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Will my orchid flower again?

JaxterJaxter Posts: 2
in Problem solving

Hi,

Is there anything I should do with my orchid?

I was given this orchid at Christmas time as a lovely gift, I think it was purchased at a well known department store.

It had at least 10 lovely pink/ white flowers on it in december,and now I'm left with no flowers and the stems from the tip downwards is turning yellowish/ brownish which is slowly spreading down both stems. Why? 

The orchid is in my living room which is warm, near a north facing window.

Thankyou so much in advance for any advice or tips.

 

 

Posts

  • GardenmaidenGardenmaiden Posts: 1,126

    You need to cut it down to the next healthy bud or down as far as you can. If you do the first option, you should get a new shoot that will flower. If you do  the second option, you will get a new leaf and then a news flower spike. I've had 9 for going on 4 years now and this is what mine do. Also get some orchid food, which you spray on the leaves.

  • JaxterJaxter Posts: 2

    Hello gardenmaiden

    thanks so much for your tips. I'm going to immediately try your option 1 fingers crossed. I really don't want to lose the plant as it was such a lovely gift and the flowers were adorable whilst they lasted. 

    Who knows maybe I too will be able to keep my orchid for years to come.

    thanks again for your help.

  • GardenmaidenGardenmaiden Posts: 1,126

    Glad to help. A new shoot or spike won't appear quickly, it could be 4-6 weeks so don't worry.

  • KT53KT53 Posts: 9,009

    If it has lost its flowers so quickly it's probably too warm and too dry where it is.  We would expect flowers on our orchids to last an absolute minimum of 2 months from the opening of the first bud to the closing of the last, and would be disappointed at that short a timescale.

    How often did you water it and just as importantly, how did you water it?

  • ViverslaFranceViverslaFrance Posts: 3

    I posted a request about my orchids yesterday (first time I've used the Forum, recommended to me by my daughter), but it hasn't appeared!

    I've had 3 orchids for 2 years, and they haven't flowered again since the first flowering when I bought them.  They look healthy and have produced new leaves and roots, but disappointingly no new flower stalks.  I water them with rainwater and orchid feed every week or so.  I did have them on a north facing window sill in the kitchen (protected by a roller blind at night) but moved them to my south facing lounge, on the hearth away from direct sunlight.

    Can anyone advise me on the best way to encourage the production of new flowers?

    Thanks

     

  • gardenninggrannygardenninggranny Posts: 803

    I'm afraid it will depend on the type of orchid.  Phalenopsis are the common easy ones and all the advice above suits them.  Other types are not so easy and there is loads of advice on giving a rest period, keeping pot-bound - or not - misting regularly -  and so on depending on type. 

    I have an excellent well illustrated book from the Aura Garden Guides series which helps demystify the subject - it was only 2.99 in my local Wyevale or I bet you could pick it up online.

    Whilst my phalenopsis have all been growing and flowering well for at least five years, the cymbidium I had just went downhill and eventually died.

    I have been given the scented Odontoglossum for Christmas, and picked up another for £4 today in Wyevale - they are more leafy than the phalenopsis and I shall have to read up exactly how to treat them.

    I suggest you check the lablel to identify what you've got.

  • Novice23Novice23 Posts: 200

    I have just come across this thread and it is so interesting.   I was given a beautiful orchid last summer and the flowers lasted for months.   When they eventually died I pruned the stems down to the next bud, as described above.  That was in October and whilst it is still looking good with nice leaves, the stems are turning brown and it is travelling down the stem.  No new buds or signs of any.  I water it about every two weeks, filling the pot with water, then draining it all out.  I feed it roughly every other water.   What should I be doing to get news buds?    It was a gorgeous plant and I would like to keep it going.

    Any advice would be welcome

  • gardenninggrannygardenninggranny Posts: 803

    If there are no new buds towards the base of the stem then that flowering stem is finished and will die back to the base (or you can cut it back).  A new flowering stem will eventually appear , probably between two leaves.  It sounds as though the plant is healthy and it may well develop aerial roots first.

    You definitely need patience and optimism but have a good chance of being rewarded.

  • Novice23Novice23 Posts: 200

    Thanks Gardenning Granny.  I have it in a ceramic pot, that it came in, but have been told it should be open to the light.   Is that right?

  • gardenninggrannygardenninggranny Posts: 803

    There is so much advice - but as before, it depends on the type of orchid!  All of mine have ceramic or plastic pot covers.

    Since my last post the spider orchid (orthontiglossum?) has been filled with heavily scented blooms, to my surprise as has the other one from Wyevale - both have softer leaves that flop out of the pot.- same treatment as the phalenopsis, watering once a week - I stand them in a washing up bowl and water from the top, allowing them to stand in the water for around an hour, than lifting out, draining and putting back in their pot covers.  The others seem to be producing new shoots, slowly.  Patience. is definitely needed, and my plants have not read the book! 

    My son follows this procedure when I am away (for a month at a time) and he thinks they are the easiest plant he has ever looked after!

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