pruning orchids

[karen teresa]

Hello everybody. I am new to the buying and growing of orchids. My husband and I love them. Do you cut the stem after it has finished blooming and all the flowers have fallen off? Is it ok that the roots are exposed also? Thank you for your attention to these questions.

[jay]

Hello and welcome to the forum! Hope you enjoy your stay.

Once the flower spike is done you can cut it close to the base. It is normal for roots to be exposed in many orchids. What type do you have?

Also, it will help in the future if you have questions about culture if you would go to your profile and put your location in there. We are from all over the world with very different growing conditions. This way we know what you are working with.

[dipasquo]

There are different opinions on this question - cut at the base and remove the spike altogether, cut back part way and hope for a secondary growth or keiki, or leave it be. I prefer to leave it be and let nature take its course, eventually cutting the spike if and when it has died all the way back.

[cloudswinger]

I think it also depends on the type of orchid. Some will rebloom on the same spike, some won't. In fact I have a Phal, which is one they normallly tell you to cut partway, that just rebloomed on the same spike. So I too generally leave them alone unless it's obviously not going to rebloom(like dried parts in the middle of the spike)

[gongo77]

Hi Karen Teresa,

What kind of orchid do you have? Do you have a photo?
It will really depend on the orchid that you have…

[kmarch]

I echo cloudswinger's comment that it depends on what type of orchid we're talking about here. Some orchids bloom sequentially (repeatedly) off the same inflorescense while others flower then the inflorescense dies off.

We can't possibly make any responsible recommendations without knowing what kind of orchid we're discussing.

[jay]

I am sorry for jumping to any conclusions and may have assumed too much when it was stated that it had finished blooming. I guess I did not consider that it could have been a sequential bloomer. I hope I did not cause any problems. Please update us with what type of orchid you have.