Questions

[junco513]

Hello All,

I am new to this forum. I've always loved orchids, but am just recently starting to grow them.
I have one cymbidium pot and after the flowers dropped I didn't cut down the stem. Now the whole stem is dried up. What should I do? Should I cut it or leave it?
I also just got a phalaenopsis plant. I know we are not supposed to repot orchids unnecessarily, but is it ok to transfer it to another pot?

I look forward to learning more about caring for orchids! Thanks!

[Cynthia, Prescott, AZ]

If the flower spike has truely turned brown, you may cut it off and will not have to sterilize a tool for this. It should be possible to just pull it off of the plant at some point in the drying up process. Repotting Phals is not a problem IF you can do it in a manner that does not damage roots. They have a modest number of large thick roots, so repotting with out damaging them is usually possible. When putting in the new mix, you want the mix pressed in firmly, just shorty of doing damage to the roots while pressing. The plant should not wobble in the new pot. Use the smallest pot that it is possible to get the roots into. Over potting will probably kill the plant. Cynthia, Prescott, AZ