Old Spike Hasn't turned brown...

[Reckoner]

I've had this Phalaenopsis Orchid for about 3 years now but I was gone for a year when I was deployed. I recently started reading up on it because recently 2 new spikes have grown with several buds on each, but the original spike is still there and hasn't turned brown even after bearing a flower and losing it. Is that normal? I will provide a picture soon.

[Reckoner]

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y22...n/DSCN0796.jpg

[Call_Me_Bob]

i dont think this is a problem. i would just leave it there until something happens. i have had two remaining spikes for about a year now.

[RosieC]

Sometimes they do just stay green.

I left several for about 6 months, but then got fed up and removed them when I repotted.

It may produce either more buds or a keiki eventually, but I generally prefer to cut them right back anyway, although if it's not bothering you then you could just leave it and see what happens.

[camille1585]

Sometimes the spikes stay green a long long time without doing anything. Sometimes you can hope for some more blooms or a keiki, but sometimes it sits there doing nothing. I usually leave spikes until they turn brown (since the sap returns to the plant), but sometimes the spent spikes get in the way and several times I've nearly knocked phals off the windowsill when my sleeve gets caught on the spike.

Seeing as your spike looks like it's been cut or broken off previously, I don't think the lower nodes will do much, it's usually the upper ones that 'wake up'. So cut it off it you want!

[Jayfar]

I have a Phal Desert Dreams "Maui Sunset" which dropped its last blooms on 2 spikes a couple months ago, a few months after I bought it in bloom. I just never got around to cutting the spikes. At some point a new spike began forming hidden between leaves. By the time I noticed the ~6" new spike a couple weeks ago, new buds began forming on both original spikes (3 on one spike, plus a new branch, and 1 on the other). One of the buds bloomed just yesterday.

[val_and_graham]

We tend to trim ours back after bloom, but as each plant is a living thing, its hard to tell you exactly what would happen if you left it as it is. The great news is that your orchid is creating new blooms with new spikes. As mentioned by other OB members, the original spike may show blooms again, or it may not. I guess whether you cut it back comes down to your own visual preference.