Mountaineer370 - the plant took a while to recover not because you cut the spikes, but because it had been pushed to bloom spectacularly, before the plant was really ready for it. Many store-bought Phals take a year or two to recover and begin blooming again.
The approach outlined by Ben_in_North_FLA is how most commercial growers grow their plants. They depend on selling plants for a living, so I would pay attention.
__________________ May the bridges I've burned light my way.
Well I just lopped off a couple of green but spent spikes (usually I leave them on) and I’ll see what happens. I’m don’t think I could do it if there were flowers (sorry plants!).