Your Orchids Won’t Bloom? Fix These 7 Mistakes!

Are your orchids not blooming well? Yeah…you could be making 7 of the most common mistakes without even realizing it. 

We, as gardeners, tend to only look at the positives or negatives of our work. Whenever our beloved plants aren’t growing as they should, we ponder over everything we’re doing right instead of analyzing where we might be wrong. 

This article is all about figuring out mistakes and fixing them to encourage your orchid to bloom again. Let’s dive right into it! 

Why Aren’t My Orchids Blooming?

Orchids blooming can be limited due to a plethora of reasons like:

The underlying reason may vary from gardener to gardener, but in most cases, the reason isn’t very unique or different.

It will probably be the same mistakes millions of gardeners tend to make, and many of them have been in your situation before. This clears the doubt that some otherworldly power or force is limiting your orchid blooms. 

7 Orchid Mistakes That Prevent Blooming

1: Not Enough Light

Insufficient sunlight can be the death of your orchid blooms. This is a plant that needs tons of indirect light to grow optimally and produce the best flowers possible.

Anywhere between 6-8 hours of sunlight on a daily basis should get your orchids enough sunlight for strong and healthy growth. 

2: Overwatering Or Underwatering

Any of the two watering extremes is never good for your orchid plant.

Overwatering tends to flood the soil and create waterlogging problems that may lead to fungal disease and root rot.

On the other hand, underwatering tends to dry out this plant and cause major wilting and discoloration issues. 

3: Wrong Temperature Range

Yes, there’s a complete temperature range that’s considered “optimal” for orchid growth! Anywhere between 68ºF to 86ºF (20 to 30°C) would be a good zone to get your orchids blooming well without any trouble whatsoever. 

If the surrounding temperature is too high, your orchids can wilt and start shedding buds, whereas overly cold temperatures damage plant foliage and place unnecessary stress on the orchid, limiting blooming ability.

4: Using the Wrong Potting Mix

Using the right potting soil mix is crucial for getting your orchids to develop healthy stems and buds.

This perennial thrives in loose, well-draining soil, so a dense potting soil mix with poor drainage simply won’t cut it. 

My recomendation? Orchid bark mix! It allows air to reach the roots more easily, prevents water from sitting too long, and mimics the orchid’s natural growing environment.

5: No Feeding Or Incorrect Fertilizer

Not feeding your orchids with fertilizer is a big mistake. But, an even bigger mistake would be feeding your orchid with the wrong fertilizer that’s not intended for it.

Certain nutrient blends have the opposite effect on your plant, where, instead of promoting growth, they limit it because they’re meant for a different purpose. 

Choose a balanced orchid fertilizer labeled 20-20-20 (nitrogen-phosphorus-potassium) or a similar gentle blend.

6: Not Enough Humidity?

The orchid is a perennial that needs some humidity for the best flower growth. Because orchids are slightly on the more drought-tolerant side, they’re fine with long gaps between watering sessions as long as they have sufficient humidity to work with. 

7: Skipping The Resting Period

Skipping the rest period for orchids substantially weakens the perennial and drains away its energy for blooming. Orchids often desperately need this resting period to restore energy for their next blooming cycle. 

If you don’t let them have it, don’t be surprised when greeted by poorly developed blooms that not only lack vibrant color but also disappear quickly. 

How To Encourage Your Orchid To Bloom Again?

The first step to encouraging your orchid to bloom again is to create the ideal environment for growth and betterment. This means:

Secondly, you need to track your care routine! This will help keep you consistent and limit missed days when it comes to caring for your orchid and giving it the love it needs. 

Once you’ve done everything in your power to get your orchid’s blooming ability back on track, now you just have to be patient. Orchids can take a long time to recover from a state of stress, so adopting some patience will be very helpful. 

Conclusion

Getting an orchid to bloom requires careful attention to detail and lots of patience. Many people aren’t able to get their orchids blooming simply because they’re not willing to put effort into pushing their perennial towards recovery. 

Because you’ve read this article all the way, I assume you’re not one of those people and are actually trying to do something about the blooming issue, which I respect. Now go implement the strategy that fits your situation and get your orchid blooming right!