Spike Cut to Base of Plant Still Green?

[Edew]

Hi!

I noticed on my big Phal that one of the spikes I cut (to the base of the plant) it is still green. Is this normal? Should I not have cut it? It's been like this for 3-4 months now, weird!

(Btw the leaf edges got a tad sunburned if you were wondering. Dopey me)

Thanks for your thoughts.

[jkofferdahl]

My guess is that had you cut the stem a bit above one of the nodes you would have gotten a new stem from that node. The way you've cut it, however, means it won't. Eventually it will yellow and wither.

[Edew]

Interesting. I cut it to the base in hopes that it would focus on growing leaves/roots and conserve energy for the next blooming, but it has a mind of its own lol!

[camille1585]

Originally Posted by Edew

Interesting. I cut it to the base in hopes that it would focus on growing leaves/roots and conserve energy for the next blooming, but it has a mind of its own lol!

Where you cut it is completely up to you. Some people do as you did and remove it entirely so that the plant focuses on leaves/roots. The other option is to cut above a node about halfway or 2/3 the way up the spike to maybe get a side spike growing.

Or the third option is to leave the spike and see what it does. I usually do that, but out of laziness rather than choice. If the spike dries out, then I'll cut it, but on some Phals I have the spike stays dormant for a few weeks after dropping the blooms, and the the spike tip wakes up and starts growing again.