New Phal spike buried itself in the leaf base, why's that?
 

I have a Phal which is truely leaving me perplexed. 2 years in a row now, when the plant starts a spike it nearly immediately does a U-turn to go bury itself deep at the base of the leaf.I managed to free one last year, but it immediately made another sharp turn to go bury itself again. Eventually the spike aborted and the plant started a new one...which did the same. And again this year. There's no way to stake it or otherwise keep it straight, it does the u-turn at the tiny little nubbin stage.

Anyone have an explanation for this strange behavior?? Or how to avoid it? It grows with my other Phals which all make beautiful straight spikes, and I have a matured keiki off this Phal which grows spikes that are perfectly normal. I'd hate to toss this plant for being a loser, it was my very first orchid and it bloomed wonderfully for me before this.

Do you have a pic?

Do you move it/rotate it? I'm thinking along the lines of its orientation toward the sunlight...

MM I was less generous in my thinking - I was going to say it was a root! LOL Sorry.

Camille I have no idea, you do get 'oddities'...If it were mine & I wanted to keep on trying I would 'just' :D (a word I often use whilst asking my husband to do a little DIY) ... :D look at spike /and adjust /every day...
Sorry can't offer any more concrete info..hopefully someone will 'know'?

Here's a pic of it. It doesn't look so bad because I did some surgery on the plant to give it space to get out, which it seems to be doing fine, for now. You have to imagine that it is completely behind the leaf base, which I removed part of. I know I took pics last year, but I must have erased them.

IMO, it's not due to the light, because while I home in France up until last week the orchids were behind a very large south facing window that gets somewhat dappled light due to the buddleya bush outside. And the side of the phal were the spikes come from was always facing the window. Last year it was outside. And after watering I put the spiking orchids back the same way.

Nenella, I had thought about guiding it somehow, but since it turns so sharply at such a small stage it's impossible. I tried last year on the second spike the plant made, and I ended up snapping the tip of the nubbin off.

I wouldn't do any more to it. It may just have stuck for a while but it should be fine. It could also be that it naturally wants to grow down.

It does seem odd :scratchhead: and I'm not sure what to suggest.

If it keeps doing it it's not just a one off confused spike. If it was genetic then why was it fine to begin with and why is the keiki fine :hmm

Sorry I can't think of anything. I'll let you know if any ideas strike me.

The spike seems to try to hide from the light instead of growing towards it. Maybe it finds the light too strong?

It can't be genetic: the keiki doesn't do it. But the keiki has grown in your conditions, therefore well adapted to them.

I would try moving the plant one meter further away from the window, so the spike would have to "fight for the light" instead of hiding from it.

My theory seems far fetched, but it's the best I can do.

It's really odd. It doesn't have the "mitton" shaped tip like most spikes do.