How to Help Mini Orchids Rebloom
If your orchid isn’t blooming again after a few months, it may be time to re-think your care regime. There are several factors that can contribute to an orchid’s lack of reblooming: light, temperature, and humidity.
Fortunately, many of these issues can be fixed by making small adjustments to your routine. By creating a new environment for your plant that replicates what it would find in nature, you’ll help your orchid rebloom.
Lighting
Many grocery store orchids were bred to bloom in the spring and fall, which means that they require a light cycle similar to that of a tree. This is achieved by placing the orchid in a location that gets filtered morning sunlight for two hours, along with the correct relative humidity.
This is an easy and inexpensive way to get your plant blooming again. Just make sure that the window is big enough to receive this amount of filtered light.
Temperature
Most grocery store orchids prefer temperatures that are in the 60’s to initiate a rebloom. If your plants are in a place that is consistently warm and you’re not able to achieve this, move them to an area with colder nighttime temperatures.
Humidity
Orchids need 40 to 60% of relative humidity to maintain a healthy root and leaf system. Any lower than that can cause the aerial roots to dry out and the leaves to perform improper gas exchange. This can result in root rot, so be sure to water your orchids at a regular interval.
A humidifier or fan can also be used to provide adequate humidity to your plants. The key is to make sure that the airflow is not too restricted and that the humidifier or fan is turned on often.
The most common reasons for an orchid not reblooming are insufficient light and poor temperature conditions. The best indicator of sufficient light is leaf color, so try to ensure that your orchids have medium to light green leaves.
Depending on the type of orchid you have, there are some that do better with moderate temperature requirements and can be grown in a bright window. Some of these include miniature cymbidiums (e.g. “dancing lady,” “sharry baby,” and “twinkle”) and oncidiums such as the zygopetalum, which is very fragrant and can produce sprays of flowers.
Other types of orchids are more sensitive to cold and can have their bloom cycles disrupted by exposure to cool nighttime temperatures. Phalaenopsis is a good example of this, as it will typically only bloom if it’s in a slightly cooler place that experiences lower nighttime temperatures.
Trimping the Spike
If you have an orchid that is in its final reblooming stage, the most important thing to do is to cut off its flower spike. Doing this will allow the plant to focus all of its energy on root development and will increase the chance that it will rebloom again.
In most cases, you can induce a reblooming cycle by cutting the spent flower spike down to a single node above the crown of the plant. This will give the plant the energy it needs to grow another flower spike and start a rebloom cycle.
