When to cut Phals?

[Maki Wanabe]

Hi,
I'm new here, and I'm new to the world of Orchids.
At the moment I have 3 phalenopsii; a tall, a medium and a compact...all doing what I assume to be quite well, on a coffee table, 4 feet away from a west facing sky light.
After a month of having all my girls at home, and watching them bloom, my tallest lady, Isabelle, has started to loose her blossoms- first to bloom, first to die, as should be the case.
My question is this: when the literature instructs to cut the flower spike half way down, (once all the blossoms die)- does that mean half way down the main steam of the entire plant??? or just cut off the steams of the individual flowers? I'm confused. WHERE TO I CUT?
Thanks,
Maki

[ScottMcC]

the individual flowers and the little stalks they are on will fall off as a unit when they are ready.

the spike (someone will probably correct me and say that it's a raceme) can be cut in one of two places: 1. about an inch or so from where it exits the main plant (the leafy part) 2. about halfway between the last unflowered node and the first flowered node. (the nodes are the little bumps on the spike from which the buds emerged)

If I were home I'd draw a picture, but I'm not, so I hope my description is clear.

[Maki Wanabe]

thanks. that was very helpful.

[mayres]

Scott's directions will work but my comments would be a slight variation - I would cut the spike as close to the plant as possible, or if you are hoping for a secondary spike and additional flowers from it (which has its own plus's and minus's to consider) then I would cut the spike just above the last node which is nearest the first flower lowest on the spike. Secondary spikes may or may not form depending upon health of the plant, hybrid, environmental conditions, etc. and usually have smaller and less flowers. Many prefer to cut the spike entirely off and count on the plant building up its energy for a renewed larger new spike next growing season. The choice is yours. mike