Four Tips for Growing a Phalaenopsis Orchid

The phalaenopsis orchid is one of the most popular varieties for hobby growers today. Through hybridization, this delicate variety has been turned into a hardy variety that’s easy for even beginners to grow at home. If you’ve got one of these beautiful moth orchids that you want to grow in your home, here are a few tips to help you get better blooms and a healthier plant:

• Fertilize your plants. These plants are considered heavy feeders and will only thrive if you give them the right kind of fertilizer at the right times. During the growing season, which runs from the spring through the fall, you should fertilize them according to directions on a special orchid fertilizer about once every week. When the plant is recharging for the next growing season, you’ll only need to fertilize about once a month. Using a pre-fertilized soil medium like peat will mean that you don’t need to fertilize as often.

• Deal with the bloom stems properly. After they fade, you can let them dry out naturally and then break them off. If you don’t like the look of the faded stems, you can cut them off with a hot knife, and then apply an anti-fungal formula to the base to keep the stem from getting infected. Another option is always to try to initiate a new blooming, but this can be a little difficult to do until you get the hang of your plant.

• Repot your orchid whenever the soil medium gets too broken down to drain properly. Many experts recommend repotting the phalaenopsis orchid at least once a year. More often times, repotting results in better growth and better blooms. Sometimes you can actually induce multiple blooming periods just by putting your plant into a new pot. Whenever you repot a phalaenopsis orchid, make sure to snip off any dead or dying roots with sterilized shears. Healthy roots are light green or white and firm. You’ll be able to tell which roots are dead or unhealthy!

• Propagate new plants from the old plant in one of two ways. One option is to get keikis – or babies – from the mother plant’s bloom stems. Cut through the stems with a hot knife after the last flower has bloomed. If you move the plant to a lower light area for a while, it will often produce new plants out of the flower stem. Once these plants develop roots in a few weeks, you can cut them off and plant them as standalone flowers on their own.

Some phalaenopsis orchid growers like to use the babies that the plants produce naturally. As the stem grows, it will discard its leaves and will often form new root systems where the leaves were. Once in a while, you can lop off the top of the stem and replant it. Often times, this, too, will cause keikis to form, and you’ll be able to get several new plants.

I wrote this article on Phalaenopsis Orchid to help hobby growers get started.