In botany, orchids are part of the immense family of monocotyledonous plants that includes more than 25,000 species. Certainly the most appreciated and most appreciated indoors, the “Phalaenopsis” orchid, more commonly called “moth orchid”, is very easy to grow at home. With simple maintenance and without too many constraints, it can be preserved for a long time and prolong its flowering. It blooms fully in an environment around 20°C (never below 10°C) and tolerates summer heat well. Light as butterflies, its flowers are very beautiful to look at, oscillating between various colors ranging from white, pink, yellow and orange. Some hybrid orchids can even take on perennial shades like purple, violet or electric blue.
This tropical plant is hardy and ideally grown during the winter. As a bulb or rhizome, it adapts easily to cooler temperatures. After the cold months, the orchid prepares for its vegetative awakening. But how can you care for it to provide it with everything it needs and stimulate its spring flowering?
In this article, we reveal the best natural fertilizers to make your orchids bloom (or rebloom) faster at home, according to the advice of Romain Le Tallec, a florist from Lyon.
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Banana peel to make your orchids bloom
To increase your orchid’s flowering, there’s nothing like adding a little fertilizer to its substrate. The most popular natural fertilizer for this type of plant is banana peel. It’s precisely the nutrient it needs: rich in vitamins B6 and C, and minerals like potassium and magnesium, banana peel is the little boost it needs to grow and flourish peacefully.
Take a banana peel, wash it, and cut it into small pieces. Then place them in a bowl with 2 liters of water and let them soak for about 48 hours. Finally, strain the mixture.
The resulting liquid will absorb all the nutrients from the banana peel, so you can use it as water to water your orchids.
eggshells
Widely used to drive away unwanted pests that gravitate around plants, eggshells are also a natural fertilizer rich in calcium and potassium. By crushing the shells very finely and sprinkling them on the bark of your orchids, the soil will quickly absorb all these nutrients and minerals essential for flowering.
Ash
Do you like to create a cozy atmosphere around the fireplace in winter? Then here’s a little tip: don’t throw away the ashes! You may not know this, but you can recycle them into fertilizer for your orchids. It may seem strange, but fireplace ashes are very rich in calcium, potassium, phosphorus, and trace elements. In other words, a cocktail of nutrients your plants need!
Ideally, you should add these ashes directly to your orchid’s soil. Do this after watering. Ash encourages flowering and also helps suffocate insects that hover around the plants. However, they lack nitrogen and phosphorus, which will need to be supplemented with other fertilizers. Caution: Since the ashes are somewhat caustic, it’s best to wear gloves when handling them.
banana tea
Another clever method with this same ingredient: take a banana peel and cut it into small pieces. Then place them on a cutting board and expose them to direct sunlight for about 48 hours. You’ll notice that your peel dries out and becomes harder. Then put the peels in a blender and you’ll get a powdered mixture.
Use one teaspoon of this product by pouring it into about 200 ml of hot water. Mix. Then let it cool. You have just made banana tea: let it cool then pour it into your orchid.
banana powder
This method is also very practical. In this case, after drying the banana peels in the sun, you should put them in the oven at 70°C until they are completely dry. Then take them out of the oven and grind them into powder. You can then use this banana powder as fertilizer to help your orchid grow better.
Don’t throw away banana peels, as you can see they are much more useful on your plants than in the trash!
cooking water
Another unexpected alternative to fertilizer: vegetable cooking water. You probably prepare this for every meal! So stop pouring that water down the drain and save it for watering your orchids instead. Because, as you should know, when cooking these foods, they release a lot of nutrients into the water. And it turns out, it’s an excellent natural fertilizer for your plants!
NB: do not use salt water, as this will kill your orchids!
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When to use these natural fertilizers?
These natural fertilizers must be used with great care. If you use them too often, you risk damaging your orchid. During the winter months, fertilize at most once a month. Start fertilizing more frequently as new shoots begin to develop.
Why doesn’t the moth orchid bloom indoors?
If you notice that your orchids are developing leaves but not producing flowers, this means that the conditions are not optimal for flowering. This is usually a lighting problem: your plants need light, but not direct sunlight. As for temperature, avoid drafts and place them in a warm but humid location. Lack of humidity can prevent flowering.
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