I've had a phalaenopsis for 6 months and it was super pretty with lots of flowers. Then all of a sudden in two weeks they all dropped off. I live in an apartment with the heating running full blast since September, and I water it once a week like I always do. Is this normal or did I do something wrong?
Sudden flower drop on a phalaenopsis is usually a climate shock - blasting the heat creates super dry air and temperature swings, and that's the worst thing for orchids. So you need to check a few things: are you sure you're watering it right (it's not just water once a week, you've gotta really soak the roots in lukewarm water, then let them dry out), and can you mist around the plant a bit to bump up the humidity?
Also, you could move it away from the radiators or find a cooler spot in your place. The flowers won't come back, but if you're careful now, it should bloom again in a few months - it's not a big deal.
It's not just the heating that kills orchids, even though it's true that dry air doesn't help. The real problem with yours is probably watering - once a week is too regular for a phalaenopsis, especially if the pot doesn't drain perfectly. These orchids prefer being left to almost dry out between waterings, otherwise the roots rot and the plant gets stressed. So try spacing out your waterings more (like 10-14 days apart), mist the leaves every now and then to make up for the dry air from the heating, and keep it away from warm drafts. The flowers will come back, but you've gotta be patient - it takes a while before the next bloom.
Watch out for watering too 🌿 lots of people think orchids love regular water but once a week is often too much, especially with heating that speeds up evaporation from the pot. Try letting the substrate get almost completely dry between waterings, like you soak the pot for 15-20 minutes once every 10 days. And yeah, blasting the heat is really rough on the flowers - phalaenopsis prefer it cool and humid, so if you can move your orchid away from the radiator and mist the leaves now and then it'll help get it to flower again 💪
The thing people forget a lot is that dry heating + regular watering = root rot guaranteed. Even if it sounds counterintuitive, watering once a week in an apartment heated to full blast without checking the substrate moisture first is basically drowning the roots little by little. Before you do anything else, let the soil dry out completely between waterings and put a humidifier near it, or set the pot on a bed of wet clay pebbles so the air isn't so dry. The flowers will come back once it's recovered from that combined stress.
Have you checked the condition of the roots or haven't you looked at them in a while? Because honestly, everyone blames heating and regular watering, but in your case there's something more subtle going on. Yeah, dry heating sucks for orchids, that's true. But if you've been watering once a week for 6 months with no problem and then everything suddenly falls apart, it's not just dry air killing the flowers like that in two weeks. It's generally the combo of heating + a sudden change in the environment. Like, did you move it to a different spot? Did you change the window it was in? Orchids also freak out over cold drafts and changes in light.
The thing is, the heating that's been running since September has gradually dried out your apartment, and now your roots are probably sitting in a substrate that holds too much water for these conditions. Even if there's no visible rot, the orchid is suffocating. So it drops its flowers to save energy. Check the roots: they should be aerated and white-grey, not brown and mushy. If they look gross, repot it with fresh substrate (specialized orchid bark, not regular potting soil).
To save it now: stop regular watering, wait until the substrate is really dry before soaking the pot (like every 10-15 days depending on your heating), and create humidity around it by setting the pot on a tray with wet pebbles. Keep it away from direct radiators. The flowers are done for this season, but it'll grow back - just give it time without stressing it out.
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