If you dispose of your orchid after a single flowering period, you are depriving yourself of further furious flower festivals on the windowsill. In fact, every orchid has the potential to live for many decades. With the right care program, you can get Phalaenopsis and other popular varieties to bloom again. This is what to do when an orchid has bloomed.
How do you care for a faded orchid?
When an orchid has bloomed, you should slightly modify the location and care, do not prune the plant too quickly and possibly repot it. This increases the chance of renewed flowers and he althy growth.
Easily modify location and care – this is how it works
If an orchid has withered, it either goes into hibernation or gains fresh strength for a short period of time to bloom again. During this rest phase, you can use simple methods to make valuable preparations to motivate the exotic plant to produce fresh shoots. How to do it right:
- Maintain a bright to partially shaded and warm location during the day
- Once the orchid has bloomed, lower the nighttime temperatures by 5 degrees, but not below 16-18 degrees Celsius
- Water more sparingly and dive less often
- Do not fertilize during the dormant phase
- In parallel with the fresh shoots, the supply of nutrients starts again
The water requirement regularly drops to a low level once an orchid has withered. In contrast, the tropical flower beauty still wants high humidity of 60 percent or more. Therefore, spray the plant daily, even after it has completely bloomed.
Don't prune faded orchids too quickly
If a single flower has withered, you can pick it off without worry. After the entire inflorescence has withered, the flower stalk or the pseudobulb should under no circumstances be cut off prematurely. The same premise applies to the leaves. Only cut shoots or leaves when they are yellow, brown and dry.
As long as a part of the plant is still green, the scissors are not used. For example, the Phalaenopsis has the potential to sprout freshly from an old flower stalk and bloom again. Sometimes it even produces children that you can use for propagation.
Repotting awakens the desire for new flowers
The end of the flowering period is the best opportunity to revitalize a tired orchid by repotting it. This important measure is part of the care program at least every 2 to 3 years when the plant has finished flowering. Please use special, coarse orchid soil and a transparent culture pot. A 2 cm high drainage made of expanded clay prevents waterlogging. To make the aerial roots more supple, first dip the root network in soft, room temperature water.
Tip
The importance of water quality is often underestimated when caring for orchids. The demanding flower from the rainforest also needs water in order to thrive vitally and he althily. If an orchid is regularly watered with lime-containing tap water, it will react with growth depression or, in the worst case, die. It's better to pamper the proud flower diva with collected rain or filtered tap water.
