Orchids tend to be hardy houseplants that do not need a lot of care to stay healthy, but they need to be fed regularly in July if you want to help them flower. In summer, orchids are actively growing and using up a lot of energy to make new roots and leaves, which can deplete their soil of a lot of nutrients.

If you want them to grow fresh new flower spikes then you need to make sure are getting enough phosphorus, a nutrient that triggers flower production, and potassium, which improves the flower quality to help them last longer. The houseplant experts at Green Ship Gardens has shared a natural yet very effective way to get the best orchid blooms possible is to make a simple homemade fertiliser out of banana peels. 

They said: “Making orchids bloom profusely and grow lushly is not difficult. The secret may lie in the banana peels you throw away every day! That’s right, the unremarkable banana peel is like natural ‘golden fertilizer’ for orchids!”

Banana peels contain a lot of potassium, which helps make buds healthier too, make them grow bigger, have a richer colour and also extend their flowering period so you can enjoy their flowers for a lot longer. 

They also contain phosphorus, which is crucial for flower production, as it helps fuel bud production and root growth to increase the number of blooms.

However, you cannot just simply throw your bananas peels into the plant soil, as this will encourage insects such as fruit flies to settle on your orchid and be incredibly difficult to get rid of. 

Instead, the convenient way to feed orchids banana peels is to soak them in water to make a liquid fertiliser that you can water the plant with. 

How to make homemade banana peel water 

All you need to do is stop throwing away banana peels and instead store them away. You need one or two banana peels per orchid plant and it is best to use ripe peels if you can. 

Then, simply cut the peels into small pieces with scissors, then place in a jar, plastic bottle or any container with a lid.

Fill your container with water until it covers the bananas peels, place the lid on tightly, then place the container near a window.

You need to place the container somewhere warm or with a lot of water to let the banana peels ferment so the water soaks up all the nutrients. Let the container sit for a few days, but no more than a week.

To feed your orchid, you need to mix the fermented banana peel water with clean tap water. Natural fertlisers can be very potent, do you need to dilute your feed otherwise you risk overfertlising the plant.  

You are looking a ratio of one part banana water to ten parts clean water, (so roughly 50ml of the feed with 500ml of water).

Simply pour water your orchid with the diluted water every 10 to 15 days and your orchids will flourish this summer to grow bigger and even brighter blooms.