Cut the stems of storebought Phal...

[littleone]

The stems were getting quite in the way and kind of drooping too much and so this morning I cut them. It looks healthy inside where I cut but will it be ok if I just leave it be? I don't really have anything to protect or put on it right now to prevent any possible infections?

[lotis146]

cinnamon helps to "cauterize" the wound in so many words. Just put it on the stem where you cut it.

[RosieC]

Generally cut flower stems on Phalaenopsis can just be left without anything. However cinnamon is great on cuts on the plant and if you are worried a dab on the end is fine.

(Just a side note, don't use cinnamon on roots it desiccates them, it's great on cuts on the plant, but not on the roots).

[greysister23]

I heard that you might be able to get more blooms from a spike if you cut it above a node and below the last bloom? Is that true, or should I just cut the spike completely down? My Phal. stopped blooming in late April and the spike is brown and dry at the end but is still strong.

[RosieC]

Well it can give more blooms to do that however...

1. They are often smaller than the first ones
2. There are often fewer than you get on a brand new new spike
3. It can force a plant to flower that is not strong enough, if done repeatedly it can weaken a plant as it puts energy into blooming.
4. It doesn't always work anyway.

Some people do it, I usually cut my spikes right down and let new ones come back up when the plant is ready to flower.

You can also choose to leave the spike, and only cut off any part of the spike that naturally dies. If the plant feels strong enough it might decide to flower again off the same spike. Again the flowers tend to be smaller and there are fewer of them than on a brand new spike, however you are not forcing the plant if you do this so it's not going to do any harm to the plant.

[greysister23]

Originally Posted by RosieC

Well it can give more blooms to do that however...

1. They are often smaller than the first ones
2. There are often fewer than you get on a brand new new spike
3. It can force a plant to flower that is not strong enough, if done repeatedly it can weaken a plant as it puts energy into blooming.
4. It doesn't always work anyway.

Some people do it, I usually cut my spikes right down and let new ones come back up when the plant is ready to flower.

You can also choose to leave the spike, and only cut off any part of the spike that naturally dies. If the plant feels strong enough it might decide to flower again off the same spike. Again the flowers tend to be smaller and there are fewer of them than on a brand new spike, however you are not forcing the plant if you do this so it's not going to do any harm to the plant.

Alright. So how could I tell if the current spike is growing to accommodate new flowers, and do I have to do any kind of temp drop for this?

I will probably just cut the spike down because I'm not really vein enough to cause harm to the plant as a whole just to get more flowers out of it. I'm happy enough that it's growing a new leaf! Lol

[Cntry]

Greysister do you know how old your orchid is? If it is young and this was its first blooming season I would cut the spike off totally giving it as much strength to grow specially since it has a new leaf forming. You don't want to stress the orchid if you don't have to. Once you have had it 2 or 3 years then I would cut the spike just before where the flowers were on the spike if you wanted to see more flowers and try having it spike again for you. Spikes happen usually every 3 leaves you may see one form in time as your orchid grows.

[greysister23]

Originally Posted by Cntry

Greysister do you know how old your orchid is? If it is young and this was its first blooming season I would cut the spike off totally giving it as much strength to grow specially since it has a new leaf forming. You don't want to stress the orchid if you don't have to. Once you have had it 2 or 3 years then I would cut the spike just before where the flowers were on the spike if you wanted to see more flowers and try having it spike again for you. Spikes happen usually every 3 leaves you may see one form in time as your orchid grows.

I don't know how old it is, I got it from a Lowes in April I belive. But it has 4 fully open leaves from 2 inches on the bottom to five inches being the topmost fully formed leaf. Probably 6-8 inches across from leaf tip to leaf tip. I did cut the spike off earlier today, but it was about a foot long.

[RosieC]

Originally Posted by greysister23

Alright. So how could I tell if the current spike is growing to accommodate new flowers, and do I have to do any kind of temp drop for this?

If you wanted to, just cut parts of the stem that turn brown and dried up, leave whatever has stayed firm. No temp drop as such. Just removing dead parts won't force the plant into anything and won't hurt.

Personally I usually cut them right down, occasionally I've left them and had new branches/flowers on them. However most of the time I think the plants look neater with the old spikes taken off so do that.