Getting Orchids to Rebloom - Five Mistakes to Avoid
I love orchids, but they do not love me.
After the plants have finished blooming I can never get them to bloom again.
Despite Internet articles, magazine articles, advice from experts, and interviewing my local florist, all of my efforts failed.
But last week my efforts succeeded.
The kitchen orchid has two new stems and little bumps that will become buds.
Though I am excited about this, I do not understand why this orchid is different.
What had I done wrong before? What have I done right now? I searched the Web for more information on getting orchids to re-bloom.
"A Simple Guide to Growing Great Orchids," posted on the Al's Garden Center website, says the flowers need to be misted every day with distilled water.
When the potting medium became dry I watered my dormant orchids.
However, I never misted them or used distilled water.
Minnesota furnaces work overtime in the winter and I think the orchids became too dry.
Don't make my first mistake: Not misting the orchids.
Susan Taylor, Bella Online's Orchids Editor, offers more tips in her article, "Re-Bloom Your Phalaenopsis.
" Apparently orchids like the same light all the time.
The orchid has to be "in the exact same relationship to light as it had been before it was moved for water or spraying," she writes.
Taylor says you should put a stick pot so you know how to place the plant.
Don't make my second mistake: Turning the pots around.
Until recently, I did not know that dormant orchids need to be fertilized.
Though I bought orchid fertilizer, I only used it on blooming plants.
Several weeks ago I started to fertilize the kitchen orchid, with dramatic results.
Two new leaves appeared in record time and the plant is turgid with health.
Don't make my third mistake: Not fertilizing dormant plants.
"Reblooming that Stubborn Orchid," an article on the Martha Stewart website, says orchids need to experience a "distinctive drop in nighttime temperatures in October.
" The nighttime temperature of your house should be 10-15 degrees lower than the daytime temperature.
In the winter, I turn back the heat to 65 degrees, which is about as low as I can go when the outside temperature is below zero.
So my orchids were not experiencing a real temperature change.
Don't make my fourth mistake: Not having a cool nighttime temperature.
Finally, the Beautiful Orchids website tells how to cut back the stem.
After the last flower has dropped you should cut the spike halfway down.
I cut one spike -- the source of new buds -- completely off.
No wonder it never bloomed again.
Once the stem has been cut back you should seal the cut with melted candle wax or, of all things, powdered cinnamon.
This prevents infection.
Don't make my fifth mistake: Cutting back stems improperly.
Still, I can take some credit for my success.
I fertilized a dormant plant, exposed it to bathroom moisture, and exposed it to more light.
Orchids do not like direct sun.
Though the kitchen orchid is in front of the patio door, the screen door filters sunlight.
You can get your orchids to re-bloom.
Don't make my mistakes your mistakes! Copyright 2010 by Harriet Hodgson
After the plants have finished blooming I can never get them to bloom again.
Despite Internet articles, magazine articles, advice from experts, and interviewing my local florist, all of my efforts failed.
But last week my efforts succeeded.
The kitchen orchid has two new stems and little bumps that will become buds.
Though I am excited about this, I do not understand why this orchid is different.
What had I done wrong before? What have I done right now? I searched the Web for more information on getting orchids to re-bloom.
"A Simple Guide to Growing Great Orchids," posted on the Al's Garden Center website, says the flowers need to be misted every day with distilled water.
When the potting medium became dry I watered my dormant orchids.
However, I never misted them or used distilled water.
Minnesota furnaces work overtime in the winter and I think the orchids became too dry.
Don't make my first mistake: Not misting the orchids.
Susan Taylor, Bella Online's Orchids Editor, offers more tips in her article, "Re-Bloom Your Phalaenopsis.
" Apparently orchids like the same light all the time.
The orchid has to be "in the exact same relationship to light as it had been before it was moved for water or spraying," she writes.
Taylor says you should put a stick pot so you know how to place the plant.
Don't make my second mistake: Turning the pots around.
Until recently, I did not know that dormant orchids need to be fertilized.
Though I bought orchid fertilizer, I only used it on blooming plants.
Several weeks ago I started to fertilize the kitchen orchid, with dramatic results.
Two new leaves appeared in record time and the plant is turgid with health.
Don't make my third mistake: Not fertilizing dormant plants.
"Reblooming that Stubborn Orchid," an article on the Martha Stewart website, says orchids need to experience a "distinctive drop in nighttime temperatures in October.
" The nighttime temperature of your house should be 10-15 degrees lower than the daytime temperature.
In the winter, I turn back the heat to 65 degrees, which is about as low as I can go when the outside temperature is below zero.
So my orchids were not experiencing a real temperature change.
Don't make my fourth mistake: Not having a cool nighttime temperature.
Finally, the Beautiful Orchids website tells how to cut back the stem.
After the last flower has dropped you should cut the spike halfway down.
I cut one spike -- the source of new buds -- completely off.
No wonder it never bloomed again.
Once the stem has been cut back you should seal the cut with melted candle wax or, of all things, powdered cinnamon.
This prevents infection.
Don't make my fifth mistake: Cutting back stems improperly.
Still, I can take some credit for my success.
I fertilized a dormant plant, exposed it to bathroom moisture, and exposed it to more light.
Orchids do not like direct sun.
Though the kitchen orchid is in front of the patio door, the screen door filters sunlight.
You can get your orchids to re-bloom.
Don't make my mistakes your mistakes! Copyright 2010 by Harriet Hodgson
