The Glorious Moth Orchid
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Orchid expert Kate Santos offers her best tips for keeping moth orchids (Phalaenopsis sp. and its hybrids) happy and blooming.
Orchids are often planted in bark or sphagnum moss. When the bark or moss is dry to the touch, water your orchid until water comes through the drainage hole in the bottom of your pot. Never leave orchid roots in standing water.
Orchids like bright, indirect light. North-facing windows generally won’t provide enough light. An east-facing window is best; western or southern light is fine as long as it’s indirect. Normal home temperatures are good – about 70 to 80 degrees in the daytime and above 60 degrees at night.
Ask your local nursery for an orchid fertilizer, and apply it according to package instructions.
Once the orchid has stopped flowering, you can cut off the bloom spike at the base of the plant. Keep fertilizing. Leave the pot in bright, indirect light. Your orchid should rebloom within a year.
You may want to repot your orchid every few years. Do this when it’s not blooming, because repotting can stress an orchid and cause it to drop its blooms
Featured above is Montclair King “Splash”. At right, Tying Shin Cupid “Montclair”. As seen in January 2012 issue of Southern Living.
