Orchids- why they lose their flowers ??

I had to write this article, because last time when I went to work and realized that one of the orchids is gone. Luckily it wasn't mine but I asked mine friend where is your orchid? I throw it away, so she said. I asked why would you do that and she said: "ohh my orchid lost all its flowers so I thought it was dead and I chucked away".
Please don't ever throw your orchid away, it is not dead. Yest it lost its flowers but that doesn't mean it is dead. With your care and maybe little rest your orchid will bloom again :)
Just like us your orchid needs rest and time to replenish their energy after blooming. The beautiful flowers your orchid produces and maintain every day will eventually exhaust your plant and drain it of the energy. When your orchid lost all the flowers probably the steam will become dry, but not necessarily. So if the steam is dry you have to cut it off, if it is not dry just leave it because your plant might want to bloom again from the same steam. But lets say your orchid lost the flowers and the steam, leaves are bit flat and limp, that means your orchid  is not dead. Your plant is going through period called dormancy. You could say that your plant is resting. In my case dormancy period for one of my orchids was long, it was nearly a year. But it could be longer, could be shorter. In that time your orchid might loose some leaves, might grow new one or just develop some roots.

When your orchid does drop the flowers you have to check if this is not the premature flower drop, in that case their might be something wrong with your orchid. Again you always watch your plant, observe how it is changing. If there is something wrong there normally is time to save your plant. Never give up :)

Pepper xxx