How to Cut Back a Moth Orchid

Wipe your pruning shears' blades with alcohol before each use. Moth orchids are relatively hardy but may fall prey to diseases introduced through pruning wounds.

Prune each orchid blossom after it fades and wilts. Make the pruning cut at the base of the flower, next to the spike. Leave a little of the flower's base behind to avoid cutting into the flesh of the spike. Removing spent blossoms redirects the orchid's growing energy and may encourage it to produce new flowers near the pruning site.

Cut back the moth orchid's flowering spike as it begins to die back. As the flower spike ages, it will turn woody and brown. If your orchid plant is 2 years old or older, cut the flowering spike back gradually as it dies back. Make each pruning cut 1 inch into the healthy stem tissue, just above the nearest flower branch. Keep cutting until you cut it off at the soil line, if necessary. This gradual cutting back may encourage some of the existing flower sites to flower again. The moth orchid may wait until the spike dies back to the soil level and then produce a new spike. Younger moth orchids do not have enough root mass or stored energy to reflower on spent spikes. Once a young moth orchid's spike begins to brown and die back, cut it back to the soil line. The plant will produce another flowering spike eventually.

Cut the moth orchid's flowering spike if it does not die back. Some orchid spikes will simply continue to get longer and longer, producing a few small blossoms at the end of the drooping, hanging spike. For aesthetic purposes, cut the flowering spike back to the soil line in spring. The moth orchid will now have more energy to devote to growing more flowers on new or existing spikes.