I'm new to growing/caring for orchids and need input from seasonal growers. I have an Oncidium Sharry Baby and cut the spike after the flowers fell off. I cut the stem as close as I could to the plant, without nipping it. I have read from other posts that the stem should be cut 1" or more from the where the stem spiked from the plant.
Since I cut the stem closer to the plant, will this have a negative affect on my Sharry Baby?
Hi and welcome to OB first of all!
The spot where you cut the spike off has absolutely no effect on the plant what so ever. I think the 1 inch mark is given as guideline. Personally I cut off the spikes of my oncidiums as far down as possible. In time, the remaining bit of spike will dry up and fall off anway.
Hope this helps!
__________________ Camille
Completely orchid obsessed and loving every minute of it....
The spot where you cut the spike off has absolutely no effect on the plant what so ever. I think the 1 inch mark is given as guideline. Personally I cut off the spikes of my oncidiums as far down as possible. In time, the remaining bit of spike will dry up and fall off anway.
Hope this helps!
Thank you. And yes, your input does help; it takes away my worry from thinking I might have ruined my plant from growing more flowers in the future.
I think the 1" thing is just a guidling so that people don't accidentally injure the base of the plant while trying to cut the stem. I cut mine as low as possible too