Our expert pruning and watering hacks include a top tip to keep them flowering from Alan Titchmarsh.
If you’ve ever tried to research how to care for orchids, you’ve probably been met with a lot of contradictory information.
That’s not surprising. According to Kew, there are nearly three times as many orchid species as there are species of bird alive on Earth today (around 28,000). Considering you can find them on every continent, in all types of growing habitat, there will be many different ways to help any species that can survive indoors thrive.
Orchids are incredibly delicate and sought-after plants. With so many different types available, it’s no wonder that people assume they’re going to be too difficult to look after. This can put us off from buying and caring for them.
You may be familiar with the moth orchid (also known as phalaenopsis). This pretty variety is usually on sale in supermarkets, generalist garden centres and DIY stores.
Though native to parts of Australia and southeast Asia, the moth orchid has become a UK houseplant favourite. It has been cultivated commercially as it's relatively easy to look after.
While shops may sell many types of hybrid orchids, it’s the moth orchid you’re most likely to come across.
Often, we see moth orchids bearing delicate flowers on display near the till at a supermarket or DIY store. Their petals, which can be gently speckled or blotched, are hard to resist.
But knowing what to look for (and what to avoid) before you buy an orchid can really make a difference when it comes to keeping them alive and flowering for as long as possible at home.
Zane Rappa, of the Orchid Society of Great Britain, explains what to look out for:
These tropical orchids need temperatures between 15-35°C (59-95°F). If it’s a chilly autumn day, and the orchids are placed outside or near the door, it’s likely they are already going to be quite damaged.
Don’t choose a plant that has yellow leaves. It doesn’t matter how beautiful the blooms are – it means the plant has started to rot.
The perfect time to buy an orchid is when half of the spike (stem) is still in bud and half of the flowers are open.
Plants like this can continue to bloom for up to three months.
You want to see robust, sturdy roots – take one between your finger and gently squeeze it. If it feels mushy and is brownish in colour, cut it off with sterilised scissors when you’re home.
Tidy the whole root ball, rinse it off in the sink or hose it down in the garden. You might need to repot it, if necessary, as soon as the blooms fade.
Check if the orchid is growing in a synthetic plug (or even full sphagnum moss), the Orchid Society of Great Britain advises.
Though orchids can grow like this in a commercial greenhouse setting, it might suffer in general home conditions.
While there are some specific care tips for moth orchids, here are some general rules that will apply for most common orchid houseplants:
Did you know that moth orchids differ to other orchids that grow in the ground, because they have ‘air roots’ (they’re also known as epiphyte orchids)?
This means that in the wild they grow above ground, using their roots to hold onto trees – although they’re not parasitic. These air roots are coated in velamen. This is an outer layer of empty cells that help the plant absorb light and water from the atmosphere.
This means moth orchid roots can easily rot if they’re overwatered or left to sit in water. It’s also why they’re often sold in transparent plastic pots. It might be useful to repot your moth orchid every couple of years.
While there are some rules of thumb to follow, as with all plant care, it helps to develop your own watering routine based on your observations of your orchid’s likes and dislikes.
The Orchid Society of Great Britain advises that you want your orchid to have a perfect balance between being wet and dry. “What usually works best it to wait until the [bark-based compost] becomes dry and you can clearly see roots are silvery-white in colour,” the organisation says.
“You can then take your orchid to a sink to flush through with water, or if you have it in a decorative pot without holes, fill it up to the top and let it soak for a while. Drain it, shake gently, blow off any water that could have gathered on or between the leaves and put it back in its usual spot.”
To keep your orchid as healthy as possible, wait until the plant has dried out again, then repeat this process.
There are sources that suggest putting ice cubes on an orchid’s root ball every few days, but moth orchids don’t like cold temperatures so you should avoid this.
Moth orchid flowers will hopefully last a few months, provided you’ve not purchased one that’s damaged, followed the correct watering rules and placed it in a spot that suits it in your house. But what happens when the flowers fade?
Thankfully, there’s a pruning trick from Alan Titchmarsh which might help your moth orchid bloom once again. You just need to wait until the stalks have nothing left to show.
“The temptation is to whip the stems off now that the flowers are gone, right at the bottom,” he says in a video on Gardener’s World.
“Don’t you dare! If you look down the stem, you’ll see scales [or nodules] every so often. They’re surrounding buds, and if you only cut back to where the stem has died as little, without going any further than that, then other stems can grow.”
If a whole stem (or ‘spike’) has turned yellow, however, you won't get flowers from this part of the plant again.
The Orchid Society of Great Britain says you can expect your moth orchid to spike again when you notice the temperature drop. This tends to be in early autumn. The plant will then bloom in winter or spring.
Blooms can potentially be induced by moving the plant to a colder place in your house regardless of season – for around two to three weeks – then pop it back in its usual, warmer spot.
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