Quote:
Originally Posted by sthh
I noticed that you cut away the flowering spikes of your phals. You may want to leave them on the plant even after the flowers falls off, as long as they are still green. Sometimes, phals re-bloom from these flowering spikes, and can also send keikis out from those.
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There are differing opinions on this. I leave them on sometimes and cut them off other times. The flowers produced on old spikes are often just one or two, when new spikes generally (but not always) produce more.
I have several whose spikes were cut off and are now producing large spikes with lots of flowers. I have one that has two flowers on an old spike I left previously, and two buds forming on a new spike it grew at the same time as the old spike started growing buds. Flowers have opened quicker on the old spike (no need to grow the spike first) but over-all the plant has less flowers than previous times when it's just grown a new spike from scratch.
I have others with spikes on which have been dormant for a while. I often cut them off though just for the neatness of the plant on my window-ledge. If the plant is going to be somewhere I see it regularly I find it more attractive without an old spike.
So really with phals it's a matter of preference. Some people always remove them, others always leave them, and some do a bit of both (like me).