In this guide, you will learn how to care for orchid after bloom. Many people buy orchids with flowers and after a while, they lose them (natural process), but then they do not get the orchid to bloom again. Here we will explain how to care for orchid after bloom.
Table of Contents
Pruning and Repotting for Orchid After Bloom
It is important to understand that, after bloom, orchids enter a period of rest. This is an essential time for the plant to recover from the wear and tear of flowering. For this reason, orchid care after flowering is crucial. It will depend on them that it resprouts again. And on them will depend, also, a good part of the health of the plant.
For this reason, we cannot be hasty. Something that usually happens when, seeing the last flower fall, we choose to cut the flowering stem. A small mistake. And the fact is that, due to the unique nature of these plants, that same cane can suddenly harbor new buds. A good reason to leave it for a season, to see how it evolves. If we see that the cane begins to dry out, the idea is to cut it at the level of the leaves.
It is also a matter of patience to wait to repot our plant. Never change the pot when the orchid is in bloom. Changing it to a larger container with a renewed substrate will allow it to grow at the root level during its dormant months.
Lighting and Watering, Orchid Care After Bloom That Must Not Be Forgotten
Although we may think that, once the bloom is over, the orchid does not need light, nothing could be further from the truth! This botanical family is, in general, very demanding of light. That is why, with or without flowers, we will have to continue with those sunbaths so positive for it. Let us not confuse luminosity with direct sun. The latter is harmful to them as it can burn the leaves.
What we also cannot leave aside is the watering pattern that we have with our orchid. We are talking about a plant that needs to be watered, depending on the conditions of each place, either once a week or every two weeks during the bloom season. With the fall of the flowers, it will be the roots that tell us when the time has come. If they acquire a silvery tone, it is time to submerge them in the water again. Be careful with watering, as it is one of the main reasons why an orchid dies. The dangers of overwatering orchids are often unrecoverable. So it is always better to under-water than over-water.
Learn more about How Often to Water Orchids.
When Should You Fertilize an Orchid?
Fertilizer is very important to know how to care for orchid after bloom. Here we explain how to apply it correctly:
Early spring, before the flowering period: fertilize every 10 to 12 days.
During flowering: fertilize every 20 days.
Autumn – winter, resting period: fertilize once a month.
