How to Trim Orchid Flowers
As the largest flowering plant family in the world, orchids may be just the flowers you want to have on your landscape and in your home. The orchids you see the most in decorating magazines and stores is the Phalaenopsis, which you can grow outdoors or indoors without much effort, in just about any climate and in a wide variety of colors. However, you must watch out for black rot, a fungus that will destroy your orchids if left untreated. Removing black rot involves trimming infected leaves and roots of your orchid flowers when necessary. Trimming your orchid flowers also encourages more blossoms. Does this Spark an idea?
Other People Are Reading
Things You'll Need
- Cutting shears Rubbing alcohol Sharp knife (optional) Powdered cinnamon
Instructions
-
-
1
Sanitize the cutting shears before using them to trim your orchids. Apply rubbing alcohol to the shears, then rinse the shears off with water. Re-sterilize your shears before using them on each orchid plant, to avoid spreading black rot. As a destructive fungus, black rot appears when the orchid plant has too much water on it--from a heavy rain or from sitting in water.
-
2
Cut out or trim yellow leaves whenever they appear on your orchids, using your cutting shears or a sharp knife. Orchid leaves turn yellow, then brown and eventually black in the presence of black rot. Dust the cut area with powdered cinnamon from your spice jar, an excellent, natural fungicide, according to the American Orchid Society. Make certain the cinnamon covers all of the cut area.
-
-
3
Trim rotted roots off your orchid flowers before repotting them. Only your young orchids need repotting--older plants can safely stay in the same pots for years. Just change the medium whenever necessary for older orchids. Use sphagnum moss or a bark mixture in the pots, instead of dirt, which provides air circulation.
-
4
Cut off the "keiki," pronounced, "kay-key," a Hawaiian word meaning baby, or baby orchid that may appear on the green spikes after the orchid blooms fall off. You can plant the keiki in a separate pot for another orchid plant, which blooms in about two years.
-
5
Trim the orchid spike one inch, just above the first node or bump, while the spike is still green and all the blooms have fallen off except for one or two. This spike trimming helps encourage new blossoms to appear. You can also leave the green spike alone after the blossoms have gone and the spike may produce a second round of blossoms on its own. The spike is dead if the spike has become brown in color.
-
1
Tips & Warnings
Keep your orchid blooms away from fumes such as cigarette smoke, car exhaust and gas stoves. The blooms along with the buds will quickly drop off.
References
Resources
- Photo Credit phalenopsis orchid image by Jack Prichett from Fotolia.com
