I love orchids and have always admired them but I always thought they required daily care. Was down at the local building supply store this past spring in the houseplant section and they were unloading a shipment of orchids (moth orchids). Started talking to the clerk who explained their care to me which seemed easier than my other house plants so I bought one. Have been amazed at how easy orchids are to care for The blooms lasted a full three months plus! Was thrilled and definitely am considering adding a few more to the end of the kitchen counter. There is a large bay window about 8' away that gives LOTS of bright light but no direct sun. Finally all the blooms dropped off and I but the stem back to just above the first node at ground level. I'm still only watering it in the sink once a month - really giving it a good soak, letting it drain and then putting it back into the pot it came in. Does anybody know what to expect next? It has 5 leaves. I think maybe another new little one coming but will it bloom again soon? Or next year? And what do I do when it starts to bloom? Do I have to wire up the stem? Just leave it alone? Should I start to fertilize at some point? Is it good to leave it where it is growing or move to a darker area then bring back to light? Any tips appreciated
Hi IslandLife, here are a few tips and things that I've learned since starting to grow orchids last year in June. Looks like you're growing Phalaenopsis orchids which are the same as I have. I bought mine on sale at Walmart after Mothers Day last year in June and I got six more this month as Mothers Day leftovers. I have 20 of them out in one of my greenhouses and here's how I take care of them. During this time of the year I water/feed them about every six days or so. I use a combination of MSU fertilizer and Reverse Osmosis water I make with a little desktop unit. I have to use RO water because the pH level of our tap water is so high. I also mist them once, sometimes twice daily with a mixture of RO water, UltraClean fertilizer (potassium nitrate) and a little bit of Epson Salts. I make this mixture up in a gallon jug of RO water and fill my sprayer as needed. In the photo you see this one sitting on top of one of my home made humidity trays. If you want to increase the humidity for yours get a saucer that you can set the plant in. Put some rocks into the saucer then set the orchid on top of them. That will allow more humidity for the plant. They keep the humidity in this greenhouse for the orchids between 50-99%. Since it's shaded the temperature varies between 75-95 degrees. It looks like you have moss on top of the bark. If I were you I'd get rid of the bark as it tends to soak up water and make the plant wetter than it should be. I use 6 1/2" clear plastic pots for all of mine along with a high grade orchid bark. As I said I've really only been growing Phals for a little over a year so any or all of my advice may be incorrect but I'm just saying what works for me.
Thanks for the insights Chris1948 - Your plant in the picture definitely looks super healthy. Mine is on the kitchen counter beside the sink so am thinking it is getting a bit higher level of humidity there than elsewhere in the house. I basically live in rainforest territory by the ocean so our air is fairly humid anyway. I've never changed the 'soil' mixture the orchid came in but never realized that bark would absorb that much more water. I haven't but will start to mist it too and hopefully that will help. Have any of your orchids started to bloom again?
I've had quite a few of the ones I got last year bloom again. They started on 26 Dec last year. Here are a few photos. The first if the one that bloomed in Dec. The rest are from this year starting in March I've since moved all my orchids to my greenhouse under a large tree where the temps vary no more that 20degrees between day and night.
Your orchids are lovely. I think I like the darker purple one best. I see that my orchid seems to be going to sprout a second leaf so it is growing. Hopefully it will grow and I'll get another branch full of flowers.
Thanks it's taken a lot of work and I've done a lot of reading an question asking. I keep hearing that Phals are one of the most difficult of orchids to grow but so far its been easy for me. I guess I'm just one of the lucky ones.
When I bought my 1 orchid the tag said "Phalenopsis" (or however it is spelled). A friend who has been growing orchids for quite some time insisted what I had was a moth orchid. I was really impressed with the amount of time the blooms lasted and how simple the care was. I'd always thought orchids required lots of care but in some ways it seems relatively easy.
Moth Orchid is just another name for Phalaenopsis orchids. They are easy to care for as long as they've got the right conditions to keep them happy.
This one reblooms about every six months, and the last of the blooms just burst forth on it yesterday. I have no real clue what I'm doing I just take it out of it's decorative pot once a week and soak it in the sink, and put it back when it's drained. Once a month I give it some orchid food. That's it.
WOW - every six months would for sure work for me! Those blooms look more than lovely. They flowers also look to be a pretty decent size too. I've only had my orchid since February (or late January). Since it lasted so long and did so well and was so lovely soon as the stores here bring in another shipment (I live on an island, albeit BIG island, but some things tends to arrive here in waves and seasonally one a year) I'm going to start adding more. Now that you've mentioned fertilizer - what are you using? I have not fertilized mine at all with anything but not you mention it I should probably grab some (again need to start looking. Might find it right away but it also could be as scarce as hens teeth).
