How to make Orchids Bloom Again

Learn how to make orchids bloom again and understand why your orchids won’t bloom. You can stimulate and trigger your orchid houseplant to produce flowers.

Many plant owners often wonder why their healthy household orchids do not produce any new flowers but just continue producing leaves. When you buy the orchids, most of the time they have beautiful blooms but after they fall off, you might struggle to get the plant to bloom again.

Why Won’t My Orchids Bloom?

The reason why your orchids are not blooming is that they exist in a constant climate-controlled environment. The lighting is the same, the watering regime is the same, and the temperature in your home is the same.

For an orchid to start the blooming process, there needs to be some kind of external stress. The orchid needs to experience the same kind of stress that it would be subject to in its natural environment.

The natural environment does not provide constant watering, constant lighting, and constant temperature. Nature is always changing and this is what the orchid is accustomed to.

How to Make Orchids Bloom Again?

1. Stop Watering

The first thing you need to do to stimulate your orchid into blooming is to stop watering it for five to six weeks.

Granted, this doesn’t sound intuitive, and it sounds a little bit scary and shocking. However, the goal here is to shock your orchid into thinking that change is occurring.

This shock will stimulate the cells and the mechanisms inside the orchid that will help produce and propagate new shoots.

When you stop watering your plant, you can be assured that it will still be alive, and healthy, and will be fully restored at the end of the process. The only difference is that it will start producing.

2. Place the Orchid in a Dark Place

The second step also tries to mirror and imitate the external environment that the orchid would experience in nature. Place the orchid in a dark place. You can achieve this by simply placing the orchid in a basement.

Move your orchid from where you typically place it, on a table, desk, or window sill. These places have too much light and the orchids need change.

3. Reduce Temperature

The third thing you need to be aware of when learning how to make your orchids bloom again is to reduce the temperature by seven to ten degrees Celsius. Do not reduce the temperature lower than 15 degrees Celsius.

Make sure you’re reducing the physical temperature by seven to ten degrees. So, for example, if the standard temperature in your home is 22 degrees Celsius, reduce that and try not to bring it down too far.

The aim is to still maintain a temperature range that the orchid would experience in its natural environment.

4. Return Orchid to Normal Place

After about five to six weeks your orchid is going to start looking wilted. At this point return it to its normal place where there is usually light and temperature.

The orchid doesn’t look great, it is all weathered and it doesn’t look healthy. However, rest assured the orchid is still alive and it’s still healthy it has only been put in a state of shock.

If you are to remove the orchid from the pot you will see that the root systems beneath the surface are still very healthy.

You will also see that new root systems have begun to sprout. Have that comfort that what you’re seeing on the leaves externally will be remedied in the next steps.

5. Change the Substrate

The next step is to change the substrate. Your orchid has been existing in this substrate for a very long time and it has most likely depleted all the nutrients that were in the substrate.

Most people forget to change the substrate yet the orchid needs it changed as it’s the source of nutrients for your plant.

Also, don’t forget to provide your orchid with some orchid fertilizer. The fertilizer helps encourage the recharging that is needed after the shock process that the orchid has been through.

6. Return to Normal Watering and Fertilizing

The next step is to return to normal watering and fertilizing. Whatever fertilizer that you rely on this is the time to reintroduce it.

Return to that normal regime of watering and fertilizing that your orchid was used to previously.

Your orchid has been put through a state of shock and has been returned to its equilibrium. The last tip is to use warm water when watering the orchid.

The temperature should not be scalding hot. It should be comfortable tap water; the ideal temperature is approximately 120 degrees Fahrenheit or 15 degrees Celsius.

Maintain the normal regime and place the orchid where it had been placed before this entire shock process.  Also, maintain the natural lighting and the natural temperature in your home so that you can return the plant to that constant state of equilibrium.

Check these related posts:

• Do you cut off dead orchid stems?
• How to Grow and Care for Orchids complete guide.

In a few weeks or so you’ll notice the orchid has produced new flower shoots. Eventually, your orchid will bloom in approximately a month and a half to two months.

Conclusion

The first time you put your dear orchid plant into shock can be nerve-wracking. The worry is that you might kill it. However, when you see new life return and the new blooms appear it will be well worth it.

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