What to Do with Your Just Add Ice Orchid When It’s Resting

The metamorphosis creeps up slowly enough, but the jarring difference in appearance is still startling. One day your Just Add Ice Orchid is sporting huge, colorful blooms of breathtaking beauty; the next all that’s left is a bare brown stalk rising disconsolately from a flattened mat of dull, green leaves. For all their splashy beauty when in bloom, Just Add Ice Orchids become dreary-looking Plain Jane’s when they enter their resting phase. Newer Just Add Ice Orchid owners unfamiliar with the natural growing cycle of Phalaenopsis Orchids often mistake the plant’s resting period, believing their plant has died. Tragically, many people toss their orchid stalk in the trash bin when it loses its final blossom, certain that their orchid is dead and disappointed that its life was so short. Had these owners only exhibited a little patience and faith, they would have discovered their error.

The absolutely gorgeous, long-lived display Just Add Ice Orchids put on when they bloom takes a heavy toll on the plant. Like all perennial plants, these orchids must go through a period of rest to replenish lost nutrients and build up energy before they bloom again. As is common in the plant world, the normal growth cycle of Just Add Ice Orchids is approximately a year; although, with specialized care, it is often possible to trigger your orchid to rebloom about a month after completion of its initial bloom. Eventually, however, your orchid will be spent and will need to rest and replenish its energy.

During its resting period, Just Add Ice Orchid owners have several options:

• Remove the plant from display and relocate it to a less visible area.
• Disguise your orchid by tying a silk orchid to its bare stalk.
• Incorporate the orchid stalk into a decorative display of natural elements.