Devastated

[yeoshua88]

So I just made a terrible mistake. I was trying to stake my Phalaenopsis flowering spike but when I was positioning it the tip of the flowering spike fell off (see provided picture). On a scale of 1-"drown your tears in alcohol" how bad is it. I have 10 orchids and have been growing multiple species for 7 years now and this is by far the most rookie mistake I have ever made.

[WaterWitchin]

Well, that spike and blooms are gone, but it's just a matter of time before you'll get a new spike. If that's your worst "rookie" accident in seven years, consider yourself lucky.

[Dusty Ol' Man]

I recently broke a spike on my Oncidium Gold Dust while trying to free it from being stuck in the leaf. I felt very disappointed. After a short while that pb grew another spike from the other side! Now I have three spikes that should bloom out in a week or so! Sometimes that mistake cues the plant to try again immediately. Sometimes you have to wait a year. Don't feel bad, just watch for the next one.

[Roberta]

I feel your pain. Done that too. (Not limited to rookies s***t happens), An antidote... more orchids.

[dbarron]

Yes, been there, done that. Be extremely careful (or don't touch) with spikes.

[yeoshua88]

so no chance the orchid will just start to grow from the next node down?

[dbarron]

I believe that's below the first bud position..and even if it isn't, while it's possible, I wouldn't expect it.

[Mountaineer370]

I feel for you! I have a very nice Phal I got from Trader Joe's, a noid, but I'd bet it has some Phal schilleriana in it from the mottled leaves and pink flowers. Anyway, it put out a spike last September, bloomed in November and ended up with 40 or so flowers on a branching spike. The flowers lasted a couple months, fell off, and then in May of this year, I noticed a brand-new spike on the other side. That one got to be around six inches long, then one day when I was washing the windows in that room, I accidentally knocked it over and the last inch or so of the spike broke off, just above the lowest node. I was so mad I could have flogged myself!

I didn't do anything special to it, just figured the spike would eventually dry up, but a couple weeks later, I noticed the spike was continuing to grow right from the broken end. There is just the tiniest of kinks where the old spike ends and the new one starts. The new growth ended up being a foot long. It only put out four flowers, though there's another few inches of bare spike with nodes that never developed buds.

Still, all in all, I'm pleased with how everything turned out. Fingers crossed that yours will do the same!

[Leafmite]

Something nibbled the plant spike of one of my Phals earlier this summer. The orchid is young and it would have been the first bloom so I will have to wait until next summer to make certain it is what it was sold as.

[dbarron]

Originally Posted by Leafmite

Something nibbled the plant spike of one of my Phals earlier this summer. The orchid is young and it would have been the first bloom so I will have to wait until next summer to make certain it is what it was sold as.

And that is the true pain (the first bloom being lost).