Oops I cut the stalk off my orchid

[roslynn_newman]

Hi there can anyone help me?? in august my friends bought me the gift of a lovely Oncidium orchid. I had no prior experiece of orchids and cared for the plant like any other. This was b4 I realised they need SPECIAL care!! Anyway, after the plant bloomed and flowers fell off, I foolishly and ignorantly, cropped the stem approx 1- 1 & 1\2 inches from the bulb, the stem has dried up and died. will it grow a new one? Or have a ruined my orchid. Apart from that the plant does look relatively healthy.

[johnemartin]

Relax...In "Being there" (movie starring Peter Sellers) he says "As long as the roots are alright, all will be well in the garden" (or something like that). That's not too much of an overstatement. Your orchid will bloom again. I tell people the finicky reputation orchids have is undeserved. When in doubt, next time though, you might want to check with some of the folks on this site or check out a book or the web. Aloha...

[mayres]

Hi Roslynn - not sure I'm understanding your post correctly? Oncidiums will only bloom ONCE from each flower stem. So, the normal practice is to cut them as far back as possible after blooming - no more blooms will be had on that stem if you leave it. Each new pseudobulb growth can potentially send up a spike on either (or both) sides - either at the same time or sometimes at alternating times.

[jerrymeola]

Cutting the old flower stem is the normal way to care for the plant. Cutting the leaves off at the bulb is not, but even if you did that it will probably not kill the plant.

It only blooms once a year so be patient.