When to cut old spikes

[flyfishdoc]

Happy New Year all!

I have started going on the assumption that the plant should resorb the nutrition from the used spike before I cut it. I have had some dry up quickly, so I cut them off when dry. Others have remained green. One has now started to resprout from the upper portion of the spike after a month without flowers. Only the distal 1 inche dried up.

Is my assumption wrong? Should I cut back when the flowers die? This one that is resprouting started the new spike while there were still flowers on it. The new spike is on the left, the middle spike has the new 1 inch sprout, and the right is still stiff and green

[Ethan]

With phalaenopsis' you can leave the spikes on or cut them off. I know there are other threads on the board about this. Often times phals will grow new flowers from the old spikes, so some people leave them. Others feel that the spike should be cut off so the plant will grow a new spike.

[Ross]

I agree. Often Phals (and a few other genera) may spring forth additional flowers, or in some cases babies. But I prefer to cut the spike back near the leaf fan and let the plants gain strength through roots. I doubt much is resorbed from the spikes. That process is more common with leaves.

[cb977]

With Phals, it can go either way...

some folks leave the spike in the hopes that it will put out another bloom. Others, such as myself, prefer to cut the spike when it's done blooming so the plant can put all that energy into reviving itself and putting out the best blooms next time.

Some Phal species are known to produce keikis along their spikes...I don't cut those spikes until they're brown and hard like a twig

[D-D-]

Based on my experience I would never recomend cutting a phal spike back. The reason I still have orchids is that the first one I purchased, a phal, continued to re spike and had at least one flower in bloom for a period of 30 months. D-D-

[RosieC]

I favour cutting them back, but as others have said you can go either way with Phals. Personally I prefer to let the plant concentrate on growing between spikes.

I gave my mother-in-law a Phal last mother's day and she has left the spike on, and got a lot of new flowers off the old spike. The plant looks quite healthy but has not grown any new leaves in that time, while mine has grown three new leaves. She has had more flowers than me, but I have a larger plant which is now flowering again as well.

It's all a matter of personal preference.

[RosieC]

Originally Posted by D-D-

Based on my experience I would never recomend cutting a phal spike back. The reason I still have orchids is that the first one I purchased, a phal, continued to re spike and had at least one flower in bloom for a period of 30 months. D-D-

I have a memory (but I could be wrong) that there are some types of phal which just keep flowering one or two blooms at a time from an ever growing spike. While the more common phals put up a spike with lots of flowers that all open together (within a couple of weeks of each other) and then drop within a few days of each other.

I'm sure I've read that the sort which keeps opening one or two from a slowly growing spike should NOT be cut back after flowering. Where the sort which open all together can/should be cut back (depending on preference).

D-D- yours sounds like the first sort from what you have said. If I have remembered correctly they have a very different flowering method to the phals which open lots of flowers together and then don't have any for several weeks/months.

[D-D-]

Hello Rosie, I don't know if I'm doing this correctly as I have little experience using this type of communication. ( For instance I lost my original attempt to comment when I tried to correct the spelling.) The only phals I have seen produce spikes from between the leaves near the base. The one I spoke of was a large white (and I've always regretted not having knowledge or contacts that could have cloned it.) It is the only one I've had that spiked so profusely the one began to flower before the last died. Several people from the sreet thought it was artificial. The nearest is one currently coming into flower with two spikes each with three brantches. However they will flower and die at approx the same time. D-D-

[poppy86orchids]

Hi everyone, does anyone know whether I should cut a Vanda? I see there is another spike coming between the two top leaves. But how far down the spike/stem should I cut it back?

[Ray]

Vandas will only bloom once per spike. Cut the old ones back as close to the plant as possible without damaging the plant.