PHALAENOPSIS
The Phalaenopsis (fal-ah-NOP-sis), nicknamed the moth orchid, is one tough orchid! Millions of these plants are sold every year. If properly cared for, these plants will bloom year after year – sometimes more than once a year.
Some of the links on this page may be affiliate links. Click here to learn more.
TEMPERATURE
Warm, 70-80º F/26.7º C, with about a month of intermediate temperatures 55°-60º F/ 13°-15.6º C in the winter to trigger blooming.
LIGHT
Phalaenopsis are considered a low light orchid (1000-1800 fc). Place your Phal in a bright east-facing window, or a shaded south or west window. If you live in a climate with a lot of cloud cover, a south-facing window may work best.
HUMIDITY
Your Phalaenopsis will get along just fine with humidity levels between 40-50%. Use a humidifier if necessary and a fan set to low to provide air movement. Home growers: remember 50% is the maximum recommendation. Easily track humidity levels with a humidistat.
WATER
Keep potting medium slightly damp. Silvery roots that are down in the potting media, not aerial roots, tell you it’s time to water, while green roots mean the roots and are still absorbing moisture.
FERTILIZATION
Phals are moderate feeders. Apply balanced fertilizer 3 out of four weeks. On the fourth week, flood potting media to rinse fertilizer salts. If the orchid is potted in bark use a high nitrogen fertilizer (9-3-6).
POTTING & MEDIA
While bark can work wonderfully in greenhouses, indoors sphagnum moss distributes water more evenly. Pot loosely in sphagnum moss, and repot yearly as sphagnum moss absorbs fertilizer salts. The best time to pot is after the flowers have faded.
TIPS
Mature Phals grow many aerial roots and may possess an ungainly stem. You can cut off the top of the orchid as long as you have several aerial roots and pot the top section. Leave the lower section as-is in the original pot. If this lower section has healthy roots, new leaves will grow. With a bit of luck, you’ll get two orchids for one.
GET YOUR PHALAENOPSIS CARE CARD
Get Your PHALAENOPSIS Care Card
Convenient care instructions for magnificent Phalaenopsis orchids.
GET YOUR PHALAENOPSIS CARE CARDit's free!
Get Your PHALAENOPSIS Care Card
Convenient care instructions for magnificent Phalaenopsis orchids.
The Phalaenopsis is one of my latest delights. It currently has 6 flowers and it is happily growing on my kitchen window sill.
”BUY PHALAENOPSIS ORCHIDS
MOST PEOPLE FIND THE PHALAENOPSIS AN EASY-TO-GROW ORCHID
I love moth orchids!
I’ve just taken in my third moth orchid and I love them! So simple and beautiful! One has a shoot and will probably flower at the beginning of the year, the other is still growing it's leaves and will probably send out a shoot soon! The third I just picked up today and has blooms!
The Phalaenopsis is one of my latest delights.
Hi Anna, I love my orchids and am enjoying their beauty and perfume now as they present with an array of colour and design. It is winter here in Australia and they brighten any dreary day.
The Phalaenopsis is one of my latest delights. It currently has 6 flowers and it is happily growing on my kitchen window sill. It likes the temperature that we humans enjoy. It is watered every 7-10 days. A great help I have found as to know how often to water is to put a wooden skewer in the pot. If the tip of the skewer is moist it is not ready for another drink yet.
Thanks for your regular tips on growing and getting orchids to flower.
I grow Phalaenopsis orchids.
I grow Phalaenopsis orchids. I have 5 and have been successful in getting them to re-bloom.
Beautiful Phalaenopsis
I have a beautiful Phalaenipsis Orchid, which was given to me in full bloom, as a gift in June of 2016. When the flowers dropped, I repotted it, and in September of 2017, a new spike began to grow. I am very happy to say, that I have been enjoying the flowers from this spike since late December of 2017, and still going! I have strong healthy leaves, and a great root system. I use AAA New Zealand Sphagnum Moss from rePot me web store, and have it placed in an East facing window. I have a humidity of around 55-58%, and generally have the room at about 73-76 degrees, depending on how sunny the day is. I find that I have to water the plants about 2-3x a week.
your turn
