Finding Joy By Regrowing Orchids: How to Get Your Orchid to Bloom Again by Elisa Schmitz

I have always loved to garden. My father has transformed his entire backyard into an oasis that includes vegetable, flower and meditation gardens, so I’m pretty sure he’s my inspiration. Yet there’s one gardening goal I’ve wanted to achieve but never have, until now: regrow an orchid.

Orchids are by far my favorite flower. The delicate outer beauty of an orchid belies its hardy inner strength. I have had orchids (requiring very little maintenance) that have lasted for months, and that brings me joy. But when those blooms start to wither and fall, I am sad to see them go.

I decided a few months ago to see if I could get my most recent orchids to bloom again. Not really knowing what I was doing, here’s how I did it:

1. After the last flower fell, I cut the stem down until about 2 inches of it remained (hidden among the beautiful bright green leaves). 
2. I kept up my regular once-a-week watering and kept it in the sunny location it seems to prefer. 
3. I told it how beautiful it was even without flowers and that it was doing great in hibernation mode (just kidding, but I am going to do this from now on)!

After a few months, I noticed that a new stem was growing. I wasn’t sure if the old one would start to grow again or what, so it was a surprise to see an entirely new stem start to shoot up. After maybe three or four weeks of growing, the stem started to bud. Then after another week or two, the bud started to open. And soon enough, several flowers were blooming on the new stem! I have been told that if you leave the bare stems there (instead of cutting them), it is possible that new blooms will form on the same stem over time. I'm going to try that approach, too.

This process has brought me happiness at a time when I really needed it. In the ups and downs of life, it can be easy to get discouraged by the downs. That’s why you have to look for the joy. This week for me, the joy was in finally regrowing an orchid. Seeing new life emerge and blooms seek the sun reminded me that there’s always a way. You just have to be patient and persistent and passionate. 

I am grateful that several of my other orchids are also in the process of growing new stems that I hope will bloom. That means more joy to look forward to.

And while these beautiful plants are doing all the work, I’m still over here beaming like a proud mama. Bloom, baby, bloom!

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