Please no terminal spike!??

[WhiteRabbit]

Originally Posted by cythaenopsis

Is there a general rule of thumb as to when a phal will develop a terminal spike? If it is never stressed, will it simply reach a point where it is too old to bloom again and will then release a terminal spike? What's the record age of a phal? I saw one person on another forum say they've had theirs for 20 years!

I'm certainly not positive, but I don't think it's usually caused by age or stress, just a freak thing that happens sometimes, tho maybe someone else has an explanation for why it occurs.

I have seen pix of some quite old Phals - the lower portion of the plant dies as the plant grows, but they do keep growing

[Kimbubbley]

They certainly seem to be resilient things, Phals! Mum has one where the crown rotten out... but it managed to hold on to the bottom 2 leaves and sprouted basal keikis, plus one from a spike

I have one that i didnt realise the core was packed with sphag and the roots all rotted out completely... I just left it exposed laid on top of some bark and mist it occasionally, and its starting to root and has developed a keiki on an old piece of spike

And ive even got one that i repotted quick when i realised it was in trouble... now its happy again the dormant tips of the flower spikes have re-awakened and are budding again!

Truely amazing plants