How Often Do Orchids Bloom: The Frequency and Accuracy

How often do orchids bloom is a notion that depends on how well you provide them with the right orchid care. People like orchid plants for many reasons and try to maintain their bloom throughout the year.

They are mostly used as houseplants because of their fragrance and showy flowers. Keep reading this article as we discuss basic orchid care and its lifespan.

How Often Do Orchids Bloom in a Year?

In a year, orchids bloom once a year, but at times they may bloom twice when proper care is given. This will happen during the growing season, as most orchids flower when the weather is calm during spring and late winter, when they are ready to shoot blooms.

Although different species bloom multiple times a year depending on various practices and safety precautions for caring for them. Mostly, blooming occurs after growing; summer is the best growing time for an orchid.

But if you are wondering, how long do orchid blooms last indoors, then you should know that they last longer when you provide their preferred growing conditions, like adequate sunlight, water, and fertilizers. They maintain their blooms for up to months when you get rid of damaged spikes and propagate them often.

– Phalaenopsis Orchids

Phalaenopsis bloom once a year if you provide them with their preferred growing conditions. The orchid flowers can bloom for many years when you place them in a spot without direct sunlight and with a non-changing temperature. You should water them regularly in summer and infrequently in winter while ensuring the humidity is enough to have annual blooms to encourage the bloom.

Most Phalaenopsis prefer blooming in late winter or early spring, and the resulting blooms last long. They lose their showy blooms in summer, but by altering the temperature, you can create conditions to help them bloom all year.

– Brassavolas Orchids

Brassavolas can bloom twice a year when provided with the right growing conditions. The flowers remain for several weeks and bloom almost throughout the year. They are non-fussy plants and can live up to many years if you care for them properly.

They remain happy when you place them in a spot with bright yet partial sunlight. It would help if you watered them many times a week in their growing season. The ideal temperature to keep them is between 64 and 78 degrees Fahrenheit, and this is where they will establish themselves well.

– Dendrobiums

The Dendrobiums bloom twice a year, and their flowers last for months, depending on the care they receive. You can grow them as indoor orchids for t0 to 15 years with the right care without worrying about their blooming frequency. Their care is almost similar to the rest of the species.

Dendrobium orchids grow and bloom better when you place them in a room that has a temperature between 60 and 84 degrees Fahrenheit throughout the day and 64 to 73 degrees Fahrenheit at night. They bloom well with watering once a week when the top few inches of the soil feel dry.

They bloom beautifully between February and June and then enter their growth stage. Soon after the growth stage, they become dormant, when the flowers fall, which most people mistake as the death of the plant, but this is just its phase. Do orchids rebloom on old stems, may also be a worry, but yes, you can make an orchid rebloom on the old stems with the same care.

What Are Ways to Encourage Orchid Bloom?

The ways to encourage orchid bloom and make your plants grow a new orchid flower spike are to feed it once a month, trim the spikes, water it regularly, regulate the temperature, and wait for new signs of leaf growth and spikes, and you should also repot it as well.

– Fertilize Once a Month

Use a diluted orchid-bloom fertilizer once a month after the blooms fall. Always read the product’s instructions to avoid causing further harm to the plants. Keep your moth orchid plants in a place that receives bright yet indirect sunlight most of the day.

Fertilize your orchids once every two weeks during their growing season, between spring and summer, and once when they are dormant, between fall and winter. Use fertilizers containing thirty percent nitrogen, ten percent phosphorus, and ten percent potassium for best results. Or fertilizers containing equal amounts of the components.

– Trim the Flower Spike

You can cut the flower spikes or leave them as it is in the hope that they bloom again. If you cut the spike, use a sterilized razor or sharp scissors and clip the spike between the last two nodes. You can clip the spikes if they have turned yellow or brown.

– The Right Lighting Spot

The orchids flower indoors when you provide them with adequate growing conditions. Since orchids are sun lovers, place them near the south-facing windows so they can have access to bright sunlight and increase their blooming period. Growing them indoors is recommended as their natural growing temperature is close to the indoor temperature.

– Water Regularly

The watering schedule differs with the orchid species and the growth stage. Phalaenopsis orchid needs to be watered every ten to fourteen days. The young phalaenopsis need watering every seven to ten days. It is better to underwater the plant rather than over-watering it. Water it only when the top few inches of the soil feel dry.

However, if you are worried as you want to grow it and think to yourself, how often do orchids need to be watered? Most plant owners often need to correct the mistake of watering their orchids beyond the plant’s needs.

On the other hand, the second most common mistake is not planting the orchids in pots with drainage holes. If you make both mistakes, your orchids can never bloom to their best potential. This is because the recommended way to water orchids is to let the plant sit under running water or in a water bowl when the soil has dried.

Unlike the rest of the houseplants, you do not need to keep the plants evenly moist at all times. They can rot if kept too moist. Their water needs are equivalent to the water obtained from three ice cubes.

They are resilient plants and can survive up to many days without water. You can even be gone for three to four weeks without worrying about watering them. However, watch out for the orchid leaves getting crinkled, indicating the plant is thirsty.

– Regulate the Temperature

Orchids do not need high temperatures to develop new spikes. They grow well in room temperatures ranging between 55 and 64 degrees Fahrenheit, which means that this way, when you adjust it, the plant will be encouraged to grow.

What you should do is place the plants near the windowsill and away from any heating. They have a better chance of producing new spikes in winter than in summer.

– Lookout for the New Spike

You can identify the spikes easily, and this is because they are usually slender and pointy and grow at the sides of the plant. You will find them growing toward direct sunlight, and they typically appear in winter or autumn when the temperature is fairly low.

The new spike looks like an aerial root, this way, you can place the orchids at a slightly higher temperature after seeing new spikes emerging. The plants grow tall with the increase in the spikes’ length and bloom orchids after a few months. Move them to a different temperature if they do not produce blooms even after a few months.

Orchids do well with a new home every two to three years, but spring or fall is the best season to repot orchids. This timing also applies to propagation. The orchids start their new cycle in spring and grow their roots much quicker; however, the orchids have a slow growth rate and can take up to three to eight years to produce their first blooms.

The plant takes up to a month to grow a new spike after you cut the damaged spike. The early signs that the plant shows it is in its recovery phase is it produces new leaves. These leaves are the same size or slightly bigger than the rest of the leaves on the plant, which is a clear sign that it’s going well and you will have further blooms.

– Repotting

Orchids resist repotting, making the process harder for orchid growers to maintain blooming orchids. When the potting mix begins to break down, the roots can suffocate and die due to a lack of oxygen.

They resist repotting to the extent that you will not see any blooms after moving them to a new home. It is time to repot if the roots are brown or the potting medium is dense. This would be a great choice especially if the plant is growing already; the pot has to grow so that the roots will develop even better.

FAQ

1. How Long Do Orchids Live?

Orchids live up to twenty years in the wild, as the lifespan and life cycle of orchids depends on the orchid species and the growing conditions. Potted orchids do not have the same lifespan but can live up to 10 to 15 years with proper care.

2. How to Make an Orchid Grow a New Spike?

You can make an orchid grow a new spike by placing the plant in temperatures between 55 and 65 degrees Fahrenheit at night. Moving your plant away from heat sources to a cooler spot is a good idea, as they tend to grow more spikes in winter than in summer.

Conclusion

Orchids are a favorite everywhere and are easy to care for plants. Through our article, you have understood why people prefer having orchids in their homes, so let’s sum up the main points:

• The watering schedule is vital in determining how often your plant can bloom.
• You only need to fertilize orchids every two weeks in their growing season to help them bloom often.
• You can make orchids constantly bloom if you provide them with their favorite growing conditions, like fulfilling their water needs.
• You must also try repotting, and propagating them when you see two or more roots coming out of the soil. It also helps to improve their well-being.
• The orchids can spike new flowers if you give them enough time and rest to regain the energy they lost during blooming.

Various species of orchids are coming forward over time. Each species has its growing needs that can be understood with experience and how happy people accept the new variations.