Hi everyone, this is my first thread on the forum... So I have had this same phal for about 3 years now, it sent out a spike while I was away for a while. When I returned I noticed something strange... The spike came out above the bottom leaf like normal, but then turned around and re-entered in the base of the leaf above and began growing into the stem! It looked like it was going to continue growing deeper into the stem so I cut it. I have tried to pull out the part that is embedded in the stem, but cannot seem to get it out... do you think this will cause issues for the orchid? I can take a few pictures tomorrow after work. Hoping it will be ok...
Ugh, that seems like such a waste! You did the right thing, in my opinion. I have had a spike grow into a leaf, but there were no bad results to the leaf, just that the spike never was able to bud and bloom. If you are lucky, the spike may continue to grow and branch out a bit, finally giving you blooms.