Moth orchid
Resist the urge to repot into ordinary compost — use fresh orchid bark and a specialist orchid pot from the start. The typical retail bloom window is winter into spring, but an individual plant's actual flowering time depends on when it was originally induced and can occur almost any month on a healthy specimen — if yours blooms on a different schedule, you can adjust the flowering months on your plant's card from Settings.
Care
An east-facing windowsill is often ideal; avoid direct midday sun.
Water by soaking roots briefly then draining fully; never leave standing in water.
Specialist orchid bark mix, not ordinary compost — orchid roots need air around them and rot in standard potting compost.
Cut the flower spike back to just above a node once flowers finish, which may trigger a second flowering spike; remove the whole spike at the base once it yellows completely.
A specific orchid feed at quarter strength with most waterings while it is in active growth — 'weakly, weekly' is the usual shorthand. Flush the bark through with plain water every month or so to wash out accumulated salts.
Not a plant you can divide: it grows from a single stem. The one home route is a keiki — a plantlet that occasionally forms on an old flower spike — potted up separately once it has two or three roots of its own a few centimetres long.
Month by month
Months change with the climate: in southern Italy tomatoes go out two months earlier than in England.
- MarchWater by soaking and draining thoroughly. how ›
- AprilFeed with a dilute, orchid-specific feed roughly every second or third watering during active growth. how ›
- SeptemberCut back the flower spike once flowering finishes, above a node for a possible repeat flush. how ›
Months based on climate: UK. Your choice stays on this device.
- MarchWater by soaking and draining thoroughly. how ›
- AprilFeed with a dilute, orchid-specific feed roughly every second or third watering during active growth. how ›
- SeptemberCut back the flower spike once flowering finishes, above a node for a possible repeat flush. how ›
Months based on climate: Northern Italy. Your choice stays on this device.
- MarchWater by soaking and draining thoroughly. how ›
- AprilFeed with a dilute, orchid-specific feed roughly every second or third watering during active growth. how ›
- SeptemberCut back the flower spike once flowering finishes, above a node for a possible repeat flush. how ›
Months based on climate: Central Italy. Your choice stays on this device.
- MarchWater by soaking and draining thoroughly. how ›
- AprilFeed with a dilute, orchid-specific feed roughly every second or third watering during active growth. how ›
- SeptemberCut back the flower spike once flowering finishes, above a node for a possible repeat flush. how ›
Months based on climate: Southern Italy and islands. Your choice stays on this device.
Common problems
How to spot it. Roots turn brown and mushy, from sitting in water or ordinary compost.
What to do. Repot into fresh bark, water by soak-and-drain only.
How to spot it. From underwatering or root loss.
What to do. Check roots and adjust watering.
How to spot it. On leaves and flower spikes.
What to do. Treat if noticed.
Questions
Moth orchid: is it hardy?
H1a: True houseplant, needs above 15°C. It survives heated glasshouse.
Can it grow in a pot?
Grown almost exclusively as a houseplant in a clear or slotted orchid pot that lets light reach the roots.
Moth orchid: when do you prune it?
Cut the flower spike back to just above a node once flowers finish, which may trigger a second flowering spike; remove the whole spike at the base once it yellows completely. In the calendar for UK, pruning falls in September.
Moth orchid: when does it flower?
In the climate of UK it flowers in December–April.
When do you feed it?
A specific orchid feed at quarter strength with most waterings while it is in active growth — 'weakly, weekly' is the usual shorthand. Flush the bark through with plain water every month or so to wash out accumulated salts. Feeding months, UK: March–October.