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Broken Orchid Stem

formidable_swan

12 years ago

I am very upset. One of my birds had gotten out of her cage in the morning and put punctures into my beautiful orchid leaves and chewed through half the stem about halfway up to the flowers.

I have wrapped the chewed stem which is still connected by about a quarter of thickness with aloe-gel doused gauze but I am not certain what else to do as this is my first orchid.

Can you please help me or has my bird just killed this beautiful plant?

Photo links to orchid: http://tinyurl.com/3jv666j

and http://tinyurl.com/3rveqsp

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Comments (3)

richardol
12 years ago
I would cut the stem and treat it as a cut flower from now on. I will last pretty well if you angle cut the stem cleanly with a very sharp knife and add a pinch of sugar to the water.

The plant is hardly injured at all. Give it an east window and read the FAQ on moth orchids (Phaleanopsis) and it might well bloom again in the fall.
formidable_swan
Original Author
12 years ago
I see... so the "Plant" is the bottom leaf part with the bulb in the ground and the stem is just the flowers' foot that grows every year?

Please forgive my awful ignorance as this is my first orchid ever. I've never had enough guts to get one before.

Therefore, do I need to cut the stem every year? And if so, at what time do I need to cut it?

Where you see the gauze on the photo is where the stem was chewed through about 75% off. Today, the flowers seem no different and seem unaffected by the damage to the lower stem but I'm still keeping it wrapped with aloe gel soaked gauze to see how she fares...
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what nobody is mentioning is that the plant broke at a weak spot that was rotting away. A healthy vanda trunk is very strong and flexible. If you cut the plant a couple of inches away from damage and see any black in center of plant, the outlook is very dim. If trunk is clean, then spread some fungicide on the cut and keep in the shade until the cut is calloused over. then slowly move back to brighter light. You can turn top upside down for a few days while wound (if clean) heals and mist the foliage. Bottom section may have a better chance at sprouting a side growth, here again, trim trunk a couple inches away from damage and assess if trunk is clean. The best scenario is maybe the plant will start new growth, but it will take a couple or three years before it will be strong enough to re-bloom. If you see black in trunk area cut away from damage, then it may be time to toss it and send it to the big greenhouse in the sky....
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richardol
12 years ago
You can leave the stem (spike) on until it turns brown to try for a weaker re-bloom or you can cut it off after the flowers are gone. Cutting it about an inch from the plant will be the best for the long term health of the plant.

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