This is my first blooming Catt so I'm totally lost. Now that the blooms have wilted I have no clue how to proceed...where should I cut the spike? What, if anything, do I do with the sheath? I'm sorry if the questions seem completely ignorant, I just want to make sure I do it right
There is anecdotal evidence that it is best to let the flowers drop and cut off the sheath to the leaf node after the spike is totally dried out. The reason for doing this is to eliminate the possibility of having an open green wound. If you let the plant dry out the stalk, it'll cauterize itself.
You can let them dry out but I usually cut them off and I cut both the sheath and the flower spike about an inch from the plant because I don't want to cut so close that I may injure the pseudo-bulb. Always sterilize your shears before cutting anything on a plant.