The orchids are elegant and beautiful, but they need to be pruned after withering. Simply pruning the dead pedicels and roots can improve the overall health of orchids. Pruning orchids can also promote flower opening. If you want to prolong the life of orchids, let them grow branches and leaves continuously, and open beautiful flowers, you should learn to take care of orchids.
Cut the Dead Flower Stems and Roots
Disinfect pruning shears before pruning. Soak pruning shears in sterile alcohol. Open and close the scissors blade several times to ensure that each part of the blade is in contact with the alcohol. After 30 minutes, take the pruning shears out of the alcohol and put them on the kitchen towel to dry.
Disinfecting alcohol evaporates in two or three minutes, so it dries quickly.
Trim after all the flowers have withered. If there are still healthy flowers on the pedicel, don’t be busy pruning them until they wither.
If the pedicel turns brown, cut it from the bottom. When the pedicel becomes brown, yellow or withered, no more flowers will grow, so there is no need to prune the branch at this time, but cut the whole pedicel. Cut the pedicels from the base of the plant with sterilized pruning shears.
Cutting off the pedicels looks like a major operation on the plant, but new branches that can promote health grow out.
Cut off the brown soft roots emerging from the culture medium. Lift the orchid from the pot and check for dead roots. The dead roots are brown and soft to the touch. The living root is white and hard to feel. Cut off the dead roots, and then put the orchids back in the original or another pot. Pruning dead roots can prevent the roots from rotting, and rotting roots will lead to the death of orchids.
Stimulate Flowers to Open by Pruning
Disinfect the pruning shears before pruning. Pour isopropyl alcohol or disinfectant alcohol into the container and soak the pruning shears for 30 seconds. Open and close the scissors blade several times to ensure that the alcohol is in full contact with the blade surface. Then, put the pruning shears on the kitchen paper towels to dry thoroughly. Disinfecting alcohol volatilizes quickly, so pruning scissors can be used in the air for a few minutes.
Check the leaves of orchids – only orchids with healthy leaves can be pruned. If the root of the plant has shiny, solid green leaves, it indicates that the plant is very healthy and can be trimmed. If the leaves are yellow or brown, dry and soft, it indicates that the plants are unhealthy and not suitable for pruning. You need to wait for the plants to recover before pruning.
Wait until all the flowers have withered or fallen before pruning the orchids, so as to stimulate new flowers to open.
Check whether there are dormant buds on the pedicels of orchids. The dormant buds on the pedicels look like small thorns wrapped in a thin layer of beige or brown material. These thorns will later grow into new pedicels or spikes. If you see a dormant bud on an orchid, cut the pedicel 1.5 cm above the dormant bud.
The dormant buds on the pedicels of orchids are similar to those on potatoes.
Find the second node below the flower. The node is like a horizontal circle on the pedicel. Generally, the node is thicker than the rest of the pedicel. When the orchid is ready to bloom again, its spike will grow out of the node.
If you find a dormant bud on the node, cut the pedicel from above the node to keep the dormant bud.
Cutting the pedicel 1.5 cm above the node can promote flowering. The distance from the node to the place where the pedicel is cut is about the same as the width of the little finger. Cut the pedicel directly with the sterilized pruning. Cutting too close or too far from the node will affect the flowering of plants.
If there are dormant buds on the node, be careful not to cut them out. You must protect the brown or beige paper covering the dormant buds.
After 8 to 12 weeks, you will see the orchids bloom again. The speed at which orchids bloom again is determined by the overall health of the plant, the weather, and your care for it. In general, the orchids will bloom again within 8 to 12 weeks after pruning.
If the plants do not bloom after 8 to 12 weeks, try to reduce the ambient temperature for orchid growth by 41 ℃. This may stimulate the growth of orchids.
Take Care of the Pruned Orchids
If you find that the orchid grows too big after pruning, move it to a big grow pot. Planting orchids usually requires changing pots every two years, or when the roots grow to the same size as the pot. The new flowerpot is two sizes larger than the existing one. Or you can choose Gardzen marry pots which bring zero transplant issues. Add a new medium to the pot and carefully place the orchids in it. Orchid culture medium needs to be specially configured with good drainage.
Orchids should be placed by windows facing west or east. This orientation ensures that the orchids are well lit. Observe the orchids carefully to avoid too long light, which will cause the leaves of orchids to turn yellow and wither. If the lighting time of the orchid location is too long, change the location to place the marry pot.
Only water the orchids when the medium feels dry. If watered regularly, orchids will die because their roots rot. So you must check the drying degree of the medium before watering. Insert your finger into the medium. If you feel moist, do not water it. If you feel dry, water it.
You can also test the dryness of the medium with a pencil or a wooden stick. Insert a pencil or wooden stick 1 inch deep into the culture medium, and then pull it out for inspection. If the pencil or wooden stick is soaked with water in the medium to make it darker, do not water it. If the pencil or wooden stick is dry, it means you can water it.
Water the orchid three times with water added with fertilizer and once with clear water. Buy the orchid fertilizer and add it to the kettle according to the instructions. Pour water with fertilizer added three times in succession, and then pour clean water for the fourth time to wash away the salt accumulated in the soil. Then, continue to follow the above method of cyclic watering.
