In her homemade video, houseplant lover Kiva Kriti shared her fruity method to ensure orchids bloom throughout the year.
By adding just one kitchen item into the orchid’s watering routine, the promise of constant blooms has been made.
“Take a banana peel,” Kiva instructed while presenting the fruit on the TikTok video.
“Chop, chop into pieces,” Kiva said of the banana peel, which is needed for the next step of the orchid care hack.
“Soak [the chopped banana peel] in warm water for a few hours,” Kiva said, which will then be “ready to use” for the orchid houseplant.
Taking the banana-infused water, Kiva waters her orchid in the kitchen sink so that any excess can drain away from the soil down into the drain.
“Feed your orchids and wait until the water drains out,” advised Kiva, as letting orchids sit in wet plant pots could otherwise lead to fungal disease.
“Follow the process every 10 days,” said Kiva who quipped: “Happy plant, happy you.”
In the comments section on the TikTik page, Kiva said she does the banana watering “once a month [during] blooming time”.
One TikTok commentator queried: “They bloom every month?” Kiva clarified: “No, in my case it blooms twice a year… so I feed them once a month during blooming season.”
When is the orchid’s blooming season?
Horticulturalist Victoria Lee Blackstone verified to Hunker that orchids grown as potted plants “have varied blooming seasons, depending on their species”.
Most commonly, however, moth orchids tend to reach peak blooming season in March, which should last for “several months” if taken care of.
Horticulturalist Blackstone encouraged plant lovers to “repot spring blooming Cattleyas immediately after blooming has ended”.
Any orchid would fare better for the next blossoming season if they are repotted after each blooming as the potting medium breaks down.
You can repot orchids by cleaning the plant of any dead or dying foilage and adding in fresh potting mix.
Sometimes an orchid can outgrow its container, so a new, larger container might be needed.
Do make sure the potting mixture is either sphagnum peat moss or bark chips for the best chances of longevity.
