not stake Phal spike?

[VickiC]

I certainly will post bloom pictures later.....I'll be glad to.

Originally Posted by help

No problem!! Be sure to post some pics when they bloom

[camille1585]

Me too I prefer the natural look, but sometimes some spikes need a little help. Hybrid phals having large showy blooms more often need to be staked since the weight of the 'unnaturally' large blooms risks snapping the spike.

Me too, when I do stake I prefer to tie it well below the buds, that way the spike has some support but can still look natural. Some spikes I don't even attempt to spike because they come out horizontally. My Phal Wiganiae has a spike sticking straight out to the side, but there was no way to fix it. I'm going to have to stick the plant in a ceramic pot, because once it blooms the plant will topple over from the weight!

Other than the occasional Phal, I don't stake anything else.

[VickiC]

Hi Camille,
I'm sending a pic of the spike I staked. I may not have staked it the best way, but before I started the thread, I was mainly worried about the weight that would (hopefully) be on the spike, so maybe what little I've done has alleviated the possibility of potential snapping....although now that I've gotten advice from all of you, I gather that is usually not a major concern. This being only the 2nd phal spiking season I've experienced, I was clueless. I don't believe I'll stake any other spikes (at least for now) because they seem to be growing ok....and I doubt that they'll become long, either.

On another note (not concerning this thread), I'm also sending a pic of another mounted phal and it's spikes. It and one or 2 more (mounted, as well) have spikes growing upward, as you see. That may be very common....possibly because of stretching for sun.... ??) but I just expected a mounted phal to grow their spikes either downward or somewhat horizontally. I guess I'm not necessarily asking a question but thought maybe you wouldn't mind offering some input in case another new grower(s) who may be reading this might have phal spikes growing as mine are. I have read many, many posts in the past and have learned soooo much from all of you so far.

Thanks for your reply and and help,
Vicki

Originally Posted by camille1585

Me too I prefer the natural look, but sometimes some spikes need a little help. Hybrid phals having large showy blooms more often need to be staked since the weight of the 'unnaturally' large blooms risks snapping the spike.

Me too, when I do stake I prefer to tie it well below the buds, that way the spike has some support but can still look natural. Some spikes I don't even attempt to spike because they come out horizontally. My Phal Wiganiae has a spike sticking straight out to the side, but there was no way to fix it. I'm going to have to stick the plant in a ceramic pot, because once it blooms the plant will topple over from the weight!

Other than the occasional Phal, I don't stake anything else.

[Call_Me_Bob]

interesting! my mounted is just starting to spike, so i cant help you there

the spikes look fine, thats a very long spike!

[VickiC]

Hi Bob!
I hope your spikes grow well and eventually display many pretty blooms! Be sure to share pictures of them with us when that day comes! Now, don't forget.
Vicki

Originally Posted by help

interesting! my mounted is just starting to spike, so i cant help you there

the spikes look fine, thats a very long spike!

[Call_Me_Bob]

i will definitely share pics! i have some that are just getting buds, but the mounted phal is just beginning to spike

[VickiC]

Good luck!

Originally Posted by help

i will definitely share pics! i have some that are just getting buds, but the mounted phal is just beginning to spike

[WhiteRabbit]

gah! wouldn't you know - today I went out to check on plants and found the Onc Sharry Baby with the unstaked spike had toppled over ... found a better cache pot to set it in. I hope that does the trick

[VickiC]

Glad the spike didn't get broken (that would probably have been my luck). I hope the better cache pot you came up with does the trick, too. It's always kinda scary when you see a pot on it's side. For example: Today Maggie Mae (one of our kitties) hung out with me in the greenhouse and when I wasn't looking she jumped up on a bench and overturned 2 tiny pots of blooming tolumnia. So, needless to say, she was escorted outside.

Originally Posted by WhiteRabbit

gah! wouldn't you know - today I went out to check on plants and found the Onc Sharry Baby with the unstaked spike had toppled over ... found a better cache pot to set it in. I hope that does the trick

[WhiteRabbit]

Originally Posted by VickiC

Glad the spike didn't get broken (that would probably have been my luck). I hope the better cache pot you came up with does the trick, too. It's always kinda scary when you see a pot on it's side. For example: Today Maggie Mae (one of our kitties) hung out with me in the greenhouse and when I wasn't looking she jumped up on a bench and overturned 2 tiny pots of blooming tolumnia. So, needless to say, she was escorted outside.

yeah - the spike seemed ok, tho I realized after the fact I didn't look too closely. Hopefully it's ok.

Yes, kitties love to "help" us with the plants, don't they???
I frequently knock over tolus without any help from my cat.
Post pix of your tolus if you can, please! So far I am batting 0.00 with getting mine to bloom, so would especially love to see yours!