Pinching Flowers

[Wynn Dee13]

So I just realized you never said what kind of orchids you have. You only said they were mini orchids. We are all assuming they are Phalaenopsis. It's most likely they are but are we right?

[Anee]

I'm not sure if the minis I have are in fact Phals... I'm assuming they can't both be because their stems do not look alike.

There is a picture of them from my first post::

http://www.orchidboard.com/community...questions.html

The second last picture. That is what they looked like when I first got them.

So what I'm understanding from the replies, is the original spikes will not be replaced by new spikes? But I have heard that once orchid flowers are spent, you can cut the stem down to the base, BUT you can also just do nothing and see if growth will continue. Then where does it happen, besides the tip of the stem??

& not only is the tip growing flowers, the stem is actually growing LONGER. So it's looking quite freakish right now. "Cause the stem is growing downwards!

I'll take a pic of what it looks like now soon.

[james mickelso]

I usually cut off the spent flower stems in order to let the plant regain it's energy so I will get good flowering next season. But if you want to let the flowering continue on the new flower stem, here is where you can cut the spent stem. Here is a phal that I let regrow the inflorescence (flower stem) and a close up of what it is doing. I'll post what they flowers look like when they open to show the difference in size.

[Wynn Dee13]

All your orchids in your pics are Phalaenopsis hybrids. The original spikes will not grow new flowers from the exact same spot on the stem where old flowers grew. The old spike can grow from the tip like yours is doing and they can branch from a node farther down on the spike. If these two things don't happen you will have to wait for the plant to grow a new flower spike all together to get more flowers.

[camille1585]

Originally Posted by Anee

So what I'm understanding from the replies, is the original spikes will not be replaced by new spikes? But I have heard that once orchid flowers are spent, you can cut the stem down to the base, BUT you can also just do nothing and see if growth will continue. Then where does it happen, besides the tip of the stem??

You were asking why the existing stem is dormant, so we were replying only about that.
It's the existing stem that has limited growing options, but of course your plant will make other spikes in the future. With good culture you could expect to see a new spike in the fall/early winter. Unless your Phal is the type that blooms a bit randomly throughout the year.

[RosieC]

Yeah, those are all Phals, and as Camille said it's the existing spike that will not grow new buds from where the old ones were, but may lengthen and may produce side spikes. New spikes grow from the plant when it is ready, often as the weather starts to get cooler.