Supporting a new spike

[sweetlouisiana]

Hi, everyone. I'm new. I'm writing because, for the first time, one of my phal orchids is growing a new spike from the bottom of the plant. The original spike has a stake, but I'm not sure what to do with the new one. The root system of this plant seems very established, and it doesn't like there is any good place to stick in a new support. I went out of town for a week, and when I came back, the spike had already gotten a little curvature to it. It is still soft, so I was able to pull it up and twist-tie it to the established spike, but this doesn't seem like a good permanent decision. This is a rather large, impressive orchid, and I don't want to mess it up by doing the wrong thing. Any advice y'all have would be wonderful. Thank you!

[sweetlouisiana]

[RandomGemini]

Looks good.

You can stake the spikes, or not. A lot of folks just leave them. The only concern with the spike being left unstaked is that some phals put out huge blooms that weigh quite a bit, so they can cause the plant to tip out of its pot.

[sweetlouisiana]

I feel so stupid! I was so proud of my new little spike...but then I went to water my plants this afternoon, and I snapped it off!!!!! I trimmed it back to a clean cut...but have I killed my little spike, or will it continue to grow? Thanks!

[tarev]

Ouch! Not to worry, as long as spike is green, it can still send a secondary spike on the lower nodes and may still bloom.

[RandomGemini]

Originally Posted by tarev

Ouch! Not to worry, as long as spike is green, it can still send a secondary spike on the lower nodes and may still bloom.

This.

I have a phal that is doing that right now.

[sweetlouisiana]

Update! My broken off spike is starting to grow again!

[Atzau]

good to hear!

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk

[RosieC]

[bethmarie]

I like a good success story