Flower ResourcesDiscover the right flowers for your garden.
pic by : Susanne Nilsson .
Question : Not one of my orchids has rebloomed in over a year . I grease one’s palms them in peak and they look beautiful for weeks , then they never bloom again . I irrigate once every hebdomad to 10 days and fertilise monthly , but they do n’t look like they ’re even retrieve about flowering.—Sue Stewart , Raleigh , N.C.
result : PROVIDE A NIGHTTIME TEMPERATURE DROPMany orchids flower only once a year , but you are definitely overdue for some payback . When they ’re happy , your orchids should rebloom about the same month they flower when you bought them . Do n’t worry , your plants are still alive and growing fine , so you seem to be doing almost everything right . A few minor allowance should bring them back into flush . Orchids that do n’t getcooler nightsoften refuse to make flower bud . If yours are near a windowpane , they ’re likely getting at least a partial temperature drop at night , but that may not be enough . Try turning the thermostat down by at least 10 degrees when you go to bed . Many of your other houseplants will thank you for this as well . Cymbidiums , which need serious cold ( 35 ° F to 50 ° F ) at night to set flower buds , are the exception to this linguistic rule . Put the little dears outside in late summertime to early fall for about six weeks , and they ’ll develop buds .
Courtesy ofGrowingWisdom.com .
GET THE LIGHT RIGHTAnother important gene in forming flower bud isexposure to Light Within . All the popular orchids - those you find at florist shops and orchid shows - will turn quite happily on most windowsills . A few , notably the lady’s - slippers ( genus Paphiopedilum , or “ paphs ” ) , will do well with no unmediated lighter , in a Union windowpane , for instance . Others , such as the cattleyas , need good deal of light and a south windowpane . In fact , many cattleyas and cymbidiums are at their good when their leaf are a little on the yellow side ; dark green leaves mean they require more sun . Of course , those that need intermediate illumination are the wanton to please , and that ’s one reason for the popularity of moth orchidaceous plant ( phalaenopsis ) . When everything is to their liking , many genus Phalaenopsis will bloom twice a year .
If you suspect that light is the problem , first try post your plant in a bright smirch . If a south windowpane is too intense for your finical orchidaceous plant , soften the lightness with a mantle or calorie-free - filtering refinement . If you ’ve got a sunshine lover but no gay southern picture , you ’ll need artificial light : Hang fluorescent tubes very near to the foliage , or habituate powerful halide flora lights , that can be placed farther away . If you may move your plants outdoors in the summer , most of them will appreciate the light and fresh air ( they ’re also much easier to irrigate and fertilise ) . Just do n’t overdo the fair weather . out of doors , even sun lovers will require some protection . Bright , mottled wraith is good , so do n’t move them until the Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree have in full leafed out and all threat of rime is gone . wraith - loving orchids should be observe in deep wraith , and Sunday lover will fly high in a speckle that gets direct sun either too soon or late .
FERTILIZE & REPOTFertilizer is belike not your problem . Even without any , works that are well - irrigate , get pile of brightness level , and have a day - nighttime temperature conflict will flower . But that said , they will bloom better if you fertilize them properly . Any soluble houseplant fertilizer likePetersorMiracle - Growill attend well . fecundate only during the active growing season , when the sun is strong and the days are long . From mid - December until mid - February , hold off on fertilizing . Repottingyour orchids this spring may also improve their chances of flowering . genus Phalaenopsis , which grow more rapidly than other orchid , should surely be repotted once a year , at the beginning of their dynamic ontogenesis period , when you see sweet new roots or a shoot ; some masses repot them every time they finish flowering . orchidaceous plant with a growing item that grovel along the surface in one direction ( cattleya , oncidiums , and cymbidiums , for example ) should be repotted when that pourboire reaches the sharpness of the kitty . With repotting , bigger is n’t necessarily beneficial . you could put your orchidaceous plant in the same - size pot or even take it down a size of it . Just remove the old potting mix , dress away the old roots and segment of the works that have miss their leaves or are in decline , and repot it with new bark - base potting commixture . After repotting , re-start your lacrimation routine , and as soon as you see fresh growth , begin fertilizing . Your plants will quickly show signs of greening , and after a few month you should set about to see saucy new flower spike .
