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This is Why Your Orchid is Wilting! Life Cycle, Dormancy & Phases
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Oct 3, 2024
This video explains how your orchid gets from a seed to your home, and how you can take care of it in your house. It won’t focus on the stages from seed germination to fertilization, since as an orchid hobbyist, that isn’t something I’d be doing anytime soon. Just so you’ll know, those parts will be mentioned, but not as the focal point of this video. What this article does mention: How Long do Cut Orchids Last How long do Blooms Last Do Orchids go Into Dormancy? How Keikis (baby orchids) are produced If you want the full explanation of this video, our in-depth guides, please go to https://orchideria.com/orchid-life-cycle/ On the Orchideria.com website, you'll have all the access to our information, tutorials, guides, and much more... all for free! Happy Cultivating! --x-- TIMESTAMPS --x-- 0:00 Introduction About Orchid Life Cycles & Phases 0:31 Orchid Seed Germination or Keiki Growth 2:41 Orchid Root Growth 3:55 Orchid Leaf Growth 5:29 Blossoms and Flower Spikes
View Video Transcript
0:00
In this video you're going to learn about the different phases that your orchid goes through
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during life and how to care for that orchid in each phase of its life
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Hi, I'm Amanda Matthews and thank you for watching this video at Orkidaria
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So in this video we're going to learn about the different steps or phases. that your orchid goes through
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Well, the first one is seed germination or new life. I'm not going to focus on seed germination
0:38
because that is not something I do. So I'll just start with a keiki
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And if you haven't seen that video, please go back to my channel
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and look for keikis because it's there. The keiki will grow from the side of the stem
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and by the time that keiki, which is a baby plant, and its exact clone of its mother
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It has the same chromosomes. It will have the same smell. It will have the same flower type
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It will have the same colors, the same shape. Everything is the same
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There's not an extra pair of chromosomes or a hybrid that will cross between it
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to make a different plant. By the time that cakey forms to where you can take it off the mother plant
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and put it by itself into a new pot will be anywhere from eight months
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eight months to a year. That depends a lot on the growing conditions. Now the main thing that you
1:34
need to have on a keiki is at least two good leaves and three roots. Now they have to be healthy
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They have to be good substantive roots. It's better if you keep the keying on longer than if you
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just take it off too early and pot it. Now the time that this orchid will produce enough
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roots and have a good, healthy root system and it will have various leaves that can actually
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sustain it by itself and produce, start producing a flower spike can take up to three years
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Now, orchid care is a lesson in patience. You have to be patient. You have to just relax and
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trust your orchid to know that it's doing what's best for its life. So
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So just be patient. You know when that seedling if you order seedlings from flask they can take up to three to five years to be a mature plant to even start that first flower spike So what your orchid is going to do it going to focus first always on roots
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That is the first sign of a healthy orchid. It has a good root system
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Now look at this orchid. Here. This orchid, when I got it, it had no roots whatsoever
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I almost cried when I unpacked it and repotted it because the whole system of roots was just totally failed
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Now before it produced new growth and worked on leaves and worked on a new flower spike
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it had to grow healthy roots. Now in a matter of six months, it grew all these fascinating roots
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I mean, it just spurred out with roots all over the pot
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healthy roots is what makes a healthy orchid. Don't think that you have an orchid that has a beautiful blossom, that it's healthy
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That's not a sign of a healthy orchid. So the first thing that your orchid is going to work on while after it's an adult is the root system
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After it works on the root system and it has enough roots to absorb energy, to absorb those extra water droplets that are traveling
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through the air. That's why these aerial roots are so important. And after these roots can
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photosynthesize and provide gas exchange, remember orchid roots are not like other household
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plant roots. After they have this root system, they will focus on leaves. So if your orchid is
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producing new leaves, then you're on the right track. It's got out the roots. It's got out
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starting to produce new leaves. If it's not growing the leaves, there's no new way to have this new flower spike
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So your orchid has produced new roots. That's the first step. Then it has produced new flowers, new leaves
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That's the second step. Once the leaves are healthy and the roots are healthy, then and only then is it going to work on that flower spike
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Now, each orchid will do this in the course of a year
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Some orchids will bloom biannually. They'll bloom twice a year. Most orchids do not
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They bloom once a year. Once your orchid has enough roots has good leaves and is going to start to work on a flower spike This orchid is now ready to bloom and it has used so much energy to produce the roots to produce the leaves
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which is, you know, the roots and the leaves are the main health of the orchid
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Don't judge an orchid by the flower. It's used so much energy to do this that it has a very little reserve left to produce this flower spike
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Orchids don't stay in bloom forever, so they will fade away, they will die off, and when that happens, they'll probably go into a period of dormancy
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Not all orchids have this period of dormancy. If they have a pseudobul, then they probably will
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Like, for example, phalanopsis don't have pseudobulbs. They do not go into dormancy
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They have, their flowers die off, then they just focus on, let's get those roots out to start again
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Some orchids will, like a cadaceaum orchid. Oh, sorry, a catacium orchid like this one right here
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It will go into a dormancy where it will lose all of its beautiful leaves
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Dendrobiums will also. go into dormancy and they'll look like these little things that you shouldn't have bought
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And you know, what did I do to them? And that's where the terrible fate of the trash can comes
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in. Do not give up on your poor orchid. Even though it has no leaves, even though it has nothing
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it has no flower spike, it does have a suitable. And that is going to keep it alive during its
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period of dormancy. Some orchids have a larger period of dormancy. Others have a
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quicker, shorter period. Some, like a phalanopsis, don't have any at all. So once they go into
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dormancy, they're going to just rest for a while because they've given all their energy all year
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long to produce all these roots, to produce all these new leaves, to produce this flower spike
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and pollinate and to attract this pollinator. So now just, you know, we need a, we need a yearly
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rest. We need our vacation time. We need time. to regroup to rethink just give your orchid a rest sometimes you can water less
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fertilize less keep it in you know lower the lights it's not gonna have any leaves
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anyway now give the orchid a cooler temperature and then when you see new growth on the roots the cycle starts again How long is this life cycle as a total cycle of an orchid
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How long does an orchid live? In nature, I mean, they can live up to 200 years because they're in that same place
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They're not being repotted each year. They're not being tested to see which potting media they like
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They're not going through air conditioner and heating. They're not going through artificial humidifiers
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They're not going through all this that we try our best to do
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They're just sitting in nature and they're just getting everything they've always loved
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So they can live up to 200 years. In our home environments, if you get one that's up to 20 years, 25 years, you're doing great
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I've seen longer, I've seen up to 30 years, but it's rare
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So don't get an orchid. There is one brand of orchids that say that once the flower has died off, you can toss the orchid in the trash
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This is a marketing trick just to get your money to make you buy more orchids
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That orchid will live 20 years. Just repot it and don't use ice cubes
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So make sure that you give your orchid the right environment to live
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live in and it will flourish for 20, 25 years on you. Just, you know, fertilize it. Give it the right
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lighting. Give it the right nutrients. Give the, you know, don't repot it every six months. This is
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what drives me crazy. You know, oh, this potting media didn't work. I'm going to repot it again
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No, leave your orchid alone. Okay, just don't touch it. You know, you repotted it
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Give it a year to see if it adapted well. After you repotted, it's going to feel it
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Orchids hate to be repotted. So don't do that. If you want to know all the terms of how to care for your orchid, like, what is the name of this
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and how do I care for this part right here? What's the name of that part
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Check out this video. It's a little longer about orchid carrot and the terminology and anatomy of that
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At the end of that video, I will point you to a place where you can get a free download of all the terms that you're used in orchids care, so it's well worth it
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And if you are wondering about these aerial roots in orchid care, look at this video up here that talks about aerial roots
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In all, thank you for watching this video. Please like and subscribe. Happy cultivating
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