| It's not hard to prune your indoor orchids. Take a | | | | a 1/4 inch above its bottom. If you are hoping for |
| couple of minutes to get rid of old leaves and you | | | | a keiki, or another blossom on the same stalk, cut |
| will have a healthy, happy and beautiful plant. | | | | the stalk just below the old blossom and right |
| 1) You can prune your orchid's leaves throughout | | | | above a node. Remove dead blooms when they |
| the year or you can do it once a year, usually | | | | wither by snipping them off at their bases. |
| during the winter and fall. Orchids do not normally | | | | 4) Always use sterilized tools. Whether you use a |
| bloom in the late fall and winter so it's a good | | | | pruning shears, a household scissors, a knife or a |
| time to prune leaves but not such a good time to | | | | razor blade, it is necessary to make sure that the |
| prune back dead blossoms and stalks. For that, | | | | tool is not infected with either a bacteria or a |
| see number 3. If you think that there are | | | | fungus. All plants can get these but orchids are |
| diseased leaves on your orchid you will need to | | | | particularly susceptible to infection. A mixture of |
| go to number 2. | | | | bleach and water or holding the blade over a |
| 2) Leaves that are yellow or have yellow spots | | | | flame will kill any unwanted cells on the blade. It's |
| surrounded by black rings should be removed. | | | | also a good idea to use latex gloves when you |
| They are diseased, and have either a bacterial | | | | prune your orchid. Change the gloves between |
| infection, or in the case of the leaves with the | | | | plants and re-sterilize your cutting tools between |
| black rings, a fungal infection. You should remove | | | | plants. |
| them whenever you see them, not waiting until | | | | 5) Every couple of years, after you've pruned |
| your normal pruning time. If you have too many | | | | away dead blooms, flower stalks and diseased |
| leaves on an orchid that are too close together, | | | | leaves, take a look at the roots of the orchid. |
| you might want to remove a couple to give the | | | | Carefully remove the orchid from its pot, |
| orchid better air circulation. | | | | disturbing the roots as little as possible and |
| 3) Remove the ends of bloom stalks. There are a | | | | remove as much potting medium as possible. If |
| couple of different points of view on where on | | | | any of the roots look brown or mushy, remove |
| the stalk to do this but the bottom line is that it | | | | them with your sterilized tool. Then repot the |
| needs to be done. If the stalk is brown and dead | | | | orchid in new potting material in a pot that is |
| and you want to get rid of it, cut it back to about | | | | slightly larger than the pot it was removed from. |