Stuck Spike

[Hummer344]

Say that fast three times. The picture shows a spike that got stuck under a leaf. Found it while I was inspecting the chids today. The plant is a brsda. I don't know if it will survive but will keep an eye on it.

[patticake]

How very odd!!! Can you snug it out gently?

[kmarch]

It looks like there is some leaf pleating also which would indicate a bit of underwatering. I'd watch the plant carefully while slightly increasing the water. It just might unstick itself. If not you might be able to GENTLY, GENTLY pull the restricting leaves back but don't do that now if the plant is slightly dehydrated, the spike will be brittle.

After more than 10 years of orchid growing I still get nervous about messing with these things.

[Hummer344]

The pleating happened just after I repotted it in Apr. and never corrected itself. I never suspected that there was a spike underneath the pleats.

[kid a]

Awww, poor spike! I hope it pulls through!

[berkeleysgr8]

I've had some plants that did that... I don't think I ever saved a spike though. It's almost like the pleating cuts off the nutrient supply or something. I hope YOURS will be a different story though!

[solay]

Hope it comes out eventually. Good luck. Keep us posted.

[jay]

Last year I had a spike do that. It still flowered, just a lot less than expected. I think it had half as many buds as the previous year. But it still flowered.

Good luck with yours.