The Orchid Whisperer’s Care Guide: Why My Mom's Grocery Store Orchids Never Stop Blooming
Most people throw them away after the first bloom. The Orchid Whisperer? She sees potential where others see DONE.
That sad pot of leaves soon becomes one of her most prolific bloomers. Here's exactly what she does.
The Orchid Whisperer with a few of her beauties…
I grew up watching my mom surround herself with beauty and living things.
Plants, flowers, light-filled rooms, small daily rituals of care — these have always been her language. So it’s no surprise that orchids, with their elegance and sensitivity, eventually became her specialty.
Around friends and family, she’s known as The Orchid Whisperer.
She has an uncanny ability to take a post-bloom grocery-store orchid — the kind most people assume is finished — and bring it back to life. Not just leaves, but copious blooms. Again and again. Her friends don’t throw orchids away any more. They send them her way!
A former member of the Alta Vista Garden Club in Prescott, she has spent recent years quietly refining a simple, consistent orchid care routine. Her approach isn’t flashy or expensive. It’s based on observation, patience, and understanding how orchids actually grow. Most grocery store orchids are healthy — they’re just misunderstood. When flowers fall, the plant is resting, not dying. With consistent orchid care, proper light, and gentle feeding, these orchids are capable of reblooming year after year.
What follows is her exact method — the same care routine she’s used to turn many grocery store orchids into thriving, reblooming plants.
Her methods aren’t complicated or expensive. They’re thoughtful. Rhythmic. Rooted in paying attention.
The Orchid Whisperer’s Care Guide
Please note that we receive a small commission if you purchase items through the Amazon links provided below.
Monthly Orchid Fertilizer: The Banana Elixir
Once a month, she gives her orchids a homemade boost.
Ingredients
· 2 very ripe banana peels, sliced into ½-inch chunks (remove stem and tip)
· 1 quart water
· 1 teaspoon baking soda
· 2 teaspoons vinegar
· 3 cloves raw garlic
How to Make It
1. Whirl all ingredients in your blender until completely smooth.
2. Pour into a 1½-quart container and cover.
3. Let sit overnight.
How to Use It
· Pour ¼ cup of elixir at the base of each orchid plant.
· Add about ½ cup plain water (less for small orchids).
· Let plants sit in their pots in the collected water for a couple of hours.
· Place each orchid on a wire rack and drain plants (in their perforated mesh inner pots) thoroughly before returning them to their containers.
Weekly Orchid Watering Schedule
Orchids like consistency more than perfection.
· Water once a week.
· Always keep orchids in their containers when watering.
· Let plants sit in their pots in the collected water for a couple of hours.
· Drain plants (in their perforated mesh inner pots) thoroughly (at least half an hour) before returning them to their now dry containers.
· Use this soak → drain → return method so roots get moisture without sitting in water long-term.
Orchid Fertilizing Schedule: Feeding & Rest
· Every other week: Use an orchid food spray (Link here). Lightly mist leaves only, never flowers.
· Opposite weeks: Water only, following the same soaking and draining process as outlined above.
Extra Orchid Care Tips for Strong Roots and Reblooming
· Coffee grounds: About once a month (prior to watering), add 1 teaspoon of dried used coffee grounds to the base of each orchid plant. Just let the grounds from your morning coffee pot dry out overnight before using them the next day.
· Air roots: When you see 4–5 air roots forming, your orchid is telling you it’s time to repot.
How and When to Repot Orchids
1. Remove orchid from its perforated pot.
2. Trim away dead roots. Dead roots will appear limp and brown.
3. Add orchid mulch (Orchid mulch link) to the bottom of the pot.
4. Gently tuck remaining roots inside. Complete cover bare roots with mulch, shaking it down if necessary, so as not to leave air pockets.
5. Reuse the same pot if possible — size up only if crowded.You can buy larger perforated mesh inner pots on Amazon (Perforated pot link).
Best Light for Orchids Indoors
· East-facing windows are ideal.
· Orchids love filtered light, not harsh sun.
· Early morning sunlight makes them happiest.
Why It Works
Watching my mom care for orchids, you realize the secret isn’t the banana peels or the schedule — it’s attention and consistency.
She notices when a plant is ready for more space. When it needs rest. When it’s reaching for light. Orchids aren’t disposable to her. They’re living things worth listening to.
If you’ve ever thrown an orchid away after it bloomed, consider this your invitation to try again.
These plants want to live.
And if you treat them with a little patience and a lot of care, they’ll reward you — just like they always have for The Orchid Whisperer.