Blooming orchids!

[Dahlia]

I love orchids! I have a bunch of them growing on my windowsill. My daughter told me that if one of the stems needs to be cut or breaks off, you can put cinnamon on the "wound" and that is supposed to help!

 

[PhilaGardener]

Very pretty!

 

[Niele da Kine]

Those are pretty.

"Moth Orchid" is a lot easier to spell and pronounce than phalaenopsis, although a lot of folks around here call them "Butterfly Orchids" which seems nicer than "Moth", IMHO. There's a purple and white splotchy one of that type growing on the lanai here, although it's not blooming at the moment. Does yours bloom very often?

 

[Dahlia]

My orchids bloom about 3 times per year! My daughter taught me a few tricks to keep them happy!

 

[Niele da Kine]

What tricks did your daughter teach you to keep them happy?

About all I do with mine is put bunny 'berries' on them. It's a cold manure so no need for composting. Pretty much all plants seem to like them.

 

[Dahlia]

She waters her orchids with a spray bottle. I used to water them by putting a small ice cube in the pot, but the spray bottle works better. Also, when they get a wound you put cinnamon on it and that helps with healing.

 

[Niele da Kine]

Orchids do seem to enjoy humidity and they don't seem to rot like African violets, so the spray bottle sounds like a good choice. Do they bloom for you all year round?

 

[Dahlia]

Orchids do seem to enjoy humidity and they don't seem to rot like African violets, so the spray bottle sounds like a good choice. Do they bloom for you all year round?

Yes! I'd say about 3 or 4 times per year.

 

[Rhodie Ranch]

Mine rebloom about 2 times a year.

 

[Niele da Kine]

Good job on the multiple bloomings! Do you put special fertilizer or lights on them? Any particular watering systems?

If there were a Society For The Prevention Of Orchid Abuse, I'm sure they'd be calling on me. Ours just get stuck outside and ignored until they bloom. Maybe they'd like a little bunny manure tossed on them? I should treat them better. There's one which seems absurdly happy growing in a plastic planter on a table in the middle off the yard and I think it should have died a long time ago. They're amazingly durable.