In botany, orchids are part of the immense family of monocotyledonous plants which include more than 25,000 species. Surely the most popular and highly prized indoors, the “Phalaenopsis” orchid, more commonly nicknamed “butterfly orchid”, is very easy to grow at home. With simple maintenance and without too many constraints, it can be kept for a long time and prolong its flowering. It flourishes fully in an environment around 20°C (never less than 10°C) and tolerates summer heat. 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 tones such as crimson, violet or electric blue.
This tropical plant is resistant and its cultivation is ideally done during the winter period. As bulbs or rhizomes, it adapts quietly to cool temperatures. After the cold months, the orchid prepares for its vegetative awakening. But how can you take good care of it to give it everything it needs and stimulate its flowering in spring?
In this article, we will reveal to you the best natural fertilizers to make your orchids bloom (or re-bloom) more quickly at home based on the advice of Romain Le Tallec, florist in Lyon.
Banana Peel to Make your Orchids Bloom
To boost the flowering of your orchid, there’s nothing like adding a little fertilizer to its substrate. The most popular natural fertilizer for this type of plant is banana peel. This is exactly the nutrient it needs: rich in vitamins B6 and C, in mineral salts such as potassium and magnesium, banana peel is the little boost it needs to grow and flower peacefully.
Take a banana peel, wash it and cut it into small pieces. Then put them in a bowl with 2 liters of water and soak them for about 48 hours. Finally, filter the mixture.
The liquid obtained will absorb all the nutrients from the banana peel, you can then use it as watering water for your orchids.
Eggshells
Widely used to chase away all the undesirables that surround plants, eggshell is also a natural fertilizer full of 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 cocooning atmosphere in winter around the fireplace? So a little advice: don’t get rid of the ashes! You may not know it, but you can recycle them into fertilizer for your orchids. This may seem strange to you, but fireplace ashes are very rich in calcium, potassium, phosphorus and trace elements. In other words, a cocktail of nutrients that your plants need!
The ideal is to add these ashes directly to the soil of your orchid. Do this after watering. The ash promotes flowering and also takes the opportunity to suffocate insects that revolve around plants. However, it lacks nitrogen and phosphorus, which you will need to supplement with other fertilizers. Warning: as the ash is a little caustic, it is better to wear gloves when handling.
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 will notice that the skin dries out and becomes harder. Then put the peelings in a blender and you will obtain a powdered mixture.
Use a teaspoon of this product, pouring it into approximately 200 ml of hot water. Stir. Then let cool. You have just made a 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 must put them in the oven at 70°C until they are completely dry. Then take them out of the oven and crush them into powder. You can then use this banana powder as fertilizer to enable better growth of your orchid.
Don’t throw away your banana peels anymore, as you see, they are much more useful on your plants than in the trash!
Cooking Water
Another unsuspected fertilizer alternative: vegetable cooking water. You probably prepare it for every meal! So don’t throw this water down the sink and instead save it to water your orchids. Because you should know that during cooking, these foods release many nutrients into the water. And, it turns out to be a great natural fertilizer for your plants!
NB: You must not use salt water, as this risks killing your orchids!
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 once a month at most. Start fertilizing more frequently when new buds begin to develop.
Why doesn’t the moth orchid flower indoors?
If you notice that your orchids are developing their leaves well, but are not producing flowers, the conditions are not optimal for flowering. Generally, it is a problem of light: your plants need light, but not direct exposure to the sun. In terms of temperature, avoid drafts and install them in a warm but humid place. Lack of humidity can prevent flowering.
