Unsure about what to do after flowers fall off...

[mtayl04]

Hi. I'm a relatively new phal grower, but I definetely love my plants! I have two who have now lost all their flowers for this blooming. The plants look different from each other, and I'm a little unsure about what to do for each:

My first flower is small but healthy. When I first got it, there was a main "stem" with 6 or so flowers. After they fell off, I was unsure what to do, so I cut the stem a few nodes below the lowest flower. A year later, 2 small "spikes" popped out slightly below where I had cut the stem. They remained small and thin, and only one produced a single flower. I am now unsure of what to do. The flowering spike has died and fallen off, but the unflowering remains. I feel like maybe now it's time to cut the stem completely off, but I'll admit, I'm kind of nervous about doing this!! The stem itself still seems healthy, so...?

My second plant is so huge!! I has about 3 layers of leaves and an amazing root system going on. I got it during bloom and have not cut anything on it. This flower had multiple large, healthy spikes coming off the main "stem", all of which produced 5 or so flowers. This plant seems very healthy, so again, I'm not too sure what to do. It seems a shame to cut such a healthy stem down to the base, but I have no idea where else to cut since there are multiple "spikes" that flowered. Nothing on the plant is drying up or turning brown.

I would appreciate any tips, pointers or opinions here. It's been about a month since the flowers on both plants have dropped. Thanks for your help!