Trying to get a specific orchid to bloom again took me almost two years

I have this Cattleya orchid I got as a gift, and it had a beautiful flower. After it faded, I could not get it to rebloom no matter what I did. I tried moving it to different windows, changing my watering schedule, and using different fertilizers. I even bought a specific orchid food that cost about $25. The problem, in my experience, was the light. It was getting light, but not the right kind or amount. I finally put it under a basic grow light on a 12-hour timer last fall, and it just put out a new spike. That whole process from the first flower dying to seeing a new one was about 22 months. Has anyone else had a plant that just refused to flower until you changed one very specific thing?

3 comments

3 Comments

skyler_baker2mo ago

Sounds like that orchid was just holding out for its own personal spotlight.

elliot_allen651mo agoMost Upvoted

I mean, it's a plant, not a drama queen. Maybe it just really liked the steam from the shower. @ward.julia's story is cool but idk if we need to read that much into it. Sometimes stuff just works out when you move it around. Feels like people make plant care way more deep than it has to be.

ward.julia2mo ago

My grandma had a moth orchid that did nothing for three years in her living room. She moved it to the bathroom for the humidity and it bloomed within two months. Do you think some plants just need that specific environmental trigger, or was it pure luck?