How to Make a Moth Orchid Bloom Again? Easy!

It is the best-selling orchid and the one most offered as a gift! The Moth Orchid (Phalaenopsis spp.) is also considered a very easy orchid to grow. The perfect specimen to get started in orchid growing! Although I have had a few specimens of this orchid scattered around the house for years, it is with a hint of embarrassment that I admit to you today that this is the first time I have managed to get my orchid to flower again. Or rather, it has done me the honor of producing a new flower stem! Here is my secret.

The moth orchid (Phalaenopsis spp.) is simply a fabulous plant. When purchased in full bloom, each flower stalk can contain 5 to 10 flowers. And with good care, the bloom can last for up to three months. So it’s great to enjoy such a beautiful bloom for so long! And that’s what I usually do.

Like you, I flinch at the unique color and patterns of the flowers. I place the beautiful specimen in a prominent place, on the coffee table or on the cupboard in the entryway. Then when the bloom is over, my moth orchids are relegated to my indoor plant shelves. There, along with dozens and dozens of other beautiful plants, they live their green lives. Years go by, but they never bloom again.

Yet this fall, not one, but three new flower stalks developed on one of my moth orchids. Two buds developed on the old flower stalk that I had neglected to prune. Then another beautiful flower stalk appeared at the base of the plant.

What Did I Do That Was So Special?

And the answer is… nothing. I did absolutely nothing. As I do every spring, I took out all my houseplants and put them on my windowsills, on the northeast side. My plants only get a few rays of morning sun. I watered them…when I thought of it. I didn’t fertilize them. What can I say, I’m not the type to over-care for my plants.

I left my plants outside as long as possible until the first frosts were announced. And even, in the case of some succulents, my agaves and a few cacti, I waited until after the first frost to move them into the warmth of the house.

So my moth orchid lived its best life outside all summer. Then, in late October, I put it in the guest room.

But if I Did Nothing, Who Made My Orchid Bloom Again?

And the answer is… Mother Nature! To rebloom, the first condition is to have a healthy and mature orchid. In my limited experience, you need at least four healthy leaves.

Then it’s a question of light. Shorter days encourage orchids to bloom. Then, there needs to be a difference of at least 8 degrees Celsius (14?) between day (warmer) and night (cooler). It seems that this fall, the conditions were right.

And finally, the last element that initiated the flowering of my orchid is the guest room! It is a barely heated room where I pile up half of my plants, and in particular those that like to live a period of dormancy or slowdown during the winter. This room has a large shelf at the edge of a south-facing window. It is a very bright room and it seems that the sun increases the temperature of the room during the day.

And so it was around the end of October that I spotted not one, but three future flower stalks. And two months later, they are still stretching! This wonderful adventure shows us that the new flower stalk develops just above the old flower stalk and that the development of new leaves is important. We also discover that pruning the old flower stalk just above the 2nd or 3rd bud (the small swelling accompanied by a triangular scale) is indeed a good practice. Finally, I discovered that the new flower stalks can also develop very high on the stem, near the old flowers.

Of course, there are good practices and techniques to encourage flowering, such as letting the orchid dry out between waterings, fertilizing with a quarter dose of a fertilizer rich in potassium, or lowering the light as soon as the flower stem appears. For my part, I will continue the experiment and see what happens to my orchid’s flowering if I continue…to do nothing!