How to trim my Phalaenopsis...

[Ross]

Originally Posted by annehylee

So it seems unanimous so far along with the florist, lol... So cut that main stem (that's being supported and clipped to the support stick) all the way down and leave like an inch at the base? Well, I'd rather have a long lasting, strong orchids when it does bloom. Do you do this every year? And also, can I just cut it with scissors or do I need special shears? I've also heard about sealing the tip with wax or cinnamon??? Is this necessary?

As has been suggested, probably a half inch (or even closer if you feel gutsie). Scissors are fine. I would drizzle rubbing alcohol over the blade tips before clipping however. This will sterilize the blades. Sealing the flower spike is fine, but I don't bother. Air drying is good also. The fertilizer/water regimen is really important if you want really big plants and really prolific blooms. The length you leave on the old spike is purely esthetic.

[annehylee]

Is bottled water ok?
I tried to download the plant nutrition link that you posted earlier but everytime I try to download it, it freezes as I try to upgrade the version of adobe acrobat... SHOOT!!! I can't get it...

[camille1585]

Unless your tap water quality is excessively bad, I think it's fine to water phals with it. Sure, it seems that nothing beats RO water from what I hear, but we are not all lucky enough to have a RO system. I water only with tap water (and fertilizer) but once in a while I flush out the pot with distilled water. No problems with my orchids, they grow fine!

[jkofferdahl]

If you fill a bucket with tap water and let it sit overnight a lot of the nasties evaporate out, anyway.

[greenbean]

What is your tap water like? Is it hard (lots of minerals) and/or basic? Does it have a lot of chlorine or other chemicals added to it? If it's hard, basic water, you should be fine, just be sure to flush out the excess mineral deposits about once a month with lots of plain water. If it has a lot of chemicals in it, let the water sit at least overnight to allow the chemicals to leave the water, this will also allow the water to become room-temp, which is better for the plant. I've found my Phal to be pretty tough, which is one reason they're so popular! Personally, I have well water at home, but I'm stuck with municipal water while I'm at college. It doesn't seem to have affected my orchids visibly (I seem to be suffering more from the chemicals than my plants). If you're worried, get a water test kit and see what the pH is. As long as it's close to neutral, you should be fine. Or collect rainwater, but be sure it's still clean after being collected (collecting from your roof would probably make it worse than tapwater!)

And thanks for your original question and the responses to it. I only have one Phal at present, and cut back the spike for a rebloom, which was actually better than the first bloom, but now I want to try cutting all the way back. It's an orchid that I saved from Fred Meyers, so it may have had a good rebloom just because it is still regaining strength, but in the long run it sounds like cutting all the way back preserves that strength.

[Ross]

Originally Posted by jkofferdahl

If you fill a bucket with tap water and let it sit overnight a lot of the nasties evaporate out, anyway.

Only chlorine. The hardness remains.

[annehylee]

Thanks for all ur information Ross. I really appreciate it. Do u have any other suggestion re: plant nutrition direction since I can't download that document? And the pot that the it's in only needs to change to a bigger size to fit the roots? It should be just big enough to hold everything in?

[annehylee]

Hi greenbean! I'm in Toronto and it's just a regular hardwater. I will do the flushing method though to flush out all the minerals... I'm so excited to start all this. I have 2 other orchids that I went and bought on my own yesterday. They're both phals; one has been trimmed down to the base after every bloom and it's about 8 years old with these big luscious pink blooms. The other one is a young one with green is flowers. I'm picking them up tomorrow.

[annehylee]

Oh also, the picture of the one I posted at the beginning: I repotted that one in a fresh bark mixture and I have two more phals that I'm picking up tomorrow and the florist is saying that I should wait until it has finished blooming to repot... Is this tru? Or should I repot it as soon as I bring it home...

[greenbean]

Definitely wait until it's done blooming! I think you're supposed to wait until you can see new roots forming at the base. The first sign will be swellings at the base of the lowest leaves. It might be ok to pot without new roots forming, but generally new roots should be starting to show when you repot. Can someone verify or correct this for me?