After Flowering
What do I do once my orchid has finished flowering?
First, to see if you can find what type of orchid you have, please see "Types Of Orchids" if you’re unsure. If you already know what type of orchid you own, continue reading…
Phalaenopsis Orchid (Moth Orchid):
As per the pictures below, look for where the first flower was and count back two nodes and cut just above this node (a node is the bump in the flower stem). Nodes will sometimes re-flower or sometimes, if you’re really lucky, it may even send out a Keiki (baby plant) as per pictures below.
Above is a picture of a small keiki plant growing from the node on a flower spike of a phalaenopsis orchid.
90% of other orchids:
Trim back old spike at the bottom of the spike but not past the bulb of the plant. If you cut away the bulbs of the plant once it has finished flowering, this will take away some nutrition from the plant so please do not do this and cut above the bulb when removing your old flower spikes. Also, once flowering is finished, this is a good time to re-pot your orchids if needed.
Happy Growing!