Orchids are one of the most popular houseplants to own due to how low maintenance they are, but they can look worse for wear in springtime. It is very easy to forget to water your houseplants but once the weather heats up this can greatly damage their ability to produce flowers later on.
Plants are growing their foliage in spring and if they do not get a chance to develop properly they will only have weak stems that cannot support flower growth. However, the gardening experts at Saffron’s Decor have shared that there is an easy way to revive orchids and encourage them to flower with only a cup of tea.
The expert said: “Sometimes, due to various factors, the nitrogen concentration in orchids decreases, and the pH is disturbed. As a result, the orchid plant stops blooming.
“To cope with this problem using home remedies, black or green tea turned out to be an effective solution. Green tea has a high amount of minerals, so when we water the orchid plant with such enriched tea, it reblooms.”
Tea is rich in nitrogen which is the nutrient needed to produce energy for the plant and grow stronger foliage.
Nitrogen will allot orchids to grow thicker leaves to take in more sunlight for flower production and also allow the plant to grow stronger stems so it will grow bigger blooms.
If you forget to water your orchid then giving it a boost of nitrogen can revive the plant so it begins to grow healthy foliage green again so replace any of the plant that has wilted away.
How to help orchids bloom with tea
To begin, you will need to see if any of the roots look unhealthy or dried out if you have forgotten to water it. All you have to do is remove your orchid from its pot and look at the bottom of the plant.
If any of the roots look brown or shrivelled, then carefully cut them with a pair of clippers and only leave the green, healthy roots.
Make sure to wipe the clippers after each cut with alcohol to sterilise them, as it will reduce the risk of fungal diseases and mould.
Be gentle when handling the roots so you do not damage any of the healthy parts of the plant. Rinse the roots will clean water, and then prepare the tea solution.
Mix together one leftover teabag per litre of water. Natural fertilisers are more potent so it is better to be cautious so you do not overfertilise the plant with too much nitrogen.
Add the tea solution to a container big enough to hold the orchid and leave the roots soaking in the tea water overnight. Soak the orchids in cold water with leftover teabags, as boiling hot water will damage the plant.
When the time is up, repot the plant and your orchid should come back to life with bigger blooms later on in the year.