Journal

A moth orchid from the shop flowers for two or three months. Most then sit for a year with leaves and no flowers. This is what we do with the ones on our own windowsills.

When the last flower drops

Cut the spike just above the second node below where the lowest flower was. A new branch often grows from that node in eight to twelve weeks. If the spike has turned brown and dry, cut it at the base and wait for a new one from the leaves.

Water by weight, not by date

Lift the pot. When it feels light and the roots through the clear inner pot look silver, soak it in the sink for ten minutes and let it drain completely. Green roots mean it is still wet. Never leave water standing in the crown, where the leaves meet.

Bright, never direct

An east window is ideal; a south or west one needs a sheer curtain. Read the leaves: dark green means too little light, a red or yellow tinge means too much.

Cool nights start a spike

In autumn, four weeks of nights at 55 to 60°F tell the plant to flower. A windowsill away from the radiator usually does it. A new spike looks like a root with a flat, mitten-shaped tip.

New bark every two years

Repot after flowering, into fresh orchid bark and a pot only a little bigger. Bring it in and we do it for $15 while you wait.

Most plants need a bigger pot every one to two years, in spring or early summer. Repot too soon or too big and the extra soil stays wet and rots the roots.

Signs it is time

Roots coming out of the drainage hole or circling the top of the soil. Water running straight through without soaking in. A plant that dries out in two days when it used to take a week.

One size up

Go 2 to 5 cm wider than the pot it is in, no more. A 15 cm snake plant goes into a 17 or 19 cm pot. Cacti and succulents like a pot only just bigger than their roots.

A hole in the bottom, always

Every pot we sell has a drainage hole. If you love a pot that has none, keep the plant in its plastic nursery pot inside it and tip out the water that collects after watering.

The right soil

Leafy plants go in our house mix: peat-free compost with bark and perlite. Cacti and succulents get a gritty mix with half pumice. Orchids get bark alone. We sell all three by the litre.

Or leave it to us

Bring the plant and the pot to the shop. We repot for $10 up to 15 cm, $18 up to 25 cm and $25 above that, with our soil. Most are ready while you wait.