Orchid help needed!

[MazdaUK]

DH's cousin gave us an orchid for Christmas. It had flowers on it - which lasted an amazing amount of time - but finally the last one ended in my bath. Now instead of a lovely orchid I have some leaves and a stick in a pot - what should I do? Will more flowers grow on the stick part or do I need to cut it down? It has no lablel so I can't be precise on the variety, but the floweres were purply and 4" across or thereabouts.

TIA!

 

[PinballFamily]

Don't cut it! Orchids' roots kind of grow in a line. (Hard to explain.) The new growth will come from below. Put it in a window where it gets nice bright light. Water it (weekly?) and let the excess water run out. Don't let it sit in water. There's probably lots of info online about how to do it. Many people probably just dump them after the original blooms have finished, but you could give it a shot! Are there any garden club or WI gals near you - they could help you coax some new shoots out of that plant, I'm sure!

When I was growing up, my mother couldn't keep a plastic plant alive. In her previous home 5-10 years ago, she had a window facing just the right way (west) and she became quite the little orchid grower.

Good luck, Mazda!

 

[MazdaUK]

Thanks! So will new flowers come on the stick? Or I just leave it sticking up til something new comes?

My bathroom window faces east - would it be better in the conservatory (which also faces east but gets late afternoon sun) or should I move it to the west-facing living room?

 

[DebºoºS]

Your eastern facing window sounds right and the extra humidity in the bathroom helps.. It loves bright light. Mine enjoys a spot next to the kitchen sink with a southern exposure.

Yes, eventually you will have new growth. My orchid just went through it's flowering faze also. They go through a rest period after blooming. It's a good time to refresh it's pot with new bark and start fertilizing. There are many good tutorials online as to how to go about it.

For an exotic looking plant they take very little care but patience in between blooms