Found out my orchid was blooming because I ignored it, not because I babied it

Had this Phalaenopsis for 3 years. Barely bloomed. I was misting it, rotating it, talking to it. Then I went on a 2 week trip to visit my sister in Phoenix and forgot to ask anyone to water it. Came back and it had a 12 inch spike with 8 buds. Realized I was overwatering the thing all along. Now I only water it when the roots look silver. Has anyone else had a plant do better after you stopped fussing with it?

3 comments

3 Comments

lewis.brian9d ago

That exact same thing happened with my snake plant. I was watering it every week like clockwork because the soil felt dry on top, and it just sat there doing nothing for like a year. Then I got busy with work and forgot about it for a month. When I finally checked, it had pushed up two new pups from the soil and the leaves were actually firm and green instead of kind of floppy. Now I just ignore it until the leaves start looking a little bit puckered, and it grows like crazy. Really made me rethink the whole "plants need constant care" thing.

grantw419d agoMost Upvoted

And it's not just plants either. I've noticed this pattern with so many things. Like my laptop runs better if I just close all the programs once in a while instead of constantly checking each one. Or how my sourdough starter gets way more active if I just leave it alone in the fridge for a week instead of feeding it every day. We're so programmed to think more attention equals better results, but a lot of the time the stuff we're trying to control just needs to be left to do its own thing. It's like we're all just helicopter parents to our houseplants and hobbies.

maxl938d ago

I read somewhere that snake plants are native to really dry parts of Africa where it might not rain for weeks at a time. So they basically evolved to grow when water finally comes, not from getting a little bit every week. Makes sense why they go crazy after a drought. Seems like we mess up a lot of plants by trying to give them what we think is best instead of what they actually need in their natural cycle.