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Do Phalaenopsis Orchids Bloom Again After Their Flowers Drop?

Moth orchids (Phalaenopsis spp.) tend to naturally flower each year anytime during the fall and spring, when nights are cooler and days short. Production of a flower spike requires a lot of energy from the orchid. After the flowers fade, the spike persists, eventually decomposing. Clipping off the flower spike to maintain two nodes often leads to a secondary, smaller flower spike. Otherwise, the moth orchid rests and grows across the summer, only to rebloom again next winter.

  1. Natural Flowering Rhythm

    • Moth orchids naturally produce a flower spike when they are exposed to nighttime temperatures around 55 degrees Fahrenheit and the days warm to 70. This naturally occurs in fall and winter and causes the plant to initiate a flower spike from the cluster of large tongue-like leaves. Shortening days also coax the flower spike development. Considerable energy is used to create the flowers, which open in succession over several weeks. The waxy flower persists for two to six months depending on genetics and environmental conditions.

    Reblooming

    • It is atypical for a moth orchid to send up additional flower spikes after the main flowering display wanes by the end of spring. Large, robust moth orchids may produce two or three flower spikes that may contain small branches -- a magnificent display of numerous flowers. The orchid rejuvenates itself after flowering and elongates root tips, adds new leaves and makes more food. It will rebloom again, after several months of recuperation.

    Tricks to Get a Secondary Flowering

    • A side flowering stem can form from a lower node.

      Along the length of the moth orchid flower stem are notches called nodes. Often they look like thin brown lines around the stem or zigzag notches where an individual blossom once was. After the last flower withers and drops from the flower stem, prune it back. Starting from the bottom of the flower stem, trace your finger up the stem to the second node. Prune 1/2 inch above the second node. Maintain the moth orchid as you had all during the flowering period. Within eight weeks, a smaller branching flower stem may arise from the second node.

    Factors Diminishing a Reflowering Event

    • Weak, unhealthy moth orchids that expended the last of their energy to flower will not rebloom. In fact, such a plant may not survive many more months. Sometimes the flower stem rots back completely and your pruning at the second node will have no effect. If you repot your moth orchid after flowering, no reblooming will occur. Repotting is stressful and the orchid focuses energy on regrowing roots and leaves and will rebloom during the next natural blooming season if healthy.

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Orchids
  1. Types of Mini Phalaenopsis Orchids
  2. Care After a Phalaenopsis Orchid Blooms
  3. My Orchids Won't Bloom Again
  4. Do Phalaenopsis Orchids Need Dirt?
  5. How to Cut Cymbidium Orchids
  6. Varieties of Phalaenopsis Orchids
  7. How to Trim Orchids After Their First Bloom
  8. How to Make Moth Orchids Bloom
  9. When Does the Phalaenopsis Orchid Bloom?
  10. How to Care for a Phalaenopsis When the Flowers Drop
  11. Phalaenopsis Flower Care
  12. How to Make Orchids Bloom Lots of Flowers

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