Quote:
Originally Posted by Kimberly Ann  My grandma told me that once the flowers fall off and when the stem turns brown and brittle, I should cut the stem at the base as close to the leaves as possible, but I have been getting conflicting info on the web. Some say to cut it halfway up, some say an inch up, some say 3 nodes up...I'm thinking I should just trust my grandma, since she's been successfully growing them for years, but I just want to make sure that's the way to do it. |
Actually both your Grandma and the web are correct. Phals can be forced to rebloom by cutting a green (alive) spike just above the last node on the stem. A new flower spike will then emerge from the node. When the entire spike is dead, dried up and withered, it will not produce any more flowers and can be cut off as Grandma suggested.
You may find that what works for your Grandma in Florida may or may not work for you in California. The bottom line should always be what the plant needs. How we deliver that can vary depending on our growing conditions, the mix, our location, etc., etc. For example someone livign in Wisconsin would never mist a Phal because the combination of moisture and cool will probably cause crown rot.
Go to the AOS website (
www.aos.org) and download a culture sheet on Phalaenopsis. Give it a good read and if you have more questions let us know!
Welcome to the forum and Happy Growing!