon per gallon of water - all my gessies are on the wicks and mats. And the same amount of Epsom Salt every time as well. You are right - it turnes the plants green - magnesium is needed for the production of chlorophyll. We use 1/8 of a teaspoon here in CO because it is so dry and water evaporates too fast. About the amount of the Epsom salt - I heard some people use 1/4 of a teaspoon but not in every watering, but no more. It is highly soluble - so if you leach your pots from time to time - it will wash out. Good luck Irina
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Previous posts have eluded to the idea of determining first-off if you have a need for Magnesium (Mg) in the soil. If that is the case and you will need to also adjust pH (which almost all of us in the NE need) then epsom salts is less benefital and almost always the more expensive when comparing to dolomitic limestone. I would be careful to keep track of the other important soil cations, especially calcium and potassium. Just adding Mg repeatedly without the other 2 can lead to other problems.
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In regards to using Epsom Salts, which is magnesium sulfate, I can advise regarding outdoor use in the garden or field but hesitate to do so for greenhouse propigation. My containers of Miracle Grow/Peters are out at the lake but as I recall both contain a quantity of magnesium. So if you are using it to feed seedlings in the greenhouse you likely have enough. Now lets talk about the garden or field crops. Certain areas of the country are rich in mag, others are not. Typically, so called agricultural limestone contains a small percentage of magnesium carbonate along with the calcium carbonate, so if you use this, for example to adjust your soil ph, you are likely to get a good shot of mag as you apply it. I live in far western Pennsylvania, about centered north and south on the state. THERE IS A TERRIBLE SHORTAGE OF MAG IN THE SOIL HERE! So we need to suppliment during fertilization to make up for this. When I was operating my orchard I would add a pound of epsom salts to each 80 gallon spray tank of chemicals. Trees and plants readily absorb nutriants through the foliage--this is referred to as folliar feeding--so by adding it to my insect/anti fungal sprays I got double the bang for my time. (There were some other suppliments added on occasion). It does not take a lot of mag to satisfy a plants needs and once they have enough adding more is just a waste. Fortunately, epsom salts is pretty benign, i.e. does not seem to root or foliage burn, and since it is so readily soluable, rain and or watering pretty well dilutes it and washes it out of the root zone. When I spray my tomato plants to deal with the blight/et al I add Miracle Grow or Peters to the tank mix per direction and also 1 tablespoon of epsom salts, 1 tablespoon of potassium carbonate, and 1/2 teaspoon spreader sticker to each gallon of spray. Once the tomatoes are about an inch in diameter I stop the spreader sticker and just have to spray in the gaps between rains as the sticker is difficult to wash off the fruits. And it works!
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bradarmi
16 years ago
I like to flush out all my plants (orchids and anything else) with RO water. I also like to do a monthly watering with a small amount of epsom salts to green up pale-looming leaves. Mg is an important co-factor that is very useful for all living things. That's why I use several brands of fertilizer 1/4 to 1/8 of the recommended dosage in case there are any shortcommings. I like to use epsom salts in the rainy spring and fall, when constant rains can leach minerals from pots.
toyo2960
16 years ago
I spray/water my catts with epson salt solution in the fall and winter. It hardens up the leaves to take the cool weather, even here in So-Cal.
mehitabel
Original Author
16 years ago
Thanks, everyone. Just what I was hoping to hear-- that it really does toughen up leaves for winter weather and for hardening off seedlings.

Going to give every one a dose in my next watering!
bihai
16 years ago
Magnesium is a critical nutrient in plant metabolism and photosynthesis.

I am not sure about orchids specifically, but for terrestrial plants, it helps a lot, especially in palms. Most terrestrial plants get chlorosis from a deficiency of both Iron and Magnesium. The presence of Magnesium helps plants uptake Iron, so I have read. In Palms specifically, in Florida soil specifically, usually when there is a deficiency of Iron and Magnesium there is also a deficiency in Manganese, so we use a chelated trace elements supplement that bolsters all three.

I have found that my orchids, ESPECIALLY the mounted and bareroot ones (and all of my other plants, from Hoyas to Anthuriums to Ti leaves and everything in between, not just Palms) really respond well to a spritz of Chelated Palm Nutritional (that is the brand I use) about three times a year, with the added micronutrients and not just plain Magnesium Sulfate.

Epsom salts -- can anyone verify

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Epsom salts -- can anyone verify

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