Moth Orchid
Phalaenopsis spp.
Through the year 🗓️
☀️ Summer now
Root and leaf season. Water more often and feed weakly, weekly.
🍂 Fall
Cooler nights (55–60 °F) by a window are what trigger the next flower spike.
❄️ Winter
Bloom season! Water lightly, enjoy, and never repot mid-bloom.
🌱 Spring
After-bloom care: cut the spike above a node and repot if the bark has broken down.
The details
Light & placement
- Light
- Bright indirect; an east window is perfect, and leaves should be grassy green, not dark
- Ideal PPFD
- 100–200 µmol·m⁻²·s⁻¹
- Grow-light distance
- 20–30 in below LED
Water & feed
- Watering method
- Water when roots turn silvery: soak the bark thoroughly, drain completely. Never leave water in the crown (rot). Ice cubes are a myth; use room-temp water.
- Fertilizer
- Orchid feed at ¼ strength "weakly, weekly" while growing; skip when resting.
Home & habit
- Soil
- No soil; chunky orchid bark or sphagnum in a slotted pot
- Humidity
- 50–70% ideal; tolerates average homes
- Temperature
- 65–80 °F days; slightly cool nights trigger blooming
- Mature size
- 1–2 ft with a 3 ft flower spike
- Repotting
- Every 1–2 yrs when bark breaks down, after blooming
- Propagation
- Keikis (baby plants on flower spikes); pot once they have roots.
When something looks wrong
- Overwatering signs
- Mushy brown roots, yellowing limp leaves
- Underwatering signs
- Silvery shriveled roots, leathery wrinkled leaves
- Common pests
- Mealybugs, scale, spider mites
Common problems 🩺
The usual suspects when Moth Orchid looks unhappy. Most houseplant trouble is watering or light, not disease — see all plant problems if you are not sure which plant is the culprit.
Mushy roots and limp leaves
Likely cause
Overwatering, or being potted in soil instead of bark.
What to do
Repot into orchid bark, trim any brown mushy roots, and water once a week at most.
Will not rebloom
Likely cause
It needs a cool night-time drop to trigger a new spike.
What to do
Give it a few weeks of nights around 60°F in fall, and keep it in bright indirect light.
Wrinkled, leathery leaves
Likely cause
The roots cannot take up water — usually because they rotted.
What to do
Check the roots. Firm and green is healthy; brown and hollow means repot and cut the dead away.
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