Orchids are beautiful houseplants, but they can be quite tricky to get to bloom. Fertilising your orchids can be a game changer – and one woman swears by using a kitchen item
Orchids are stunning yet high-maintenance houseplants that require extra care to encourage blooming. Using banana peel water to fertilise orchids might be the secret to getting them to bloom, as attested by numerous gardening enthusiasts on the Orchids Tips and Tricks Facebook page.
Sarah Turner shared her experiment using banana peel water on her orchids after reading rave reviews about the hack. She explained: “People here keep mentioning watering their orchids with banana peel water and how they flower after doing so.” Sarah then continued: “Confirming I did so, and now I have many flower stems growing! Thanks team – this group is awesome.”
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Elaborating on the process, Sarah mentioned that she soaked a banana peel in water for a few days, used it for watering, then added a new peel and repeated the cycle before reverting to regular watering. She noticed spikes and blooms appearing weeks after using the banana peel water, reports the Express.
Several group members corroborated her findings, attesting to the effectiveness of banana peel water. Kathleen Vaida said: “I use banana water on all my flowering plants and some I didn’t even know flower.
“All my orchids have new spikes and two other plants flowered that I didn’t know about.” Ila Peters posted: “I have used the banana peels and water method and my orchids soon had flower spikes.”
Denise Sanders exclaimed: “I have gotten flower spikes and lots of new roots doing this process. Who knew?” Similarly, Amber Ivey shared her success with the peculiar fertilizer: “I use banana water on all of my houseplants. They love it.”
However, Judie Varty suggested a different kitchen hack that could give your flowers an extra boost: “I have tried the banana water, but garlic water works better than banana peels.
“It really did the trick for me. I got so many roots after using it and all my dormant plants bloomed like crazy this year.”
Garlic doesn’t just deter pests with its scent; it’s also a superstar at enriching soil thanks to its richness in phosphorus, which spurs generous growth, and potassium, ensuring your greenery’s leaves and blossoms stay in tip-top condition.
To whip up this magic potion, simply peel a few cloves of garlic then mash, blitz or chop them up before plopping them into your preferred container full of water.
Allow this concoction to steep away from sunlight for a 24-hour minimum, or for even more potent results, wait two to three days before introducing it to your plants.
While garlic water can work wonders, remember moderation is key – spritz your plants with this homemade elixir no more than once or twice per week to avoid impeding their growth.