how and when to cut flower spikes

[aljaxon]

i have a phalaenopsis and the first time the flowers died i cut the 2 spikes almost down to the soil and it didnt reflower for quite some time and sent only one new spike on which it flowered. but since then it keeps sending new spikes off that spike and again others off those. getting higher and higher. it is getting very spindly. the flowers fell off in june but it had already sent another spike so i couldnt cut it. then another spike off that. the flowers are just dying now but i have a separate spike where the flowers are just starting to open. can i treat each spike individually and cut it even if another different spike is flowering? plus all the spikes have new ones starting to grow out of them. do i cut above them or should i just cut below to let the plant rest and recover. maybe if i post a picture.

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this is what it looked like a fortnight ago

[rbarata]

That's a beautiful plant!
Don't cut the spikes while they are green As you've said, they rebloom. They don't bloom from old spikes because you've cut them but because it's mainly genetics.
Cut them only when they are dry.

[Kittyfrex]

Cut underneath where the first flower opened once they are spent. That part can only ever produce new flowers at the tip, and it's not the most dazzling sight. By cutting just that part, you make sure that any reblooms are either new spikes or branches.

[rbarata]

Originally Posted by Kittyfrex

Cut underneath where the first flower opened once they are spent. That part can only ever produce new flowers at the tip, and it's not the most dazzling sight. By cutting just that part, you make sure that any reblooms are either new spikes or branches.

Sorry to partially disagree, Kitty but that is not 100% applicable to all Phals. I have one that keeps old spikes green for at least 3 years and it blooms from anywhere in the spike. For sure is to not cut them...who knows what might happen?

[estación seca]

Welcome to the Orchid Board! Your plant is beautiful.

Some people cut off old spikes near the base for aesthetic reasons. They don't want spikes branching at odd places. I care more for lots of flowers. I only cut clearly brown and dead Phal. spikes. I leave anything green. As you've discovered, they can produce more spikes from old ones, for many years.

Another group of Phals. produces flowers sequentially from the tips of spikes for many years. As they get older they produce more and more spikes.

[Kittyfrex]

Originally Posted by rbarata

Sorry to partially disagree, Kitty but that is not 100% applicable to all Phals. I have one that keeps old spikes green for at least 3 years and it blooms from anywhere in the spike. For sure is to not cut them...who knows what might happen?

I'd really like to see one that rebloomed from an individual bud node as i've never even remotely heard of that.

I never said cut it all of, but there are parts that will, in like at least 99% of cases, never rebloom (you'll see the little flatish surface where the flower once attached).

One additional point is to consider HOW you want your orchids bloom. I left the spike (all of it) on some, and a few did rebloom at the tip, but it was spindly, the flowers were quite smaller on average and it just didn't look good. But that's just my opinion, at least.

[aljaxon]

as you can see it sends off new spikes just below where i cut it. getting higher and higher all the time. and then i have to provide support. the weight of the flowers once snapped a spike.

so if you look at the right spike it has two new ears or buds that will send off new spikes when the flowers above them have died. but should i cut that main spike BELOW those ears to force the plant into a dormant or reboot mode like ive read elswhere? ive also seen a video where the guy suggests using no supports for the spikes and allow them to droop?

[Roberta]

That plant is gorgeous! Why mess with success? Just supply more weight on the bottom - maybe put the pot into a clay pot for stability if it is top-heavy. Let the plant "decide" when it wants to rest, if it were my plant, it would break my heart to cut those blooming spikes. (It won't harm the plant, of course, but would deprive you of the pleasure of looking at it)