If you’ve got an orchid you’ll no doubt have experienced the frustration of it refusing to bloom. There’s nothing worse than knowing it’s got a beautiful flower just waiting to emerge and then it does… nothing.
But there are things you can do to help convince it to bloom. I’ve spent years working on coaxing orchids into flowering on a regular basis.
So I’m going to take you through some strategies that will have your orchids blooming all year long. When you understand what your orchid needs and can create a space that it loves you will hardly be able to stop it blooming.
Quick Answer
- Give Bright, Indirect Light (Most Common): Orchids need a steady amount of light to keep blooming. Put them near to an east or south facing window that gets a good amount of light.
- Balance Temperature and Humidity: Keep it warm during the day and slightly cooler at night. The humidity should stay between 40 to 60%.
- Feed Regularly: Use an orchid fertilizer every 2 to 3 weeks as it grows and once a month in the winter.
Need more help? See these 7 Mistakes You’re Making with Your Orchids (And How to Fix Them).
Video: Growing Tips to Get Orchid Blooming All Year Round
Understanding Your Orchid’s Life Cycle
Something had a lot of people aren’t aware of is that orchids have a natural blooming cycle. Most orchids bloom once or twice a year and in between they will stay dormant.
So what you need to be doing to get them to bloom all year round is managing this cycle. You do that though knowing the right care, controlling their conditions and some good timing.
Dormancy
Once your orchid has bloomed it will enter a phase of dormancy. This can last from a few weeks to months.
During this dormancy phase your orchid will be resting and getting ready for the next flowering cycle. A mistake an awful lot of people make is they neglect their orchid whilst it’s resting when in fact it’s much more important to be properly caring for at this time.
Stimulating Growth After Dormancy
To get your orchid blooming again you need to change its environment, which in turn will help trigger new growth.
Temperature Control: Orchids often need a significant temperature drop at night to help them start blooming. It’s pretty easy to do as well. Just put your orchid on a cooler room or by a window where the temperature drops at night.
Pruning:
Once the flowers have fallen you will want to cut back the stem to the first node. If the stem is brown,cut it off entirely. This will get your orchid to focus its energy on new growth.
Light: Orchids need bright, indirect light to grow healthily. So put yours near an east facing window or somewhere with filtered light. If you out it in direct sunlight you run the risk of burning it’s leaves.
The Right Environment for Year Round Blooming
Getting the environment right for your orchid to rebloom in comes down to making sure it has good light, a temperature that matches its variety, the humidity it likes and watering it properly. None of which are particularly difficult.
Light Requirements
Light is arguably the most important part if getting your orchid to rebloom on a consistent basis.
Orchids need about 12 to 14 hours of light every day. If you can’t give them this through natural light then use a grow light.
The leaves should be a bright, light green color. If they’re dark green that’s a sign that your orchid isn’t getting enough light. So something to watch out for.
Tip: Rotate your orchid every weekly so it gets even light exposure.
Temperature Control
Different orchids have different temperature needs, but in general:
Phalaenopsis: 70 to 85°F (day) and 60 to 70°F (night)
Cattleya: 70 to 85°F (day) and 55 to 65°F (night)
Oncidium: 80 to 90°F (day) and 55 to 60°F (night)
Make sure there’s a 10 to 15°F drop between day and night. This copies the natural conditions an orchid would grow in if it were in the wild. And it should help to give it a boost to start blooming.
Humidity and Air Circulation
Orchids love a humid environment. Even more so one with good air flow.
So try to get a humidity level of 50 to 70%. If you need to increase the humidity try putting a water tray near the plant or use a humidifier. But make sure you’re not letting the roots sit in water or that could result in root rot.
Watering
Orchids need the right balance when it comes to watering. Overwatering happens a lot with orchids and will often lead to root rot.
So water your orchid once a week and let the water drain away completely. When the orchid is in its dormant phase you can bring the watering down to every other week.
The Ice Cube Method: A clever trick – put three ice cubes on the soil once a week. As they melt they’ll slowly release water meaning you don’t overwater.
Fertilization
Feeding your orchid regularly is also a big deal when it comes to blooming. You’ll want to use a balanced fertilizer every two weeks while your orchid is growing. Once it’s dormant you can drop that back a bit as it doesn’t need as much.
Tip: Always dilute the fertilizer to half strength. It will stop it from burning the roots.
Advanced Techniques
Repotting for Healthier Growth
Repotting will keep your orchid healthy and stop it from developing some problems it might otherwise get.
You should be repotting every one to two years, after the blooming has finished if you can. Use a potting mix that is specifically for orchids. It will include certain things like perlite and sphagnum moss.
Tip: Don’t repot an orchid while it’s in bloom. Doing so can stress it and cause the flowers to drop sooner than they would.
Using Humidity Trays
As orchids absorb moisture from the air I you need to keep them humid. One of the simplest ways to increase the humidity is by putting your orchid on a humidity tray.
Fill a shallow tray with pebbles and water, and put your orchid pot on top. Make sure the pot isn’t sitting in water though or it could cause root rot.
Pruning Techniques
Pruning is also important to encourage new blooming. Once your orchid is done flowering you should cut back the flower spike to the first node.
If the spike turns brown cut it back to the base. What this does it help your orchid to focus it’s energy on producing a new flower spike rather than wasting that energy on one that isn’t going to grow.
Timing Is Everything
Timing will play a big part of blooming. When it’s dormant give it just enough water and light so it carries on growing but not enough that it’s encouraging new growth.
But when new growth appears that’s when you need to step it up and start doing all the things we’ve been through so far.
Common Challenges
Even with the best care you can face challenges. Here’s how to handle the most common issues:
Root Rot
Usually caused by overwatering or bad drainage. You can easily avoid it by using a potting mix that drains well and make sure your pot has enough drainage holes. It’s all about the drainage, as you can see!
If you find any mushy or discolored roots trim or cut them off and repot your orchid.
Leaf Yellowing
This could be quite a few things. Overwatering again, but also a lack of light and nutrients. You’ll need to figure out which it is and then adjust how you’re caring for your orchid on that basis.
Pests and Diseases
Pests can affect orchids like any plant. Look out for spider mites, aphids and scale. You should be checking regularly for them and treating quickly if you find any. Insecticidal soap or neem oil both work well.
Cold Damage
Orchids don’t like the cold or sudden drops in temperature. So keep yours away from the windows in cold months. Air conditioning vents should also be avoided.
If your orchid has been exposed to cold then move it to a warmer spot quickly and reduce watering until it shows signs of recovery.
Hello I’ve only been raising orchids for a couple years and was a complete new by when I bought 1 because of its beauty .I’ve been doing rather well knock on wood…but the issue I am having is the aerial roots. They have been growing like mad weaving in and out looping bending etc. Are they supposed to be doing that, should they be getting trimmed or I’m not sure. (There are some that are like 12″ or more,) Is this normal? What should I do? They do bloom once or twice a year at least so I’m taking that it likes things so far but those roots kinda take away from the beauty of the flowers and there are old bloom spikes that are still there and green as well.