Be careful watering your orchid twice a week. I began watering mine every ten days and it started to lose flowers. Now I only water it every 15 or 20 days and it has been alive for six months!

Thanks for these tips! I have an orchid that hasn't bloomed since it entered my care, so I'm going to follow your advice to see if I can coax it into blooming.

I love the Charley Harper print in the background of that photo, but why would someone hang a $350 screenprint like that? It seems risky to me.

I killed my birthday-gift Orchid in record time. Reading these care instructions, I understand why. Boo hoo.

I also made the mistake of watering too often...(about once a week) I lost several flowers. Now I only water every 10-12 days and it seems to be much happier.

Does anyone know if the flowers I lost will grow back?

achtung: don't water more than 1x every 7 days!! will definitely kill phalaenopsis orchids. they also like misting or humid environments. like EAH my orchids thrive on when watered only once every week & 1/2 or 2 weeks even.

If your orchid is healthy but not blooming, the main culprits are often insufficient light and not providing the 10 to 15 degree temperature drop between night and day. I would definitely be wary of watering twice a week - beginners almost always overwater instead of underwater. I do mist aerial roots often and keep all of my orchids on trays of wet gravel to keep the relative humidity of the area high, but make sure not to let a pot sit in standing water. By the by, phalaenopsis and lady slipper orchids have different light requirements than cattleyas, who generally want brighter light.

yep i killed mine due to lack and too much of all of the above.

Also remember that the flowers you lose will not grow back- after all the flowers have dropped, you have to cut off the stem and wait for it to sprout a new one. THAT is the frustrating part.

agreed about the overwatering part, also they like to sit above water, so if you have the orchid in a small pot, place it on a layer of rocks in a larger pot, and let the water drain down...(this is what my husband does, so i'm just passing on the info). there are also specialized pots for this.

i kill houseplants regularly, but my orchids, given as housewarming gifts, are going on three years and bloom at least annually.

i water every 10-14 days with a good five to ten minute bath in the sink (water to pot lip). i keep them in the guest bathroom where they can get an occasional warmer mist. the bathroom skylight has indirect southeast lighting and is rarely heated so the room is cool/cold at night. i've fertilized twice with pellets and repotted once, 6 months ago.

the cambria flowers anywhere from september to january. the phalaenopsis is crazy a blooms serially sometimes.

i eventually killed mine. They lived for awhile but then start to loose flowers, i tried everything. More water, less water, more sun, less sun, it couldn't find a setup it liked.

I have killed 2 or 3 now, people that don't want them and give them to me. The cruel torture of a slow and painful death.

I have given up on orchids, maybe i will try fake ones.

My mother-in-law always says that orchids require benign neglect, and I've found that to be true. Overwatering leads to certain death. 2x a week sounds like too much (although I guess it depends on the plant), but here in warm, dry LA, I never water more than 1x per week.

Another cool things about orchids is that you can re-grow them when the blooms fall off - you simply cut halfway down the stem and place it in a sunny place, and new blooms will sprout right out after a few weeks!

hmm, I've never seen orchids planted in soil. they're usually in bark mulch or moss (I find the mulch is better as the moss dries out too quickly). soil has the potential of holding too much water and causing the roots to rot. and you certainly don't need to fertilize every week (especially when there are already blooms-- fertilizer is more important when a new spike is growing).

for those that have had trouble with orchids, try different varieties. it took me a while to do well with phaels, but my dendrobiums and oncidiums were never a problem.

this seems handy, but i think i just killed my first two orchids. had them for 6 months and the white stem just lost all it's flowers; the purple stem started to bloom and then a few flowers fell off.
first thought i was overwatering, then giving too little light, but it didn't seem to matter what i did. the plant looked fine up until 10 days ago when it just all went downhill.

Your guidelines are basically sound good. I would suggest using a higher Phosphorus fertilizer as well to encourage blooming, something with a higher middle no. eg. 10-20-10. Phals and paphs should be kept moist so the "water x times a week" will depend entirely on the weather. Others, like cattleyas and other orchids that look like they have 'bulbs', should be allowed to dry out slightly between watering. Cattleyas and dendrobiums incidentally, need much brighter light, even some direct sun, to do well. After flowering, its best to cut the entire stem off at the base. And when you repot, be sure to use an 'orchid mix not regular houseplant soil. Nice photo btw !

I know its a faux pas, but I have too lovely fake orchids in my house. One looks so real that visitors often touch it expecting it to be real. I highly recommend this route. I would love to have a real orchid or two but I have too curious kitties that cannot be trusted.

I got my orchid, don't know the type, at walmart (i know, i know) and it says to put one ice cube on it 3 times a week. I've only been doing it twice...usually before I go to bed so it melts slower. Seems to be doing just fine. My father has killed every other plant including bamboo stalks but somehow has managed to keep an orchid alive for almost 3 years...I figure there is hope for me.

Mine's in a SW facing bay window, lovingly ignored except a good watering every 2 weeks. It's almost 3 years old and in great shape.

I got one of those walmart orchids, too. I just couldn't pass it up at only $15. It did well for about a week, then all the flowers fell off. :( It's doing ok now, at least the leaves haven't shriveled up or fell off.

I've had mine for about 3 weeks and put it in a east facing window. I just put all of my dying plants in the same window. Hopefully they start to come back to life. I'm freaking out a little bit.

Anyway... the orchid is doing fantastic. I haven't watered it because I put my finger into the bark and feel the roots... if they are moist, I was told not to water it.

My fiance gave me this fantastic Smith and Hawken orchid cloche for my birthday and I was dubious about it when it arrived as it seemed HUGE, but I've had a cheap Ikea orchid in it since November and it not only survived but has put out new flowering stalks. It seems to keep the plant in a level of humidity it enjoys. I only water it infrequently, so it's a sort of a terrarium effect. So, $70 for the cloche and $14 for the orchid... seems like a good deal to me since it is a lot cheaper than the amount I might have spent on cut flowers in that time...

AlmostAD's Guide to Enjoying Orchids in 4 Easy Steps:

1) Buy beautiful new orchid plant. Admit to self that this is the best it's ever gonna get.

2) Water it or not, give it light or give it dark; it does not matter. Its flowers will eventually fall off and the other parts will randomly turn brown, and it will look like butt.

3) Give stumpy flower-less orchid to plant lady in the office. Her desk is covered with plants that look like butt.

4) Repeat.

I just keep buying a new $15 orchid every time the old one dies. I figure I'd spend a lot more buying flowers every week---what's 15 bucks every 2-3 months, really? I'm a horrible parent.

So, I've killed many phalenopsis orchids and have yet to figure it out. I've over watered and under watered. It is usually in moss. The moss seems to dry out quickly. Do I need to soak in water bath for a few minutes to rehydrate the moss completely, then water 1 - 2 x per week?

I thought the less-water-is-more approach was the way to not kill these things. But my aunt came over, declared my orchid to be on deaths door (it looked okay to me) and told me that once a week I should put it in the kitchen sink (without the plug in) and run water through the "holed" pot for about 5 minutes. Then put it back in the decorative pot.

She said the key was to water it every week but not have it standing in water at all. And I have to say, not only does it look healthier but several closed buds that had never opened in the three months I had it have started to open now, so I'm a total convert.

I've been watering my orchid quite often, 2 flowers fell off today, but the blooms were all open when I bought it a month ago, so it seems ok to me. Considering repotting isnt recommended especially. I repotted to a much larger pot than it was bought in about a week ago. It is a variety with ALOT of leaves and I was told to keep it out of the sun because the blooms will burn. I think I might have to try putting it in my window for a bit to see how it does.
I used to live somewhere where lady slippers grew wild, so I just thought to mimic that damp, mossy, shady climate.

These are such great tips and couldn't have come to me at a better time! My boyfriend brought me my very 1st beautiful little orchid, leaving it in my novice orchid hands. There were maybe 4 flowers on it when he gave it to me, now there's 1 and a hopeful bud. My overwatering was most definitely the killer here. I'm excited to get home and ignore it for the rest of the week and see what happens. Hopefully the mighty last flowers stays strong and the bud blooms quickly. Nothing is more sad than getting a beatiful plant from your special beau only to have it turn sour. So, here's to hoping. Thanks all!

I have a few crucifix or ground orchids (little orange centred yellow flowers that are just gorgeous) and they are impossible to kill, I keep dividing it up and they keep flowering and multiplying. In our heat and humidity they are my little troopers. Always loved orchids, Dad's an orchid collector from way back. They seem just as easy to grow as aloe vera. :)

AlmostAD I am crying right now. Thanks for the peels of laughter!

my mom swears by watering with one ice cube a week.

My mother puts a branch of fake (but real looking) orchid flowers with the plant while she waits for the real flowers to bloom again. Growing up we practiaclly had a green house of orchids. I follow her tips and mist mine once a week and cut the stems down once all the flowers fall off. Other than that I ignore the plant.

I am lucky, because mine seem invincible. Oddly enough, I had previously only considered the hardiest of flora to be entrusted to my care, but I have five of them in my apartment all of which are groaning under the weight of their floral braggadocio. To be fair though, I should admit, I live in Asia, so I don't do anything in the hopes that Mother Nature will do the work for me, she is doing well so far.
http://clivechristy.blogspot.com/2009/02/some-pictures.html

This thread makes me feel SO MUCH better. I have killed many phals. I have tried over-watering, under-watering, too much light, not enough light, weird disease(healthy leaves turned yellow and fell off in two days), healthy leavees but no flower, all flowers fall off in a week or two... you name it, I have seen it!!

I recently killed another two. :( but I have not given up. Are most of you people in bay area? one thing I am sure about it watering twice a week is way too much. I have seen enough root rots!

We were given an orchid after a death in the family... not recommended! Watching that flower die a slow death, no matter what I tried, was horribly depressing.

I'll stick with spider plants, thanks ;)

Thanks for the tip, Idon'tdobeige. I'll try your method out and see how it goes.

If that doesn't work, the tip with the ice cube seems interesting as well.

SeattleMama.. I am far worse. I've managed to kill TWO SPIDER PLANTS. I mean, HOW does one do that?

I would suggest knowing what type of orchid you have and follow that orchids instructions. Not all orchids should be cared for the same.

I have two Orchids, given to me by a wonderful friend,
i am on a second floor window, and i think that has helped,
one small orchid and one large and they always bloom one right after the other for years now, i even had one that had double stalks coming off of the large one, i was staking it up and i broke off the longest one, i was sad, now i know to do the staking when they are still little, they are very very delicate,
my friend was the one that told me not to water them too often, she said that why she thinks her orchids do not last very long, and she does not have very good windows on her first floor.
So good luck to all you Orchid growers, they are such a beautiful plant, i love different houseplants and housetrees!
another friend her and her husband have about a hundred houseplants, so we all love houseplants and housetrees!
from washington state.

Sooner or later the flowers will drop off; it doesn't mean you have a brown thumb. Only fake flowers last forever :-)
Usually moth orchids ("phals") have one big spree of blooming a year right starting in December. After all those blossoms drop off then the plant needs to rest for a couple months.
As for watering: feel the moss or bark it's potted in. Ideally it should be almost dry when you water it. Ideally it should not be bone dry between waterings, but underwatering is almost always better than overwatering.

I'm great at keeping orchids alive because I never remember to water them. They love it! African Violets are the same way.

I've found the quality of water to be very important.

I put tap water in my watering can and leave it out for at least a week. That is usually enough time for things like chlorine to evaporate out. That also helps me to not over water. I water about once every 12-15 days. If you use clear plastic pots you can look in and see if the potting mix is damp or not.

Good to know I'm not the only one who treats orchids like cut flowers, buying them 'til they (quickly) die. Perhaps it's the cool Canadian climate.

Do not put your orchid in direct sun light. The flowers will scorch and start to die and fall off. If your orchid flowers die off, don't give up and toss it out. Snip the whole about 2/3 of the way and wait for it to all grow back, flowers and all.