I cut my orchids back - they don't flower

14 years ago

I have five orchids, all phalaenopsis. I cut my orchids stems two years ago, most of them just above the leaves - and nothing has happened since. As they haven't grown back I think I may've cut them too short.

The only one which has grown back is the one I didn't cut much off! Last year none of them did anything - the one which I didn't cut much off is now looking like it's going to flower this year! The others have leaves but still no flower stems - will any stems grow back or have I killed off the flowers forever?

I live in West Yorkshire, England. All my orchids are kept indoors in the kitchen, would this make any difference due to the possible changes in temperature when I'm cooking?

They were all recently repotted in larger pots, in orchid compost, as all the orchids have been growing roots. The compost has a bark type consistancy, I was told it was the correct one for my orchids.

Do you think my orchids will flower again or have I done too much damage to them?

Thanks for reading.

Rachel x

Sort by:Oldest

Comment (1)

arthurm
14 years ago
Rachael, the debate about cutting the stems off at the base or not will go on forever. I cut them off as do the specialist Phalaenopsis growers.

There should be an annual cycle of growing a new flowering stem and flowering.

There are various triggers to flowering but the most common one is a slight cooling down in Autumn which happens naturally here because the house is not centrally heated.

How much cooling down, not too sure, but say a dip below 20C to say 16C.

What about sunlight? Phals do better with some filtered sunlight, early morning or late afternoon, mostly unfiltered, Noon sunlight strongly filtered.

There must be some good complete notes on Phalaenopsis culture for UK conditions on the net and there is some good information in the frequently asked questions questions on this site.

To find the FAQ's and past posts on Phalaenopsis, put Phalaenopsis in the search box on top of the discussions page.

Still puzzled? Describe your growing conditions, fertilizer, watering, orchid names etc details/ procedures and ask more questions.
Related Professionals
Piqua Landscape Architects & Landscape Designers · Brentwood Landscape Contractors · Burlington Landscape Contractors · Fair Oaks Landscape Contractors · Hoover Landscape Contractors · North Richland Hills Landscape Contractors · Spring Landscape Contractors · Wailuku Landscape Contractors · White Bear Lake Landscape Contractors · Chicago Ridge Landscape Contractors · Ames General Contractors · Miami Gardens General Contractors · North Lauderdale General Contractors · Orangevale General Contractors · San Elizario General Contractors