How To Keep An Orchid Flowering

Y'all got a moth orchid as a vacation gift. Or equally a altogether present. Peradventure it came from your grandmother, who also informed you that the plant'south horticultural name is Phalaenopsis and that at that place are dozens of species. Simply this is not what concerns you: the trouble is the flowers take shriveled, leaving behind a bare spike and a couple of waxy dark-green leaves in a pot. You wonder, "When my orchid bloom again?"

Mary Gerritsen understands your hurting. Orchid whisperer Gerritsen coaxes hers to flower once more every yr—and shares her peak plant care tips here.

The writer of A Bay Area Guide to Orchids and their Culture has been growing orchids since the 1970s and says: "About of the indoor orchids I accept are ones someone got as gift and the flower barbarous off and so they said, 'Here,' and gave it to me."

Photography by Mimi Giboin for Gardenista.

Above: "Most Phalaenopsis are shipped here from Taiwan, flattened in a container ship, smushed in Sphagnum moss," says Gerritsen. "When they get hither, to get them to bloom they are grown in special circumstances involving low-cal and temperature." Your job: replicate those circumstances at home.

What should I do when my orchid stops blooming?

The goal is to get your moth orchid to bloom at least in one case a year, for several months. (Some of Gerritsen'south will flower for eight to x months.)

Beginning, cut off the erstwhile blossom stalk at the base of the plant. Then put your moth orchid in a room in your house that simulates the weather that will crusade it to flower again. For starters, it will need a month'south worth of  daily temperature drops of at least 10 degrees from twenty-four hour period to nighttime.

"In your house, you tend not to have large drops; the temperature tends to be set to a steady 68 degrees," says Mary. So put your orchid in a room that gets a little cold by the window—and put your orchid in the window. When the sun goes downward, the heat volition drib and the common cold volition stimulate information technology to re-blossom.

Tip: "My room has a window that faces due south, has no estrus vent, and basically has glass on ii sides and a skylight, then it gets a temperature spike during the day," Gerritsen says.

In a higher place: In the wild, many moth orchids thrive in humidity and moist climates, in filtered sunlight below a canopy of trees. Go on them out of harsh, direct sunlight.

When should I re-pot my orchid?

"Often the ones from the florist have damaged roots," says Gerritsen. "Make sure information technology's not done upwards as a throwaway, blimp in a pot with a agglomeration of pebbles, reindeer moss, and no drainage."

Tip: Re-pot, after an orchid stops blooming. Accept it gently from its pot, milk shake off the old bark, and cut off whatsoever expressionless roots with a sterile razor blade or scissors. "Don't make the fault of putting into a bigger pot, because orchids don't like that," says Gerritsen. "They like to have their roots crowded in a small space." So pot it into a same-size pot, property its leaves so the roots dangle into the pot. Add together bawl and gently mix the pieces around its roots to hold them snugly.

Gerritsen recommends a potting medium of Douglas fir bark to help drainage and air circulation. A 1-gallon bag of Douglas Fir Bawl For Orchids is $23.99 from Amazon.

Above: Once established, a moth orchid volition bloom year after yr. "I have a friend in Washington, D.C. who I accept been visiting for 25 years and she has had the aforementioned Phalaenopsis in her window all that time, and information technology blooms every year," says Gerritsen.

How much dominicus does a moth orchid need?

Orchids similar bright, indirect light. "Virtually important—no burning hot sunday," says Gerritsen. "Don't put it in direct dominicus, which tin cook it."

Tip: Northward-facing windows tend not to get enough light to satisfy an orchid ("unless the building across the street is white or a shiny material and you become a lot of reflected light," says Gerritsen).

Above: If y'all put a moth orchid in a due west-facing window, the problem is it gets sun in the hot office of the twenty-four hours. "Movement it farther back from the window or put a sheer curtain between the orchid and the window," says Gerritsen.

Should I put my orchid in a Swiss-cheese pot with the holes?

It'south not necessary to use an open-air orchid pot if your plant's roots have good air circulation in a pot. The Swiss-cheese pots endeavor to replicate orchid-growing conditions in the wild, where the plants either grow visibly on the surface of trees (epiphytes with roots attached to the bark of  tree branches) or on rocks, with their roots working their way into crevices.

Tip: Give roots lots of air by tucking them into medium-size pieces of bark.

Above: Fertilize your orchid every 2nd time you lot h2o it, with a diluted solution of fertilizer. "It the instructions say 1 teaspoon per fallow, I use half-force no matter whether it'south a full general blossom fertilizer or an orchid fertilizer," says Gerritsen.

How often should I water my orchid?

"First, you want to be careful when it's in bloom that the roots have a take a chance to dry out between waterings," says Gerritsen. "Don't let information technology sit in a bowl of h2o."

Tip: Water a Phalaenopsis once a week and allow the water run out from its roots and then they don't rot.

Above: Orchids like humidity. Where many grow, the humidity level is from 70 to 90 pct and they are in fog for much of the day. "Indoors, identify the orchid's pot on a tray of pebbles with water around the pebbles (and so the constitute itself isn't sitting in a tray of water) and the evaporation will increase humidity," says Gerritsen.

Tin can I take my orchid outdoors in nice weather?

Orchids similar the increased air apportionment and the temperature alter they get outdoors. "Put them in a place where they are not in straight sun, nether a tree so they don't go overheated," says Gerritsen. "They do very well outside. Bring them indoors for the cool months."

Tip: Outdoors, pick a protect place where wind won't accident over your orchid. If you take no shade, purchase shade material to brand a little canopy to protect your orchid from too much sunlight.

Above: A Bay Area Guide to Orchids and Their Culture is $19.95 from San Francisco Orchid Society.

For more of our favorite orchids, meet:

• 10 Things Nobody Tells You About Orchids
• The Orchid That Owned Me.
• Gardening 101: Orchids.

Finally, get more ideas on how to successfully plant, abound, and intendance for orchid with our Orchid: A Field Guide.

Finally, get more ideas on how to plant, grow, and care for various houseplants with our Houseplants: A Field Guide.

Interested in other tropical plants for your garden or indoor space? Get more than ideas on how to plant, grow, and intendance for various tropical plants with our Tropical Plants: A Field Guide.

N.B.: This post has been updated with new links and prices; it was first published November 2022.

Source: https://www.gardenista.com/posts/ask-the-expert-how-to-make-a-phalaenopsis-orchid-bloom/

Share this post