Is my spike spiking?

[Sasssy]

Hi! This is my first post. I have been reading the board for some time and figured it was about time to post. I have 5 orchids. Not sure what they are, but they are alive and seem to be doing well. Two are in spike with buds on them, but one of the "buds" on the spike has turned into the mitten looking thing that the original spike looked like. Is that normal? I have no idea what I am doing here. I water and fertilize like the board says and they all look pretty healthy. I think these plants are so neat. I love watching them grow.

[prisana]

Hi Sasssy, I assume the orchid in question is a phal (moth orchid) Phals do that a lot, they branch out extra spikes on the current spike when they still have left-over energy to produce more flowers . I had one that had 3 branches on one spike !! The spike is also capable of producing Keikis (baby) plant instead of flowers, but you'll be able to tell the difference. I'm sure the one you have is just an extra spike, which means you'll get almost twice the blooms--- Enjoy.

[Sasssy]

Thank You for the quick response. That is good to know. I believe I have 3 phals, one nobile den and not sure what the last one is, but they are all growing well. 3 of them are babies. Got them last summer at a market in little plastic bags.