What to do with flower stem after blooms fall off + surprise new stem

[milkygato]

Hello orchid lovers, I could not find a forum for after-bloom care so I’m posting my question here but please let me know if this thread belongs elsewhere.

I am a bit confused on how orchids rebloom. Do new blooms occur from existing stakes or is it one blooming per stake? So if I were to leave my stems after the existing blooms die, will the new flowers bloom from the existing stem or a new stem that grows out of the existing stem?

Also, I do not think new flowers will bloom from tips that are dry, is there any chance of a new flower budding from the non-dry tips (looks round like a fist)? I’ve attached photos.

On a side note, I am enjoying seeing this new stem grow from one of my orchids =)

[dianecty]

Hello, mine have grown new branches from the spike that flowered which will have their own flowers or the spike itself has grown longer with new buds at the end or keikis have grown from the old spike. The orchids with no spikes are the ones that grow new spikes.

Right now I have up to 3 new branches on an old spike!

I'm excited to see my new blooms!

[SouthPark]

Originally Posted by milkygato

Also, I do not think new flowers will bloom from tips that are dry

True ------- totally dried up flower spikes of phalaenopsis will have no chance to produce any new future flower spike outgrowths.

Also - orchids in the wild generally won't have people around to trim the spikes. So trimming flower spikes is optional.

Old flower spikes of phalaenopsis orchids that remain green do have chances of sprouting more flower spike off-shoots somewhere along its length later on. They may do that. Or they may dry up completely too in the future.

Phalaenopsis spikes can even start producing more buds and/or spike outgrowths before the flowers on the same spike have dropped. So this just means - don't count a spike out unless it has dried right up.

But also - even if we do cut a flower spike right off ------ the orchid sure will develop new ones in the future when it comes time for the next flowering. This is regardless of whether it takes 'more energy' or not for the orchid. As long as the orchid gets energy when looked after properly, then it can use energy to grow - stems, spikes, roots and all.

[Mr.Fakename]

Ditto what SouthPark said.

What's on the leaf of the 1st Phal?

[aliceinwl]

Almost all of my Phalaenopsis that have spikes that stay green go on to rebloom from them. Sometimes the rebloom from the old spikes is more spectacular than the original flowering. I have one Phal that reblooms from the previous year’s spike and pushes a new spike in addition so that each spike has two rounds of flowering before dying. This year, the old spike is shooting off four branches of flowers so it should be a great show. Unless there’s a space issue, I’ve been leaving green spikes on until they brow and dry.

[milkygato]

Originally Posted by Mr.Fakename

Ditto what SouthPark said.

What's on the leaf of the 1st Phal?

I found some dark spots on my leaves and thought they were a fungal disease of some sort, panicked, and applied cinnamon paste per directions from some website. Turns out, it’s not a disease but I’ve been lazy to wipe it off..