Spike Cuttage on Phal

[Blondie]

When you say to cut off the spike entirely to encourage new growth, do you mean all the way down to the very base of the leaves? I cut off the spike, but it's still about an inch long with one node... I got nervous about cutting too much off.

But I want to encourage it to take a breather and get bigger next time, so should I cut off even more?

[quiltergal]

I cut mine about 1/4" from the base. If you keep it well fed you'll see a flurry of growing activity very soon.

[Ross]

Agreed. If you can, try to cut below first node - otherwise it may respike from that node and that defeats the purpose of cutting the spike.

[Blondie]

Originally Posted by rsfrid

Agreed. If you can, try to cut below first node - otherwise it may respike from that node and that defeats the purpose of cutting the spike.

Yes, I would feel quite stupid if it started growing way down there. I will recut!