Orchids are gorgeous houseplants, available in a variety of colours, including pink, white, and purple. They make a striking statement in the home, and are suitable for virtually any room. The indoor plant typically blooms for a couple of months at a time, then blooms again every eight to 12 months, which can be frustrating.
Luckily, there are ways to encourage them to bloom again, but sooner, including focusing on lighting, feeding, and pruning. According to one online orchid owner, watering and feeding play a significant role in encouraging the plant to bloom again.
Taking to the Orchids Tips and Tricks Facebook page, one woman said she saw fantastic blooming results when she used two ingredients in the water she uses for her moth orchid.
Alana Steele said: “For the past few months, I’ve been feeding my orchid banana tea and rice water, and I’m finally getting the magnificent blooms I imagined.”
While not recommended every time you water, steeping a banana peel in water can provide the houseplant with a variety of nutrients, including potassium, phosphorus, and calcium.
You can make banana tea by placing fresh banana skins in water for at least 48 hours, then diluting it before using it as a water additive.
Alternatively, you can dry out banana skins for a few days before grinding them into a fine powder. This can then be sprinkled onto the top of orchid bark, or, if repotting, mixed into the growing medium.
Rice water is also a great option, providing similar results to banana water or banana tea, but it shouldn’t be used too often.
It contains a high amount of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium, as well as starches. This makes it a “very good” organic, homemade fertiliser.
To make it, start by soaking any type of rice in water for at least 30 minutes. Once the time is up, strain the water into a bottle or jar, allowing it to soak for one week.
Keep it out of direct sunlight and let the solution breathe by screwing the cap on the bottle loosely or covering it with a cloth to allow airflow.
After a week, dilute it with an equal amount of water before spraying this on the roots and leaving it to work as a fertiliser.
Rice water feed is also an effective insecticide for houseplants, which is particularly important during the winter months to keep bugs away.