Grammatophyllum scriptum Advice

[jcl2116]

Hi, I received a grammatophyllum scriptum orchid at the end of August for my birthday and one of the stems has started to lose all of its flowers (the middle one and it was also the first to bloom). Should I cut the flower spike at the base or cut it at all? Attached is a picture in the beginning of October before it started losing most of its flowers in the middle spike. Thank you for your advice!

[estación seca]

Welcome to the Orchid Board! We love hearing about people's orchids. What a great birthday gift!

I'm guessing nobody responded because not many people grow Grammatophyllums. Even the "small" ones get pretty big. Plus, a lot of people were busy trick-or-treating the day you posted so they didn't see your post.

I would cut the whole spike at the base once it drops all the flowers. It won't bloom again from that spike.

I don't have this G. species yet. This year I've managed to add G. elegans and G. speciosum to my collection. You can read about G. scriptum online. It likes plenty of water and fertilizer, light, warmth and humidity.

You don't say where you live, nor which direction your window faces. The Echeveria or Graptopetalum succulent in the container with your Gramm is somewhat leggy, which makes me worry it didn't get enough light. Did you do the plant arrangement, or did it come that way? How much direct sun shines on your plant? Your Gramm will need a lot of light to rebloom.

The upright-pointing basket of roots traps falling leaves in nature, and as they decompose they provide nutrients to the plant. For this reason it is considered a heavy feeder.

And a plant with such huge thin leaves will take a lot of water.

Report back and let us know how it is doing! Everybody loves Gramms!

[theloyalplum]

I also say you should look up the species and variety (var citrinum) online. There is a plethora of information on it since it's a pretty well documented plant; it makes wonderful specimens. From what I remember from when I was trying to justify a purchase was that it gets huge and loves full sun and high heat and humidity. Something not necessarily easy to do indoors. Best of luck surfing the web! We at OB are always here, too!

[Bud]

As soon as the spike loses all the flowers, cut one inch from the base and dab cinnamon powder on the wound.
You are a windowsill grower just like me and I see that the other building is blocking most of your light. My Gramms are placed in the south facing bay window with nothing blocking it in my apartment building. You might need additional light in the day.
This orchid plant needs air circulation so invest in a small oscillating fan....and don't let it feel temps under 50F

---------- Post added at 05:08 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:58 PM ----------

The leaves are prone to fungi infestation that starts at the tips. Make sure to wipe out cold water droplets=or this will react to the light like a lens and cause black holes that fungi likes to colonize....

[jcl2116]

Thank you all so much for your advice! I just cut about 2 inches from the base and added the cinnamon powder. I live in NYC and unfortunately don't have the best temperature control/air flow. As it gets colder, I put some towels between the plant and the windowsill to hopefully not let in too much cold air. I have the plant in a south facing window in the area that gets the most sun in our apartment. I will try my best to get another bloom over the next year and will keep everybody posted! Thank you again!