Can an orchid ever bloom more?
#PhalaenopsisOrchid I actually have good luck with orchids, but what happens when all the stems are gone and it looks like it’s done blooming? The crown of the orchid is growing and looks happy, but I’m wondering if I’ll ever get more flowers
6” pot
Last watered 3 weeks ago
16
Best Answer
It can and will bloom again with the right care - with phals it’s about getting the balance of their needs right and providing an overnight temperature drop. Comments here say that they flower in the spring - that’s not necessarily true. It depends on your climate and when in the year they are able to get the overnight temperature drop. I start giving mine the temperature drop in October and depending how long they need of the cool overnight temperatures, the spike is matured and ready to open their buds in January -March. Yours has lots of slots available for new flower spikes so there is hope! When was the last time your plant bloomed? After blooming, your orchid will go into a period of vegetative growth where it makes leaves and roots - it won’t bloom during this phase. This phase is really important for the health of the plant. After a few months of this, you can try to get a new spike. It’ll need a period of overnight temperature drops of around 10 Celsius - in my climate, I find autumn and winter are the best seasons to get the temperature drop naturally. Just bear in mind that the lowest temperatures that phals will cope with are around 14 Celsius. Some phals will respond very quickly to the temperature drop, others will need it daily for a couple of months, it just depends on their genes. There are things you can do to help increase your chances of getting new spikes too - energy and nutrients. Ensure that your phal has adequate lighting all year - they like bright, filtered light (as they are prone to sunburn) - your light looks good because the newest leaves are as big or bigger than the oldest leaves (that’s a sign of good light). Good lighting all year will help them store up energy that they will later use to make a flower spike as this takes considerable energy. I’ve started using a grow lamp in the winter and it’s made a big difference, but it’s not essential. Using a good quality orchid fertiliser will also help the plant have the nutrients needed to bloom. Your top leaf on the right in the first pic (not the newest leaf, the one under it) looks a little dehydrated - a fully hydrated phal leaf should be able to bear its own weight and shouldn’t fold back on itself (not having the watering schedule spot on won’t stop all phals from blooming, but some are incredibly fussy and the fussy ones won’t bloom if their watering schedule isn’t quite right). Another thing to try could be to repot the plant if you haven’t repotted for a while. Repots can help rejuvenate the plant and phals should be repotted every 1-2 years as the media breaks down which affects root health and the overall health of the plant. If none of this helps, there’s a small chance that she might have warm blooming genes, which means that warm weather should trigger a rebloom. The phals we buy in supermarkets or garden centres tend to all be cool bloomers, but very occasionally we’ll buy one with warm blooming in their genes. Warm bloomers will still cope with a temperature drop - it just won’t coax them into blooming, so it’s safe to experiment.
I find they don't always bloom every year. Often it takes more than a year for them to recover from being forced to bloom ready for sale, then they need to acclimatise to a house environment which is totally different from the nursery environment. If they have suffered any root rot during that transition, they may need to focus on growing new roots or leaves instead of investing in blooms. Also certain conditions have to occur to trigger blooming, it's to do with a drop in temperature and light. @MotherOfOrchids knows all about phaleonopsis orchids so maybe she can add some advice 💕🌿💚
@MotherOfOrchids thank you!! I believe the last time it bloomed was last April. I also think I have natural temp drops because of where I live and the fact the orchid is next to my window. Should I maybe move it in the winter so it doesn’t dip too cold?
I’ve never repotted an orchid because I’m scared to disturb the plant, but I’ll try that. Do you recommend a specific material of pot?
I’ve never repotted an orchid because I’m scared to disturb the plant, but I’ll try that. Do you recommend a specific material of pot?
You are very welcome! Sometimes they will skip a blooming season when you first get them as they can get confused when they adjust to our homes! That can be very normal. It should have enough energy stored in the time since its last bloom to be able to produce a new spike - you should find that the flowers last a long time too as it’s been a year since the last time! The thing with the temperature drop is that it needs to be consistent (pretty much daily, though the odd missed day won’t hurt the chances) and it needs to be around 10C - especially for the fussy ones! It could be worth putting a thermometer on your window to monitor night and day temperatures to see if you’re getting that drop. Yes, definitely move the plant in the winter if the temperature on the window sill is below 14C - phals come from South Asia and Australia so haven’t adapted to deal with very cold temperatures. If they get too cold, they won’t focus on blooming and can even go dormant over winter. I just move mine onto my coffee table in the centre of the room every night until the nights are mild enough and replace them on the window sill - when I’m trying to get that temperature drop, I put them on the floor by my balcony doors, but pulled into the room slightly, maybe 50-100cm away from the door. I think a repot could really help! I would go for a clear orchid pot like the one it’s in - their roots like to be tight in the pot, so depending on your root mass, you could keep the same size pot, or go the next size up. Orchid pots should also have drainage at the bottom of the pot. I’d repot using a similar medium to what you have it in as the roots will have adapted for that media. Miss Orchid Girl has a great tutorial for repotting phals https://youtu.be/cWFyQzJbGDg (all of her videos are amazing, though just be aware that the advice she gives is for her very hot, dry environment (she lives in Cyprus I think), so it might not be suitable for your plant, but her videos are still worth watching). Your plant may have a sponge plug or plastic cage around the central roots. These cause so many problems as the orchid ages and it’s always best to remove them - they aren’t needed. After the repot, don’t be alarmed if your plant doesn’t show any signs of growth for a few weeks. Repots can be stressful and when they are stressed, they stop growing (yours might decide to stop growing the newest leaf - that can be normal too when the plant is stressed and when it springs back to life it might decide to make a new one instead). When it springs back to life, it should be rejuvenated and you should see lots of new growth, which should one day lead to a new spike!
@MotherOfOrchids once a flower spike has formed, what conditions does the orchid need in order to continue towards blooming? This spike on one of mine seems to have stayed as it is now for months 🤔. It's currently in a room at 20 degrees C and 60% relative humidity, in medium light. Any advice greatly appreciated! 💕🌿❤️
