Phal flowers fell . . . now what?

[maria17m]

I received my phal as a Valentine's gift this year. I don't have much of a green thumb and am proud to say that I have successfully kept it in bloom until today (when the last blossom fell). That's almost 4 whole months!!!

So, anyways, I'm not sure what to do now. The directions that came with the plant said that I could cut the top of the stem off to try and induce a second bloom, but other sources advise that I cut the entire stem down at the end of May. I am very interested to see if I can trigger a re-bloom but I don't want to jeopardize the life of the plant by doing this during the wrong season. I would love any advice you have to offer.

By the way, I live in Michigan, and last week I moved my phal out of my workplace (where the plant lived happily in a south-facing window with plenty of light) and into my home. It is currently living in a south facing window that has a lacy (aka-light penetrating) curtain in front of it. The leaves on the plant are a bright healthy green color.

Thanks,
Maria

[bkim]

Great job with your first orchid!

I think the spike cutting thing is a personal preference. There are several schools of thought and no one is better than the other. Do what you feel is right.

1) Cut back to the last node -- encourages reblooming but takes a lot of energy for the plant to do that.
2) Cut off the entire spike -- encourages the plant to focus on its foliage and/or creating a new spike
3) Leave it alone -- let nature take its course

I personally like #3 If the spike is still alive, let it do its thing. If its brown, then cut it off.

[dipasquo]

I second a preference for #3. I have found that sometimes Phal spikes put out new buds off the top of the spike after the flowers have dropped. Other times the spikes die back to a particular node and then put out a subspike with new flowers on it. Other times it will die back completely. If the plant is healthy, I'll usually let one or the other of the first things happen before cutting the spike. If it were to happen more than once I'd probably cut it in order to avoid over-taxing the plant. Generally I prefer to let the plant do what it wants to do when the flowers are gone.

[maria17m]

Thanks for the advice, I'll just leave it be and see what happens. Something fresh and light green is starting to grow out of the end of the spike. I'm interested to see what it does!

[bkim]

Originally Posted by maria17m

Thanks for the advice, I'll just leave it be and see what happens. Something fresh and light green is starting to grow out of the end of the spike. I'm interested to see what it does!

Sounds like another spike or possibly a keiki! Congrats!