6 month old spike

[jcaballero]

I have a phal that has a 6+ old spike. I never cut it because it never dried out. It always remained green. Well, a couple of week ago she started blooming. When I saw that, I was shocked. Anybody had that happen?

[tucker85]

Congratulations on the new blooms. There are two things that can explain this. If the orchid has grown a secondary branch off the main spike, that is blooming, that is quite common although six months is a long time for that to happen. If new buds formed on the old spike with no new branch, then you may have one of the types of phals that reblooms each year on the same spike. I have several of these. They will form new buds on last years spike and also grow another new spike. If you have one of this type it can continue to bloom on old spikes up to four years.

[greenpassion]

I have been reading through a ton of posts in this forum in hopes to find an answer to a question I thought I already knew. When I first got into phals, I was told to cut off the spike low, close to the first node after it was finished flowering-but this does not take into consideration the phals that will re-bloom off old spikes. Consequently, when my NOID phals have bloomed, I cut them off, and it takes nearly a year for them to start to spike again. What would happen if I just leave the spike alone? How will I know if it should be left on?

[Discus]

You want to leave 2-3 nodes under your cut and they will often reflower from one of those dormant nodes (faster than from a brand new spike) however, flowers are usually smaller than on a "new" spike. It's better IMO to give the plant a rest by cutting the old stem right back and letting the plant throw out a new one when it's ready.

[quiltergal]

I think cutting the spike is a matter of personal preference. I prefer to cut them because I want the plant to spend some time recovering from blooming and go through a vegetative growth cycle. To me the secondary blooming is not really worth it. As already stated the flowers are usually smaller and the flower count is usually lower.

[NYCorchidman]

I also do not cut old spikes if they stay green. I noticed majority of the ones whose old spikes stay green long after flowers are gone usually throw a second flower show. I don't know how long the interval was for all of them, but I do remember one white/red lip phal bought in bloom in April last year cam back in bloom in December or January. so that's what, almost 7 months or so. so it does happen.

[greenpassion]

Thank you all for your replies. One more question. Does this info apply for mini phals as well? I just acquired 2 adorable little phals which are both currently in bloom. Double spikes and branched spikes too. I've never had mini's before, but have been treating them as l do my larger phals. Oh, I also have 2 gorgouse Sogo Yukidan V3's that both have 3 spikes, about 5 inches long so far. They seem to grow slower than my others. They are not in S/H as most of my other ones are, just moss. They came that way. Anyway, all these phals I assume will be 'de-spiked' in the same way?

[NYCorchidman]

Basically yes, and some minis are actually better at that too.

I have a few minis I got back in September. still going adding more and more buds. I think it's about done though. I see no more tiny buds at the tip of the spike but instead new leaves are now growing for the warm season.

Yes, you can grow the minis as large phals but should watch for watering as the smaller pots dry out much faster.

[FSUOrchids]

Originally Posted by jcaballero

I have a phal that has a 6+ old spike. I never cut it because it never dried out. It always remained green. Well, a couple of week ago she started blooming. When I saw that, I was shocked. Anybody had that happen?

Yeah, I've had several Phal hybrids that will just keep shooting out branches on spikes. If the conditions are right this can happen often. For example, I had one plant where one of the spikes had snapped off when I was moving it somewhere, but just a few weeks ago I noticed another spike branching off from the side of that one. Virtually all of my Phal hybrids are prolific bloomers. I had a mini phal with one spike that produced around 25 flowers, and another regular sized one that had three spikes at once, all blooming at the same time. These are very hearty plants.