That is cool! I would love to know if you get as many blooms as you had from previous spikes. I wonder if it will be the same or fewer due to the energy that it's putting into regrowing the spike. I've had a spike that I broke that didn't come completely off. i clipped it back up to the stake as straight as I could and it continued with it's bloom cycle. No buds blasted at all. One of the many reasons that I love orchids.

You will not get a positive Yes or No cut the spike off at the base because it is a depends situation. If i am on sales table duty at an orchid society show i might tell you to cut the spike down to a node on a standard type Phalaenopsis if i sensed you were not an orchid grower and were just buying a plant as a cheap bunch of flowers. You should not cut the spike on some of species Phalaenopsis such as Phal.violacea or on primary hybrids with violacea as a parent. One specialist grower of Phals cuts the spikes off at the base at the end of the show season here (Mid October) but by then his show plants had been out for several months had been to three of four shows and he figures that the plants need a rest and will in any case initiate new flowering spikes the following late autumn. Passing on giving advice re. growing in Norway. Though at least those night temperatures are sensible. Going back to the FAQ. Here is a picture of said orchid in the link. It is a tiny little thing that decides to bloom each summer so if you have enough Phalaenopsis you will be able to have some in bloom at most times during the year. In other words not all are stimulated to bloom by the cool down in Autumn. I have had the plant for at least six years and every year the routine is the same. Late October, initiate new spike January Flower Late March cut Spike down to base and so on. Hope this helps and doesn't confuse further. Also seek out complete cultivation notes re. Phals on google. Especially those that relate to growing in climates with very cold winters. Here is a link that might be useful: Orchid mentioned in FAQ

I agree that it's about preference. However, I believe some people don't want to cut because they are reluctant to give up what they have-- a flower or two-- for some pie in the sky about "next year's" beautiful spike. So I want to add that last May I bought three in bloom phals from Odoms and Norman's. Very beautiful, but after about two months two started to have only a few flowers on the ends of the spike. I thought them ugly and cut them off. That was about July. The third had only dying flowers when I got it and that spike was cut right away. With good light all summer, all three put out *two* new spikes in the fall and are blooming now. One has been blooming since January on two spikes. Another bloomed for four months last October thru February, and then put out two more spikes. The one with spent flower last May has been blooming on two beautiful spikes since about February, and the spikes are still full and beautiful after three months. The longest I had to wait for new spikes to start was three or four months. The longest I had to wait for flowers was about 9 months. So my point is that if you cut the spike back on a nice big plant like the one you have, *and give it plenty of light*, you will get new spikes starting in a *few months*, not necessarily "next year", and those spikes will stay full and beautiful for at least a couple of months, or with all those branches, maybe longer. I personally think you'll enjoy the thrill of your very own new spike, and the beauty of a fully branching spike, but it's your call.

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.