I have only ever purchased two orchids. I have twelve of them. You mention that your orchid is blooming again. Someone mentions that theirs never does. You offer some suggestions. The next day they bring you their orchid. You’ve become an orchid whisperer.
Most of mine are Phalaenopsis, Moth Orchids, with a few other species in the mix. I bought the Epidendrum and a Phalaenopsis. The rest just arrived, usually with an accompanying: I kill plants, plants don’t like me, they’re too difficult, or, it never blooms. Recently, my neighbor tried to give me one; she said it never re-bloomed. I repotted it, give it back, told her how to water it, and three weeks later it started blooming. Now her friends are trying to give me their orchids.
Fortunately mine seem to like my “mindful neglect” approach. I give them a drink, a spritz of fertilizer, and leave them alone. Some have not been re-potted in years, and yet they bloom regularly. And no, I don’t do the ice cube thing, that doesn’t seem like a good idea.
Granted I don’t have anything too exotic, but they’re not fragile and difficult. They’re really rather tough characters who will bloom for weeks. But I have enough, so I’m going to hang up my orchid whisperer hat for a while. I’ll keep you posted.
