Can i vent and get some sympathy?
 

Few months ago bought new orchid that was in bloom. When it finished i tried cutting down the stem. It got, my first time ever, a new spike with multiple buds. Alas, while watering this morning......well, you can guess the rest about when i hit the spike. I am sad. Only you guys can understand. I put the stem in water.:angry:

Happened to me at least three times or more......consider it part of the circle of life...

I totally understand your pain. I have broken a few spikes, and new growths too. Hopefully it will either start a new side growth off the broken spike, or it will grow a new spike.

OK. Thats encouraging. Since it put out all the energy to finish that first bloom from when i bought it, acclamating to new environment and pushing out a second blooming, maybe i should cut the stem off and let it rest?

Bummer. Still if that's the dumbest thing you ever do, then you'll do very well.

We've all done it. So don't beat yourself up. I am always so upset when I do this (recently 2 spikes on a Aerangis hyaloides and 1 on an Aerangis citrata all on the same day!)

The good news is that you're doing something right in that you got the second bloom. So you know you can do it again :)

Glad i have a place where i can get people to understand. My friends just say its no big deal, it'll grow back. Ughhh

Been there. Chin up , hopefully it puts out more spikes. Not all friends understand our obsession with orchids:)

In another thread, I think I indicated that snapping off spikes is a common occurrence for me. Five years ago, I became so frustrated, I bought a cute little seedling Psychopsis Mendenhall 'Hildos' as I figured out at least I would have really nice leaves to show for my hard work. :|
The real bummer is my Angraecum Magdalenae. I just had to perform a little surgery on it as it has a bit of rot. It will be fine but it doesn't look quite as pretty (It is usually very pretty out of bloom). Sigh.

I shall take your post as a warning to stay away from my Phals as their spikes are reaching that dangerously breakable length. I have already snapped one off.

*Step away from the orchid*

May your plant rebloom with twice the flowers next time :)

I snapped one not so long ago trying to stabilise the spike, definitely annoying! I also tore out the crown on another stuffing around with a leaf I didn't like...... ;) whoopsie-booboo :) ...... luckily for me it seems to be recovering, whew!

Oh man that's a bummer, sorry to hear that. So frustrating to boot! :(

I got two new Zygonesias recently one in bud, the other had a brand new unexpected spike when it arrived. One of three buds blasted, and the other ones spike died completely.

But like someone else said, at least you know you're doing something right! And who knows it might want to grow a few new branches off what's left over.

I used to wonder how it was that people managed to do that. I mean, isn't a person just careful around a spiking plant? Until I did it the first time . . . Then I understood how easy it is to break those things! :)

You guys make me feel better. I knew you would. I love this site!

That suuuucks. I haven't really had that happen since I cut the spikes on plants I just buy if I think it needs to be given some real TLC. Which, more often than not, they do. But still, that's a major bummer :(

I have not felt that pain before, for one simple reason. Large big plants all get good light bit they seldome flower. They grow like weeds. Each plants only flower like every 4 years
Sorry for your loss I can emagine how it would feel

That sucks, especially if it's a flowering you've been anticipating for a while.

I've only broken on spike/stem so far, and that was on my Paph tonsum, but that flower was already in a glass of water, so it didn't matter.

On the other hand, I've killed several orchids and I think I would prefer snapping an inflorescence once in a while, instead of killing the plants. Dead orchids are very unwilling bloomers, after all. ;)

That's how I killed my Paph mastersianum. I was going to remove one of the old leaves, which was pretty firmly attached to the plant, but I pulled anyway and the entire stem snapped in half... :_(

No more pulling dead, very firmly attached leaves off Paphs anymore.

This is why I started staking spikes on my phals. On other plants, I don't bother because the spikes get really tall so I am not at risk of forgetting they are there. I do feel your pain on this one! Staking can also risk breakage of a spike too, so you have to be careful no matter what you do.

Oh, just to illustrate what I do with my plants, I managed to drop my Paph robinsonii upside down today, naturally after writing my previous post and of course it's in spike as well. The spike held, while one leaf got damaged and the entire plant almost came out of the pot. I managed to put everything back together, so I hope it's going to be alright.

THIS is what I do instead. I have a very bad tendency to drop my Paphs and it has caused one to die, some roots to snap off on others, and leaf damage all around. The spikes? Nah, no problemo, mate. :roll:

So apparently, the spikes in my apartment have all been treated with 'unbreakianium', while the rest of the plants suffer from the 'fumblefingerssyndrome'.

..Or you could have been like me and move a phal around in different angles so the buds and flowers all crane around to the light... I've managed to topple over the top heavy phal, nothing broke.. I just have a couple twisted flowers/buds. Luckily only one bud blasted.:shock:

beginner mistake :blushing:

Believe me i appreciate each and every response you all have taken the time to post. Oh yeah, broken is much better than dead! Bben there, done that too.

I did it not too long ago. I thought it was some dried up old leaf on the Dent
and I snapped it off. Then I saw the little flower buds. I was so frustrated at myself for not knowing better, but I guess it's a learning experience. If one just did not have to wait so long.

I am so sorry for your loss. I know how much I love my orchids....(my husband thinks I am crazy) You will find that your orchid will make it up to you.

One of the things I like about boards like this is the fact that people have the guts to admit to doing something really crass.
So to all of you out there who have screwed up and posted on here, my heartfelt thanks. In explaining what you did wrong, you give the rest of us the opportunity to learn from your mistakes, and hopefully not repeat the trick.

If it makes you feel any better, I knocked off a terminal flower bud from my miniature cymbidium this morning...still thinking about it....:((.

bil you phrased it best! Yes i can feel free to admit a big boo-boo and get understanding. And if i post a success everyone shares my joy. Ula i dont know what a terminal spike is but i m sorry that it happened.

That's one of the reasons we're here, to share our experiences, good and bad. I don't mind letting you know that I'm a master at killing Paphs; everything to ensure I continue being #1! :muahaha:

Oh, I meant, to make sure you guys don't repeat my mistakes. :whistling

That is so disheartening, but it happens to us all. Orchids don't rebloom at the drop of a dime, which is why it's so disappointing when this happens. Don't be upset with yourself... accidents happen to us all.
At least your plant is fine and it will bloom again!
I've accidentally knocked one of my orchids off a cabinet and there is was ... all over the floor. We dust ourselves off, pick up the pieces and repot the plant so that it may bloom again one day!

I bumped a mini-phal off the end table just a few days ago. It tumbled, landed right on the spike, and BOUNCED! Amazingly nothing snapped, though I got moss all over the floor. Fortunately, this was an old spike and not a new one.

Bummer about yours! Hopefully it will send out a side-spike :) If it wasn't a clean break, maybe trimming above the next node will help encourage reblooming?

I have been watching it and waiting for something to swell, like a node, but nothing so far. It's a multy-bulbed (is that a word?) plant so I am hoping one of the others will make a spike. Keeping fingers crossed.

Sorry to hear about everyone's spike unfortunes! (And especially yours mimigirl)

I'm a student still living at home and one of my parents left a window open near one of my phals (on a table), and the wind picked up the curtain and sent the phal flying...breaking two spikes at once...

I might have slightly told them off for being careless (oooh) WHEN, about a month later, I knocked the spike of one of my other phals with my shoulder and broke that myself! :lol:

It's as they say I guess: Accidents happen!

I broke the whole top off of a cane on a dendrobium by trying to get a small piece of bark out of the leaf juncture . So on that one I have to wait for a whole new growth, not just a spike

gngrhill, that is a bummer!