How To Prune Orchids
Executive Summary about Pruning
Orchids by Marianne Wong
By October
or November, the orchid's blooming season is over. Generally, the flower stalk
has atrophied and is yellow or brown. Pruning away the old stalk will help to
assure that a new flower stalk will be produced the following year.
When pruning
these old leaves and stalks, be sure to use clean pruning shears, and to
sterilize them with alcohol before using them on another plant. If the pruning
shears are dull, it would be a good idea to use a new razor blade to prune
with, but remember to sterilize between plants.
Orchid pups
are small plantlets that can form on the orchid. These will eventually grow
into full-sized plants that will be clones of the mother plant. The production
of these pups can be encouraged by pruning away the flower stalk while it is
still green, rather than waiting until it has turned yellow or brown. You must
wait until the pups have formed roots of their own before removing them from
the parent, but at this point they can be potted up. The same growing medium in
which the parent plant is growing should be used for the pups.
Pruning Orchids - A Simple
Guide
Execuitve Summary about Pruning Orchids by Sarah Matters
Pruning your
orchids once they have started blooming is one of the best ways to promote
healthy growth, and as a result, when you take the time to carefully prune your
orchid, you will be rewarded with a healthy and thriving orchid.
You're going
to get used to seeing the dead growth and of observing the roots at the same
time. Keep your pruning to less than half an inch at any given time. There's no
way to instantly regrow your orchid, but it's easy to keep trimming small
parts.
You're going
to run across some dying and dead flower spikes too. This is natural and you
should expect it. Gentle care is the best advice.
You could
also just remove the end of the blossom stalk. Make sure to keep enough so that
it can continue to bloom. If you want to go this way, keep until about 1/4 inch
above the node (set apart as a small leafy-like bump in the stalk).
Pruning, as
long as you do it correctly, should do no harm to your orchid.
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