paphiopedilum delenatii flower spike

[SusanE]

My beautiful paph just ended its long bloom period.
The petals dropped off, but what looks like a seed pod
is left on the spike. What do I do? Should I cut it?

Susan

[justatypn]

How exciting, I am sure many of our members will be able to answer your question, but thought I would google a paph seed pod...hope your's looks like this

Orchid Seed Pods Photo Gallery by flame747 at pbase.com

[SusanE]

Help, can someone please tell me if I should cut the spike?

Susan

[Mahon]

I find that it does not matter whether or not you cut the spike if the flower is not pollinated. I doubt that your flower is pollinated, so you can cut the spike. I've got a Paph. delenatii that I still haven't cut the old, dried up spike off too

-Pat

[Ray]

I have noticed that a lot of my paphs have done the same thing this year - dropping the blossom but keeping the undeveloped capsule for a long time. They don't seem to be maturing at all, so my inclination is to remove the spikes.

[SusanE]

Thanks, Ray. I had a feeling that leaving the pod might even be a bad idea (drawing too much energy to seed development), but since I'm still new at this I wanted to be certain it was ok.

Susan

[slipperfreak]

Hi Susan,

Personally I would cut it off, unless it's a strong multigrowth plant, to conserve energy for new growth and flowers. It's kind of a matter of preference though.