Orchids - not flowered for a couple of years

Chocolatelovinggran

I've used wide glass vases for this - charity shops are a good source.

So do I.

Orchids seem to thrive on neglect ( which is why I like them). I don’t think they like to be watered too much or fussed over. I have quite a lot and they flower every year but the main issue is grass and other plants which appear and miraculously take a hold round their roots. They are outside in a sheltered spot but do get morning sun.

I've used wide glass vases for this - charity shops are a good source.

crazyH

Clg - didn’t realise that - I’ll have to look for a see-through pot. My orchid is in a thick ceramic pot, since August, although I don’t know where I will find a transparent pot.

They sell them in garden centres with the houseplants, where the orchids are.

Clg - didn’t realise that - I’ll have to look for a see-through pot. My orchid is in a thick ceramic pot, since August, although I don’t know where I will find a transparent pot.

I put mine in the garden recycling after they flowered 3 times, were repotted when needed, fed and pampered to no avail.

Sounds like your orchids are a bit tired .
Always cut off dead flowers.
Give them a weekly orchid tonic in Spring and Summrr .
I think that I'd repot them after Christmas and give them a quarter strength feed ,increasing it to half strength in March .

Nothing lost if you were thinking of throwing them away .
I'm sure that they will perk up !

Photo of cyclamen.

Orchid should be in a bark compost with v little potting mix. They like free draining and rarely need repotting. Only feed them with orchid food in their resting period when the flowers have gone. I rarely feed or repot mine.
Cyclamens need to be cool and kept moist. They can be tricky. At the moment I have three small ones placed still in their pots in a decorative soup tureen. The pots are resting on a layer of gravel and some wood bark surrounding them. I then filled it to the top with rainwater. ( it’s been wet and a couple of tubs are full). I will continue to fill with water as the central heat dries them out. I’ll post a photo.

I am hopeless with plants but seem todo ok with orchids. I had one for about fifteen years which used to do repeat flowering. I only killed it when I decided to give it some love and kindness and repotted it in special orchid compost. The replacement, bought from M and S, is on its second flowering. I noticed on the label it said for watering, give it two ie cubes a week which I have been doing. It is on an east facing windowsill in the cloakroom

Just wondering if you feed your orchids?

I had the usual problems with my Orchid. After much faffing I decided to give up. Threw it in the bin and bought a silk one. You'd have to look very closely to see it wasn't real. Wonderful. No dropping of flowers and no watering. Just a bit of dusting from time to time. If I stand it near real plants nobody would ever know.

Don't forget that orchid roots need light, too. Are they potted in clear glass? Any other sort of pot risks the roots suffering.

I have also just killed off a cyclamen - which is not like me. It was in the going cheap section when I bought it but I thought I could revive it. I suspect is was one of the outdoor types

I usually buy a tray of four cyclamen from Asda/B&Q every December but I haven't seen any at all this year. They usually survive very well. I was wondering if there was a problem with the supplier or the bad weather having an impact.

I have three orchids in varying stages of decrepitude. They are very dry and in a fairly coolish darkish place. I am no good with plants. I have just killed a pretty cyclamen. It got too dry so I guess I overwatered it.

Thanks J52. They are currently all on one table in a west facing room. It's quite a bright room but they are about ten feet away from the window. I only have one south facing window which is in the bathroom so I might move them to there. I think they will also like the humidity

I was kind of hiding them away as they don't look very attractive with just leaves and those ariel roots. They are in the soil that is more like wood chips. I don't overwater then, the opposite if anything.

They are probably just in the wrong place. They like light, but not direct sunshine. I have had one in a south facing room, but too far back. Like yours it didn’t flower for years after the first flush. As a last ditch attempt I put it on a south facing windowsill, but shaded by shutters. It’s now got two flower stalks.
Don’t be tempted to over water, I’ve got some in another property that survived lockdown completely unattended. When we did get there they had masses of flowers!