Orchids are one of the most beautiful houseplants. With long stems and delicate blooms that fill the air with sweet fragrance, every orchid owner wants to know how to make orchids happy and re-bloom.
Orchids already have a long bloom period of several weeks. But as soon as the blooms begin to fade, we start longing for the time when the lovely orchid will re-bloom. You can end the wait and make your orchid re-bloom within a few months with these tips.
Don’t Re-Pot When In Bloom
Making orchids happy before the blooms begin to fade is vital to getting them to re-bloom quickly. Orchids don’t like being re-potted while they are in bloom. Wait until all blooms have fallen off the plant and the plant has been pruned before re-potting.
Remove Wilted Blooms
As soon as blooms begin to wilt, remove them from the plant. Wilting orchid blooms produce ethylene which causes the surrounding blooms to wilt faster making the bloom time shorter.
Pruning
After orchids complete their bloom cycle they typically go into dormancy for 6-9 months, but you can speed that dormancy timeframe up a little with a couple of pruning tricks.
* If the stem is still green, prune it back to 1-inch (2.5 cm) above the first node just below the lowest flower bloom.
* If the stem is turning brown, prune it back to the base of the plant. Orchids will not re-bloom on brown stems.
* If your orchid has two stems, prune one spike 1-inch (2.5 cm) above the first node just below the lowest flower bloom and prune the other stem back to the base of the plant.
Re-Pot
Re-pot the orchid immediately after pruning. Select a pot that is slightly larger than the old one for re-potting. Orchids like to fit snuggly into the containers, too much space around their roots and they will not bloom.
Prune off all roots that are not pale green. Use fresh planting medium that is light, porous, and fast-draining.
Water plant well to settle the roots into place. Place in a location that is bright and cool.
Move the orchid to a location with nighttime of temperatures 55-65F (12-18C).
Water And Food
Place 3 ice cubes on top of the soil once a week.
Feed the plant once a month with water-soluble plant food mixed at one-half the recommended amount.
Don’t place ice cubes on the soil on the weeks you feed the orchid.
Happy and Re-blooming
These tips will make your orchid happy and re-blooming will happen in 1-9 months depending on the variety of orchid.
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Plant facts
| Common name | orchids |
| Light | part sun |
| Soil type | – |
| Soil drainage | well-drained |
| Height x Width | 1 foot (30 cm) x 4 feet (120 cm) |
| Flowering seasons | spring, summer |
| Life span | Perennials (depending on the species) |
| Plant hardiness zones | 11 – 12 |
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