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!
Great article.
What can you do if you have healthy leaves but no main stem to produce flowers. Will it ever regrow?
Hi Nancy!
Thank you! If your orchid has healthy leaves but no flower stem, it can regrow one with proper care. Focus on giving it bright, indirect light, regular watering, and a balanced orchid fertilizer to encourage new growth. Orchids grow slowly, but with patience, it should produce a new stem and eventually bloom again! 🌸🌱
Very informative
Hi Mary! So glad you found it helpful! 😊🌸 Hope your orchids reward you with lots of beautiful blooms soon! 🌿✨
My orchid was not doing anything in soul so I moved it into water only roots are good and strong hopefully it will bloom again for me
Hi Gloria! That’s great to hear! 😊
Moving it to water sounds like it was the right move since the roots are strong. With the right light and nutrients, it should reward you with blooms soon! Hope you see flowers again soon. Happy growing! 🌿✨
Hi, and thank you for this article. I wonder how you mean to let them rest? Is that not what they’re doing between blooms? What would be a disturbance here?
Hi there! 😊 What I mean by “letting them rest” is more about not disturbing them too much during that quiet phase. Things like repotting, overwatering, or fertilizing heavily, as it can stress them out when they’re trying to recover. I usually just cut back on feeding and watering a bit, and let mine chill in bright, indirect light until they’re ready to bloom again.
All of my Orchids look healthy, one in fact has started growing new plants on a spent flower stem. How do I proceed with that happening, cut the stem off, try laying it on soil to grow roots or just toss it.
I am not finding any success with getting any of my 7 plants to re-bloom but they are producing new leaves.
Hi Connie! 😊 That sounds like you’ve got a keiki growing (baby orchid)! Don’t cut it off just yet. Wait until it has a few strong roots (about 2–3 inches long), then you can carefully separate and pot it up. My friend had one take almost a year to be ready! As for the others, if they’re growing new leaves, that’s a great sign, just keep them in bright light and don’t give up. Blooms can take a while to come back!
What about artificial lighting?My orchids are in an east facing window but not tons of all day light. Also is misting considered humidity? Or do you place the orchids on a pebble lined tray with some water? My orchids are growing, but rarely have one flower. I have flowers on 1 now.
If you think artificial lighting is needed to help stimulate flowering, when and for how long is best. How do you fertilize the orchids and how often?
Thanks
Hi Anne! 😊 East-facing light is perfect for orchids, they don’t need tons of direct sun! For humidity, yes, misting helps, but the pebble tray method is even better. Just put pebbles in a tray with water (orchid sits on top, not in the water).
If they’re growing well but not blooming much, you could add a grow light in winter when daylight is shorter, just supplement for a few hours morning or evening. For fertilizer, I use a weak orchid fertilizer about once a month during growing season. Sounds like you’re doing great, sometimes they just need a little patience! 😊
I cannot get my pink orchid to rebloom.Bought new mediums from a nursery and special orchid fertilizer for it to spray under leaves. Its all healthy but no blooms and it been 2 years! Also my very healthy african violets wont rebloom.I have a 6 shelf plant cart with plant lights. HELP PLEASE!
Hi Suzanne 😊 If it’s healthy but hasn’t bloomed in 2 years, it’s almost always a light and routine issue, not the potting mix. For most pink orchids (usually phalaenopsis), they need very bright light and a small nighttime temperature drop to trigger a flower spike. Also, skip spraying fertilizer under the leaves, that can irritate foliage. I’ve had the best results using a weak fertilizer in the watering routine and flushing with plain water every few weeks so salts don’t build up.
For African violets, the usual culprit is also light, plus heavy soil or a crown that stays too wet. Keep them snug in a small pot, water from the bottom, and make sure the crown stays dry.
Quick check so I don’t steer you wrong: is your orchid a phalaenopsis (long strap leaves, flowers on arching stems), and are the lights on about 12 to 14 hours a day? 😊