Orchids can be rewarding plants when they receive the right care. Sometimes, they can even be manipulated to produce bigger and bushier blooms.
“The bushy an orchid is, the more blooms it can produce,” explained orchid enthusiast Danny, who goes by Miss Orchid Girl on YouTube. “In the end, we can end up with a ball of beautiful, gorgeous flowers.”
“You may be interested to know how to obtain those beautiful, massive orchids full of blooms that you might see on Instagram,” explained Danny.
“It’s not as hard as you think and you don’t necessarily need to wait as long as you think.”
Identify healthy bulbs before dividing your orchids
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To achieve these results, gardeners can use a technique known as dividing. They start by removing the clump of plants from the pot and identifying healthy bulbs.
Healthy bulbs of a sympodial orchid will have green leaves growing from it. Older bulbs, also known as back bulbs, will have no foliage.
By making sure you have three to five healthy bulbs in each division, you will ensure the plants flower the following year.
Experts at Besgrow advise gardeners to cut halfway through the rhizome and wait until the back bulb wakes up.
“You can then remove, divide and repot the pseudobulb and back bulb into separate pots,” the experts explained.
“If the back bulbs have an active eye, repot them and spray them carefully.”
Danny explained the technique works best on sympodial orchids, which have a stem that grows relatively close to the ground.
“As the orchid grows, you will not be able to tell that there are multiple pieces potted together.”
“Sympodials are the ones with the most potential, they have a rhizome that continually grows and creates growth after growth, which can bloom,” she said.
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Dividing orchids can boost flowering
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For other varieties of monopodial orchids, there is also an option to create a bigger and more colourful display by creating a community pot.
“When you’re creating a community pot, make sure your orchids are either the same species or variety,” she explained.
In other words, you can buy several phalaenopsis that look the same and put them together.
As long as the orchids have the same lighting and temperature requirements, they will cohabite in the same pot without issues.
