Unlike other plants when you grow orchids, eventually you'll recognize the necessity to prune your plants. The two main reasons that it's necessary to do this are to grow more blossoms or assist your plant to grow by developing more leaves. The big concern, of course, is recognizing the timing of when your plant is ready for pruning and if you should prune for blossom growth or focus on leaf growth.
If your orchid plant has just completed a flowering cycle it could possibly be ready to begin another one. If you closely look at the bloom spike you'll notice nodes which appear along it every three or four inches. If it looks like these nodes have a greenish color and are seemingly healthy and there is the absence of new leaf growth then you can go for another crop of blossoms.
If, on the other hand, the nodes seem to be dry and have a brown or tan coloration you'll most likely want to prune so that the orchid will concentrate on leaf growth. This is particularly the situation if you see the beginnings of a new leaf.
Before you commence your surgical operation you'll need to have the correct equipment available for the job. You can pick either a scalpel or a good pair of sharp shears. Whichever way you go you must sterilize these instruments so you don't allow infection into the plant. You can do this by either wiping them thoroughly with alcohol or applying heat from a torch or gas flame.
At this point you're ready to make your cut. If you are planning to start another blossom cycle make your cut on the spike at approximately one half inch above the second node from the base. If, however, you want to promote more leaf growth chop the spike off at the base.
After you've made the cut get some cinnamon from the kitchen and tap a little bit on the end of the spike that you have just cut. This will prevent disease from entering through this area.
Now you can sit back and wait for the results to appear. The new bloom spike may take one or two months to appear and it may take a month or longer before you see any blooms. If your focus is on developing new leaves it will also take a month or more for new leaves to be completely formed.
If your orchid plant has just completed a flowering cycle it could possibly be ready to begin another one. If you closely look at the bloom spike you'll notice nodes which appear along it every three or four inches. If it looks like these nodes have a greenish color and are seemingly healthy and there is the absence of new leaf growth then you can go for another crop of blossoms.
If, on the other hand, the nodes seem to be dry and have a brown or tan coloration you'll most likely want to prune so that the orchid will concentrate on leaf growth. This is particularly the situation if you see the beginnings of a new leaf.
Before you commence your surgical operation you'll need to have the correct equipment available for the job. You can pick either a scalpel or a good pair of sharp shears. Whichever way you go you must sterilize these instruments so you don't allow infection into the plant. You can do this by either wiping them thoroughly with alcohol or applying heat from a torch or gas flame.
At this point you're ready to make your cut. If you are planning to start another blossom cycle make your cut on the spike at approximately one half inch above the second node from the base. If, however, you want to promote more leaf growth chop the spike off at the base.
After you've made the cut get some cinnamon from the kitchen and tap a little bit on the end of the spike that you have just cut. This will prevent disease from entering through this area.
Now you can sit back and wait for the results to appear. The new bloom spike may take one or two months to appear and it may take a month or longer before you see any blooms. If your focus is on developing new leaves it will also take a month or more for new leaves to be completely formed.
About the Author:
Growing and maintaining stunning orchid plants is a very gratifying hobby because these plants produce some of the most magnificent flowers on earth. If you would like to learn more about orchids you can visit our site at http://www.secretsoforchidcare.com. One of the factors to successfully growing orchids is determining when to prune them and you can find out more about this over here.
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