Phalaenopsis flower spike grew into the media
 

My dad's girlfriend brought me this phal yesterday and I instantly noticed something weird about it. I have no idea what the heck this spike thought it was doing but.... it grew into the bark! I pulled what I thought was the end of it out of the bark last night and found some buds that look like they could possibly survive. This morning I got brave and pulled the plant halfway out of the pot so I could get the rest of the spike out. I found that the original spike actually created a bud that looks like it may actually bloom (it was completely buried in the bark), the spike after that seems to have turned pink and tried to create more buds. Just below the first bud it put out a secondary spike that is in the process of making 5 buds, only one has blasted the rest look dandy. Ultimately it looks like some alien form is growing on this phal lol. I am so looking forward to seeing what this phal is going to do here! I'm already impressed with the progression of a flower spike growing underground lol.
I also noticed this orchid in general grows a bit strangely. The leaves aren't symmetrical and are twisty. The above ground flower spike also seems a bit gnarly. It looks as if the plant had been turned every day since the day it was unflasked lol. I don't know if that was the case or if this individual has some sort of genetic mutation. Only time will tell! Other than the weirdness it's perfectly healthy, great root system and beautiful in general. I had to share this crazy flower spike, has anyone else encountered anything like this?

Very cool! There’s a video somewhere of assembly line repotting of imported bare root Phals for Home Depot. I wonder if this one came in like this and the developing spike was accidentally shoved into a pot with the roots? It looks like the plant has been struggling to grow it up and out of the media.

The emerging spike simply got "trapped" and redirected downward early on. It is not a natural occurrance.