Supermarket orchids, what now?

urbancookie1

I brought a lovely orchid plant from the supermarket a couple of months ago but the last of the flowers have fallen off this week leaving just the bare stems. Will it flower again if i do something with it? should i cut the stalks back and hope it flowers again next year? or are they just a 1 time flowerer and its now ready to be put on the compost heap?

Taadaa

My orchid has stopped flowering now too, but it has grown another stem with buds on it. i don't think you should cut it back, and don't re-pot it as the roots need to be stressed for it to flower, but I do keep my one moist. Rain water is best.

biv

You can cut the stems, diagonally, just above the first 'bump'. It will re-grow once ready to re-flower. New stems will grow from the middle again, so if the stems look a bit too brown and unsightly for your liking, you can get away with cutting them straight off. The advantage of leaving them on is when new stems grow, they'll also grow from the cutting, giving you more flowers (i.e. 4 stems instead of two!).

Slow process though - mine flowers during the warmer months, dies off right back to the leaves during the winter. If it doesn't re-flower try moving it to a noticeably cooler location, the change can cause them to flower for survival.

Above based on experience, so if anyone wants to scream at me for cutting off the stems, feel free

Bronnie

I got one from Tesco as a birthday present in November, in flower, with stem twisted around a hoop. It was kept on the bathroom window ledge and kept fairly dry (OK I neglected it!!). The flowers were lovely and lasted for ages. When they finally dropped, we were left with this pretty bare and boring looking plant, with the bare roots bulging out of the top of the pot, which nobody could be bothered to move.

A couple of months ago, I turned it round whilst cleaning and noticed the back (closest to the window) was covered in buds! Quickly chucked some tap water in from the tooth mug and before long again it is smothered in about 6 massive waxy flowers, which again have lasted ages and have got miles of life left in them yet.

Gorgeous plant and a real surprise!!

Jake'sGran

I bought one from Wilko as it was reduced to £1. It has grown new leaves but I did cut the stem down a bit. To be honest I realised there are other plants I would much rather have and I didn't know what food it needed. Just can't resist a bargain which is why this house has lots of things in it I will never use (even a brand new Kenwood smoothie maker I paid £2 for at the school fare).

Dustykitten

I left the 3 stems on mine when it finished flowering and new buds have formed on all of them, it has barely been out of flower since I was given in in September.

Davesnave

You may sometimes need to re-pot and let the plant recover. It depends on the compost. A couple of ours were in really 'orrible stuff, so they may have flowered OK, but looked rather worse for wear afterwards. Typical supermarket plants. We put them in proper specialist compost & they responded.

Cared for well, some of them seem to flower, literally, for a year or more at a stretch.

Dave101t

oh, am i the only one who, after the flowers came off, wondered what was happening to iit and upon checking the soil and roots, found a horrible decomposing mush of roots that smelt so rancid i had to chuck it away?

Davesnave

Dave101t wrote: »

oh, am i the only one who, after the flowers came off, wondered what was happening to iit and upon checking the soil and roots, found a horrible decomposing mush of roots that smelt so rancid i had to chuck it away?

Wrong compost, as above, Must be well drained open stuff with lots of bark in it and maybe charcoal too, but what you get from supermarket offerings is sometimes far short of that. Too much kindness on the watering front can prove fatal too.

cactuspotty

Yes it will reflower but you might have to wait up to a couple of years. When the bare stem dies down, cut it back and keep watering the plant as normal. It will eventually grow a new stem and flowers. I've got three flowerings from one supermarket orchid in the past.

And a quick tip for watering - water orchids in a lukewarm shower. it gets the dust off them and the water can run straight through without waterlogging them.

ForkHandles_2

cactuspotty wrote: »

And a quick tip for watering - water orchids in a lukewarm shower. it gets the dust off them and the water can run straight through without waterlogging them.

Be careful when watering Phalaenopsis (moth orchid), don't let water get into the centre (where the leaves emerge) aka the crown, if you do, you'll probably get crown rot.

It's an excellent idea to remove the dust though, just use some damp cotton wool or tissue and wipe it off.

FH