Phalaenopsis growing a spike instead of a leaf

[Carlos]

Hi
i have a very strange problem. one of my Phalaenopsis is growing a flower spike where a new leaf would grow. normally a flower spike is shot from the side of the plant but in this case is has grown right in the middle of the crow. it feels so wrong as i have never seen this before. will this stop future leaf growing? it a still a young plant. any clues guys?

[trdyl]

Hello Carlos. This is called a terminal spike. Usually when this happens the present crown will stop growing. All is not lost though. Many times when this happens the plant will throw a new crown as a basal keiki.

[RosieC]

Hi Carlos,

Unfortunately this is called a 'terminal spike' and it will stop future leaf growth.

Generally the best thing to try and do is get a keiki of some sort. You might want to investigate Keiki-pro which is a paste which can promote keikis on the spike. I've never tried it though myself and I'm not sure how much it costs (or availability in the UK) so it might depend how important the Phal is to you whether you bother.

I think that sometimes the orchid may be more likely to produce a keiki (possibly a basal keiki which grows from the base of the stem rather than on a spike) when it has terminated the main crown. This is because of some complicated action of hormones which change naturally when the crown is terminated. Others here could explain that better than me.

[Carlos]

bummer, i have just brought this plant 3 months ago. although it was not in best shape but had nice flower. brought it in the hope that i would be able to get it to good shape, and it was. the leafs are nice and strong and no longer floppy, nice bright green but not yellowish. does this mean it wont flower aswell?
i have it in a glass bowl with 3 other Phals in center of my table and they are all doing great. the other 3 Phals. are already growing new leafs, they are about 2cm long.

[RosieC]

Well I think you should at least get the flowers off this spike and I've heard that they can spike again.

The Phal may still live for quite some time, it is just very unlikely to grow new leaves out of that crown so as the old ones die the plant will eventually die... unless a basal keiki starts which effectively will be a new crown.

I would advise leaving the spike after the flowers have dropped. If it dries out and goes brown then cut it off, but if it stays green leave it. You may get a keiki forming on the spike, in which case leave it to grow for a while. Eventually when it has enough roots of its own it can be removed and potted up as a replacement plant.

[stefpix]

have a phal like that. it grew a basal keiki on its own. no keiki pro used. old crown still alive but the new one already bloomed [just 2 flowers from just 2 leaves].
would wait and see.

[dounoharm]

i have one that terminated 2 years ago...so far no keiki, but it continues to bloom off old spikes...i keep hoping for a keiki, but at this point the plant appears to be weakening....i left it alone as i wanted to see what nature does on its own...