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Shoud I cut the spike off this phal?

16 years ago

We have this phal for more than a year. It has been blooming like this for more than a year now, continously, each time with one bloom! (See pix) About 7 months ago, I repotted it with fresh mix (while it was in bloom) and it continued blooming ever since.

I thought it'd be better if I cut the spike off and repot it again into some fresh mix. But I'm afraid I might do more harm than good (by cutting off the spike).

Please advice what to do. Many thanks.

Xuan

Here is a link that might be useful:

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Comments (5)

mehitabel
16 years ago
You don't say what the name of your phal is, but the flower looks to me like one of the newer, waxy, novelty "reds". Depending on the ancestry (why the name is needed), these can continue to bloom a few flowers on the same spike year after year.

Spikes on these should not be cut, because new spikes will develop over time, contributing to a nice show when old and new spikes are in bloom together.

If you can let me know the name of your phal, I can look the ancestry up for you on orchidwiz, and give you an idea of the type it is.

It looks healthy to me, with two nice newer leaves. I wouldn't cut the spike, myself.
haxuan
Original Author
16 years ago
Thank you for your quick reply. I'm very sorry I don't have the tag and really don't know the name of the phal. But I looked at one of the posts on this forum with a pix of phal that looks like mine. I can be totally wrong, though.
Could you be kind enough to check it out for me. The link below is for further reference.

Here is a link that might be useful: Here's the link
Related Discussions
Should I cut the spike on my phals?
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Baroness, if there are some nodes on the stalk with the broken end you might get a side branch to spike, otherwise it probably will do nothing. "in situ, who cuts the spikes off of the phals?" That statement applies to any aspect of any branch of horticulture. I could stop all work on my messy garden (casual cottage) and what would be the result? I'll be a an orchid show in a few weeks time and if the customer is just buying a Phal. as a cheap bunch of flowers, i'll tell them the cut down to the node stuff, but, i like to think that people asking questions here are interested in growing better flowers. Here is the story of Betty (again). Betty was a great orchid grower. she had a collection of thousands of orchids and won the annual championship at several orchid societies many times. Now those Championships are won by people who have big collections across many Genera and you get points for just benching a plant. She had this species Phal. that bloomed for years and years. It had a long, long spike with hundreds of flower scars and a few sad dispirited flowers at the end. It was benched in the species other section year after year just to gain that one precious point. Brooke, not sure of the latest name for Phal. decumbens. It seems to have had many names over the years. The plant pictured in an above post is a mini 3 inches high with 3 inch leaves, just the ticket for the narrow windowsill in the kitchen. The flower spike is not very long, but is a sequential bloomer, so i go SNIP at the base after enjoying the display for three months or so. Blooms like clockwork, every summer.
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SHould I cut the spike off?
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I like Richard's line in the post above "moving from the FAQ generalizations to the specifics of your orchid." As for cutting the Phal. spike off, there is an FAQ on that subject which really doesn't say YES or NO because it depends on the type of Phalaenopsis and whether or not you are desperate to see a flower. So, getting to specifics, i cut the spikes off mine. Snip. But not off violacea and some of the other species. Probably not too, if i had some primary hybrids with violacea as a parent. Why do i cut the spikes off? because i want the plant to have an annual cycle of growing and blooming.
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cutting phal spikes
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Cut it off below the lowest node near the bottom of the plant (bumps along the spike are called "nodes"). Sometimes they just throw another spike fairly soon, either right away or within a few months. I hope that's what happens to yours :)
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Yes particularly if there is a node just below the break. I've also had spikes regrow from just above the cut off spike of first time to bloom seedlings. Brooke
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mehitabel
16 years ago
Violacea (the phal you linked to) is definitely one of the species that continues to bloom off the same spike for several years. It is one of the ancestors of many of the novelty "reds" I mentioned. The light green leaves are characteristic, and so is the short spike.

I would keep the spike as long as the plant looks healthy and continues to put out new leaves.

I have cut the spike off a couple of this type when the roots were compromised and the leaves got wilty, but leave the spike alone otherwise.

Good luck. These are my favorite type of phal. I absolutely love them.

I would also like to add that I cut the spikes off phals for aesthetic reasons-- a tall spike starts to look really ugly with just one or two flowers on it. But that isn't true of short-spike plants. They look fine with just one or two flowers on the short spike.

Enjoy your flowers.
claritamaria
16 years ago
I'd add more mix on the top, not re-pot. The need to repot after 7 months may mean that your medium is inferior.

Clara
haxuan
Original Author
16 years ago
Thank you all for your inputs. Guess I will just leave the spike and add some mix.

Xuan

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