Orchid with yellow stem??? - Orchid Board

akwest29 · #1 07-15-2010, 09:49 PM

I bought an orchid and have been hooked from the start they are the most beautiful plants. I have done everything that I was told and dispite all that, the flowers have all fallen off and one of the stems is completely yellow, from the top the bottom. My question is should I cut that stem off or leave it alone?? Please help I love this plant and dont want it to die.

King_of_orchid_growing:) · #2 07-15-2010, 09:55 PM

It's just the flowers that have fallen off and the inflorescence dying back, not the entire plant.

Orchids are perrenials. Your Phalaenopsis has the potential to be over 20 years old or more (if you're able to grow them for that long)!

If you don't mind posting pics of the entire plant, people would be better able to spot other potential problems that could compromise the health of the plant quicker.

Descriptions, (especially when the incorrect terminology is used to describe orchid anatomy), can be difficult to diagnose. The difficulty lies in the fact that certain problems sound similar to each other via decription. But a photo is usually better able to narrow the problem down.

akwest29 · #3 07-17-2010, 02:59 AM

HELP???

King_of_orchid_growing:) · #4 07-17-2010, 03:32 AM

Looks fine to me for now.

You can remove the yellow inflorescence if you like (I actually recommend it

).

It was just the flowers that wilted because it was done flowering.

akwest29 · #5 07-17-2010, 01:53 PM

Thank you so much, this was very helpful.

King_of_orchid_growing:) · #6 07-17-2010, 02:00 PM

You're welcome.

RosieC · #7 07-17-2010, 02:51 PM

Yeah, totally agree with Philip. The plant looks fine, it's just the inflorescence dying back which is completely normal.

Personally I would remove BOTH the spikes once the flowers are done on them, but it's personal preference whether you remove the green one as many people leave them (and it is possible for them to flower again from there, the yellow one won't flower again so should always be removed). If you remove both then the plant will create a new one when it is ready to flower again. Cut it off down as low as possible without damaging the plant.

RosieC · #8 07-17-2010, 02:54 PM

Taking it further... how long have you had this Phalaenopsis? Now it has finished flowering it may be a good time to repot which with bark should be done every couple of years (but you don't know how long it was done before you bought it so it can often be best to do sooner rather than later).