Orchid Care After Flowering: Steps to Keep Blooming

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You may be wondering what to do with your orchid when the flowers have withered and died.  Your beautiful blooming orchid that you purchased will bloom again for you if you follow a few simple steps that are outlined below.

You really have 3 total options to figure out what to do with your orchid after the flowers fall off. The 3 options involve what to do with the old flower stalk. I have photo illustrations for these below so keep reading.

And I’ll also go into what to do with the care of the plant itself so that you can continue to keep it healthy and blooming for years to come.

How Long Do Orchids Bloom?

It depends on the individual orchid, but most moth orchids or Phalaenopsis will grow a new flower spike about once a year. Although most will only grow one new flower spike per year, that spike can be in bloom for a good 3-5 months!

After all the orchid flowers have all fallen off, you have 3 main options to get your Phalaenopsis to flower again.

What To Do With Orchids After Blooming

Before I go into the 3 options that you have, let me clear up one very important thing. I’ve had so many people get worried after their orchid flowers fall off.

If you’ve just purchased an orchid, you really don’t know how long the flowers have been open so don’t be shocked if they start to wither shortly after you bring them home!

The flowers will not last forever, so there isn’t anything necessarily wrong if your flower wither and fall off! They may have just been open for a long time already.

So what do you do after all your flowers are withered and have fallen off?

Option 1: Leave it As-Is

Option 1 is to just leave the whole flower stem intact.  I’ve never done this, and I’ll explain why. 

The flower spike may continue to grow some buds at the tip, but the stem will grow longer, will look ungainly, and the flowers will be smaller.  Not the best option in my opinion, but it is possible to take this route.

If you want to learn all about how to get your orchid to rebloom reliably and have healthy, thriving moth orchid plants, don’t miss my signature, online orchid care course, Become an Orchid Master. It also includes bonuses with support from me, personally, to guide you in your orchid journey!

Option 2: Cutting Stems After Blooming

Option 2 is to snip the bloom spike right above one of the nodes on the spike.  You’ll see a node every few inches on the flower spike.  

The nodes are very noticeable on the flower spike and will look like little bumps covered with a little triangular pointed covering.    See picture below:

Count one node below where the bottom flower was located and snip it right above that node but leave a little room so you’re not cutting too close to the node.  

Many times, your orchid will branch off with a new, secondary flower spike right at one of the remaining nodes on the original flower stalk and will continue to bloom.   This may not always happen so don’t get discouraged if it doesn’t!  

Sometimes you may already see new side branches on your flower spike starting to grow! And sometimes they will appear after you lightly prune the flower stalk as I’ve described above. Here is another photo illustration.

You can simply cut right where the tip of the scissors are.

With this option, your plant’s flowering season will be extended and you won’t have to wait until a new flower spike grows the following year. A secondary flower spike will usually start to grow right at a node.

Take a look at the photo below. You can see the secondary flower spike growing on an old flower stalk. Many times though, you won’t see it growing yet, and that’s ok! Just give it time. The red line represents where you would trim your stalk right above that node.

But like I said, it doesn’t always happen so don’t think that something is necessarily wrong. I would only recommend this option if your Phalaenopsis orchid plant is healthy. If your plant appears to be struggling and it has lost a lot of roots and the orchid has wrinkly leaves, then it best NOT to encourage reblooming off of the old flower stalk, and I would recommend the next option instead.

After trimming the orchid from the previous picture, the photo below shows the results. It produced a secondary flower spike off of the old spike and it had 10 flowers.

Option 3: Cut the Whole Flower Spike Off

If you start to see that the entire flower spike is starting to turn brown and dry up, it is time to cut the whole stem off. Your orchid will grow brand new flower stalks from the base of the plant so don’t despair.

I would also recommend cutting off the flower stalk off after blooming if you have a sickly orchid and your plant is not healthy.

In the photo below, I’m just demonstrating where to cut. I actually left this spike since it is still green and alive and the plant is very healthy.

Take a pair of sharp scissors (sterilizing the tip would be a good idea…either in a flame or with rubbing alcohol) and snip the whole spike off as close to the bottom of the plant as possible, without damaging any leaves.  

After this point, after blooming, your plant should start growing more roots and a new leaf.

Trimming off the entire, old flower stalk on a sickly, struggling orchid will allow it to focus its energy on growing new leaves and roots so that it can be strong enough to bloom in the future. If your plant is very healthy though, I would choose option 2 above instead.

Don’t be scared to cut off that flower spike if you have a sickly plant! With good care, as you rehabilitate your orchid, it will grow a new flower spike. If you are a beginner, it can be hard to tell the difference between a new root versus a new flower spike. Check out my blog post so that you can visually see the difference between an orchid root vs. a new flower spike.

More Orchid Care After Flowering

After you’ve completed one of the three options describe above, you should resume your normal care routine. If you’ve had your plant on display somewhere in your house while in bloom, like I often do, return your plant to a window and let it do its thing.

Watering

Phalaenopsis orchids do NOT go dormant so you’ll need to water your plants like normal. They do not need a dry rest period and will keep growing year-round. If you need some tips on watering, read my blog post on how to properly water an orchid.

Light

If you’ve left your plant next to a window during its bloom, then leave it there. East windows are ideal for moth orchids regardless of where you live.  Phalaenopsis are among the low light orchids (another great one is Paphiopedilum), but the morning sun is gentle enough on them and will provide enough light for strong growth.

Light is the most important factor in blooming, so if you don’t have enough light, you will struggle in getting your plant to grow new flower spikes.

Be careful of too much direct sun though because moth orchid sunburn can occur pretty quickly if it’s sitting in direct sun all day (and also if you haven’t acclimated your plant properly to higher light). Depending on where you live, you may even want to use a southern facing window if you live in a darker climate. If you live in a warm climate with a lot of strong sun, you can try diffusing particularly sunny windows with sheer curtains or partially closed blinds in order to avoid sun scald.

Fun fact: Unobstructed Southern facing windows have the most light in the northern hemisphere, with northern facing windows having the least amount of light. This is the opposite in the Southern hemisphere!

Temperature

Summering your orchid outside will work wonders for your plant, but wait until the nighttime temperatures stay consistently above a minimum temperature of 50°F (10°C) so your plant isn’t damaged. And be sure to return your plant back indoors before temperatures get too cold again. A few weeks of cooler nighttime temperatures can help your orchid grow a new spike!

These are just a few tips to keep your orchid growing and blooming, but there is really a lot more to learn.

If you have reason to believe that your orchid is truly dying, and has more than just some spent, old flowers, check out my blog post Help My Orchid Is Dying! It goes through all sorts of orchid problems and let you know how to fix it.

If you want to learn all about how to get your orchid to rebloom reliably and have healthy, thriving moth orchid plants, don’t miss my signature, online orchid care course, Become an Orchid Master. It also includes bonuses with support from me, personally, to guide you in your orchid journey!