I have an orchid plant that lost all of its blossoms. Will the flowers re-bloom or does it not pay to keep it?
Question:A friend of mine bought me an orchid plant a few months back. Since then the blossoms have all fallen off. The leaves on the base appear fine, but one of the stems has been dying. I have since trimmed the steam and am wondering if the plant will continue to grow and blossom or if it is a one time sort of deal.
Answers:
If you take proper care of it, it should continue to grow and eventually re-bloom. While the various stores which sell orchids to the public would love to have people treat them like annuals (keep throwing them out when the blooms die off and buying new plants to replace them), they can actually be quite long-lived, and the blooms become more spectacular as the plant grows. It takes a bit of work and patience, but it is well worth it.
First, you should try to identify the type of orchid you have. See the link below to try to help identify your orchid. Once you know the general type it is, you can get information about care and flowering.
With some orchids, once the flower is gone, the flower spike dies too. However, some orchids will put out a new branch on the old flower spike and will bloom on that, in addition to putting up a new flower spike, so don't just cut off an old flower spike unless it dries right up.
Take good care of your orchid. After flowering, it probably needs to rest for a little bit, so don't start giving it fertilizers designed to get it to bloom again. In fact, the salts in fertilizers can be harmful to an orchid - don't fertilize too often, and use a weak concentration. Depending on the type of orchid and how often it blooms, you may want to give it a couple of months up to a year before you start providing it with flowering conditions again.
Keep your eyes peeled on the base of the plant. With some types of orchids, new growth will go sideways, with the new growth appearing beside the old growth; with others, the new growth actually goes up, with new leaves coming in at the top of the old leaves. Either way, you should be able to see signs of new growth over the next few months.
Don't give up hope for the flowers to re-bloom. Orchids take their own time - we have some orchids that we have had for years that have yet to bloom, and others which bloom every year.
Main thing: identify your orchid, and provide it with the conditions it needs, and you will have beautiful blooms for many years to come.
I can be contacted via e-mail if you need any more pointers.
Good luck.
no get rid of it
Try to keep it warm and in a fair amount of sun. Also mist it every day or two. If you can do that then it will probably come back. Orchids grow very slowly so be patient.
I have many orchids and most only bloom once or twice a year--but SO worth it! Just make sure it is not in direct sun. After mine are done blooming, i just put them in the corner of my patio, and water/mist them at least once a week--eventually they/it will form new buds and bloom again. Good luck!
Simple and easy.When the last flower drops, cut your flower spike halfway down the stem, Continue caring for it and wait for a possible rebloom. Feed it with a high-nitrogen fertilizer. 1 teaspoon per gallon of water should be enough. Feed it once a month. Do not over do it. If i knew what type of orchid you have i could give you more info. Good luck
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