[Cynthia, Prescott, AZ]

No, not always. Remember that all leaves have a limited life span and they will all die off eventually. We don't think anything of it because there are always new leaves coming to replace the ones that die off. EXCEPT, when the center has died off for some reason. Then, with no new leaves, and the old ones eventually dying, it could be the end of a plant if it did not start a side growth. This is a situation I have seen many times, where the eyes of a plant are all killed of by severe fungal activity at the base. Then the plant eventually grows old and dies because it can't make new growths without eyes. I have a single bulb of an Epidendrum cochleata with no eyes. However, the plant has found a way around the problem by starting a new growth at the top of the psuedobulb next to a recent bloom spike. I have also seen a Vandacious plant with a rotted center do the unheard of thing of producing a keiki at the top of the remaining stem and continue to grow looking like it had never had a problem.