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Orchids can bloom beautifully for years, defying their reputation as tricky houseplants, provided they receive the right care.
Among the largest families of flowering plants worldwide, orchids stand apart due to their distinct size, look, and features.
This makes them beloved globally despite their perceived high maintenance nature. Often owners experience an orchid blooming once and then not repeating.
One plant expert believes that with appropriate care, your orchid could flower for several months each year, making it a valuable addition to your collection of blooming plants.
Graham Rice, from the Royal Horticultural Society, has shared one of his easiest, yet most effective tips, that may help your orchid bloom more than once a year.
According to the plant expert, moth orchids (Phalaenopsis), are probably the simplest orchids to grow at home. If your orchid is looking a bit sad and flower-less, don’t be quick to discard.
Giving it a little extra tender love and care could result in more blooms, reported the Mirror.
Graham suggested: “There’s one easy trick that helps enormously: make sure that the temperature at night is lower than the day temperature.”
He mentioned that it “doesn’t take much”. Owners just have to decrease their central heating by a few degrees to “kick the plant into flowering”.
Graham said: “Moving them to a different room in the house may be all they need but it makes a huge difference to most of the orchids we grow in the home.”
Experts at Just Add Ice Orchids also suggest cooling down your orchid’s environment for blooming.
Their website stated: “A day to night temperature difference of five to 10 degrees is necessary to trigger orchid reblooming. When your orchid starts to send up a new spike, you can return it to its usual environment.”
It turns out this isn’t just a quirky plant habit; there’s real science behind it. The American Orchid Society pointed out that cooler nights help the orchid keep the energy it makes in the daytime.
The society said: “Night temperatures that are too high or day-to-night fluctuations that are insufficient are perhaps the second leading cause of failure to bloom.
“In some cases, plants will not flower unless both the day and night temperatures are below a certain threshold regardless of the day/night fluctuation.”
According to the American Orchid Society, it’s important to know what kind of orchid you have so you can give it the right temperatures. For instance, a phalaenopsis orchid needs temperatures under 32C (90 Fahrenheit) during the day and 26C (80F) at night.
If it doesn’t get this, it won’t bloom, even with a 10-degree difference. The society further explained: “This is because day temperatures above 29C (85F) and night temperatures above about 23C (75F) inhibit flowering independently of each other.”
