Orchids will bloom at least once a year, and after the flowers fall off, you might wonder if the flowers will bloom again.
Orchids will grow again and, as a newly established grower, you’ll want to make sure you allow time for the plants to grow back, and you provide an adequate growing environment.
Once the flowers fell, cut the spikes off; the other parts of the plant should get enough light.
The proper temperature should be between 60oF to 75o F. Don’t forget to water the flowers, and give the flowers phosphorus fertilizer material with each watering to encourage blooming.
How Often Do Orchids Bloom?
Every orchid will flower at least once per year.
However, some species will produce flowers more than once per year.
Because orchids are perennial plants, they will not die after blooming.
Although they can endure even the most difficult situations and endure any type of environment, it is still best to create conditions that promote blooming.
A healthy orchid will bloom annually and will offer the best medium for growth.
What Happens After Flowers Fall Off?
At the end of the day, the flowers will regrow.
You can speed things up by cutting the leftover spikes from the old flowers.
Key Takeaway – Removing those spikes removes some of the weight from the plant, as it will send all nutrients to support growth of both leaves and roots.
How to Regrow Orchid Flowers
Here are valuable tips to get your orchids to flower again.
1. Cut the Spikes
When the last flower falls and the spike is brown, take a pair of sterilized scissors or scalpel, and simply cut the spike.
It shouldn’t be longer than three inches.
How you cut the spike depends on the species of orchid.
Moth Orchids, Phalaenopsis orchids, are the only species that will grow new flowers on the old spike.
If you have Moth Orchids, you can leave a small remnant of the spike when you cut.
If you don’t, then you will cut off the spike at the base.
2. Treat Diseases and Apply Protection
Orchids can get fungal infections, and it’s important to apply fungicide to the cut surface, in order to avoid complications later.
Whatever you do, don’t let the chemical come into contact with the roots, as it can harm the plant.
If the plant is diseased treat the disease, so it can flower faster.
If the plant has a viral infection, place it in isolation to avoid spreading the infection.
3. Water and Apply Fertilizer
After the treatment, you should recover it under their normal expectations.
Place it in a bright location, but not directly under the sun.
Make sure the temperature is between 60° and 80°.
You want the plant to recover from the energy it lost during its bloom and as the plant gardens, keeping track of your growth with adequate care becomes more difficult.
Remember orchids are growing in soil less media, so you will need to water the orchids 2 or 3 times each week, based on the temperatures and humidity at the time.
Please be careful not to wet the leaves when you water your orchids.
Orchids really don’t want to be in soggy conditions despite the Common misconception:
- When you complete watering, you should simply empty the pot and let the media provide any retained moisture as the plant uses it.
- You will also need to feed with a fertilizer high in phosphorus to help you with growth and flower development.
- You can either provide a dilute solution, with 25% or less of it, or add granules of controlled-release fertilizer to the inside of the pot.
Regardless of which method you use, be careful not to over-fertilize and do not use too much because excess can have a detrimental effect on the plant.
4. Move to a Colder Place
Orchids go through a new flowering cycle when fully grown leaves form after cutting off old spikes.
This is time to move the plant to a cooler location with night temperatures between 50 and 60 degrees Fahrenheit.
The temperature drop will also speed up the blooming cycle.
5. Wait for New Spikes
When it’s cold, it can take an orchid 4 -6 weeks to produce new spikes.
New spikes are conical in shape with roots tipped upwards like an inverted root.
In case the spike does not appear after 6 weeks, you can apply blooming fertilizer.
6. Return to Original Position
After new spikes develop, you can place your orchid back in its original spot.
Use fertilizer weekly until the orchid puts out new flowers.
Once the flowers fade, do this process all over again.
How Much Time Do You Wait Until New Spikes Emerge?
Once the buds have formed, there is typically a waiting period of one to twelve months before plants form new spikes.
That is slow growth in general, but some varieties will even-above all not all-develop blooms in approximately three months tiger of three months after the buds are the first formed-trauma visible.
And some species also take longer on all new spikes after they go through the flowering process.
Orchid plants can form spikes at intermittent rates varying from temperature and lighting.
progressively higher temperatures create and increase metabolic rates, which creates a higher rate of growth specifically for the new spike development.
And higher lighting also stimulates calorims photosynthesis in turn producing the energy used for the growth of the new spike.
How to Take Care of Your Orchids
Orchids are lovely plants that grow under certain circumstances.
But, they require more care than most houseplants.
Here are wonderful tips to encourage your orchids to bloom even more.
Lighting
Orchids like all plants, need an adequate amount of sunlight in order to carry on photosynthesis.
But it’s not a good idea to put your orchids in direct sun.
If you have a house with east or west-facing windows, those are the best places for them.
If that’s not an option, then you can try using fluorescent light.
If they have too much sunlight it can cause the tips of the leaves to turn black.
On the other hand, if there isn’t enough sunlight, the growth will be stunted. Depending on the symptoms you can tell if you’re going to have to increase lighting or reduce it.
Temperature
For orchids to grow well, they need to be in the ideal temperature range of 65 to 75 degrees Fahrenheit.
However, don’t worry if your plants hit up to 85 degrees during the day and get down to 60 degrees at night.
The biggest challenge is to avoid temperature fluctuations during the plant’s growth. Ideally, it is best to grow orchids inside when possible.
Watering
Orchids don’t need much water to grow.
So when you are watering an orchid the guideline is once a week to keep the plant healthy.
You also want to take a look at the growth media – if the media feels dry you’ll want to add water.
For watering the orchid the best method is to take the orchid out of the pot and put it into a plastic grower’s pot.
When you do this, just let the tap water run over the growth media for 15 seconds and do not moisten the crown and leaves.
You can let the plant dry for about 10 minutes before you pot it again.
Alternately you can use ice cubes to water the orchids.
Repotting
Orchids develop plenty and more extensive roots that can’t fit in the pot.
Overcrowded roots can also stop ventilation, thus causing slower growth.
The answer to this is to repot your plant in larger containers.
If what’s left of the root system is brownish, or the roots are coming out above the upper surface of the growth media, then it’s time to repot your orchid.
Every time you finish a blooming cycle, you also have to change your plant from another pot.
Since orchid roots are soft, special care should be taken to avoid breaking them when you repot.
Be sure to use a special potting mix for growing orchid plants instead of soil.
Additional Tip
It isn’t advisable to place your orchids close to ripening fruits.
During this period, the fruits produce gases that can hurt your orchids.
Wrapping Up
When you have been growing orchids for a number of years, you can know when to expect the bloom them you got them.
Some varieties produce blooms per year, and some blooms every few months.
Understanding their growth cycles is also beneficial when you consider the growth cycle of your orchids, since different species all have different growth cycles.
Orchids do grow back after they bloom. But, you will have to properly care for them using the advice above to produce the lovely blooms again.
It will take time to learn all the processes, but it will be easy once you get into a groove.