Will cutting green spikes take energy away from the plant?

[Edew]

Over the summer, I cut a still-green flower spike on a big Phal after the flowers dropped. I was hoping to coax it into growing some crazy roots. But, what happened scarred me forever....

As I cut into it with a pair of scissors (sterilized of course), I was disturbed by a crisp crunching sound, similar to that of chomping on a big piece of lettuce, that made me shiver. It was almost like the orchid was screaming at me lol. Curse my vivid imagination....

Even stranger, the orchid is still keeping that 1 inch of spike near the base green, as if it misses its spike

Since then, I'm too disturbed to cut green spikes because hearing that lush crunching sound got me thinking: the plant is pouring lots of energy into maintaining that spike. So would cutting it "steal" the energy stored in there from the plant, instead of waiting for the plant to absorb back that energy?

[greenpassion]

In the past I've left spikes alone that are staying green, and quite often gotten another bloom out of them. If they were turning brown I cut them. The exception for me is when the plant appears in distress and is failing- then I cut the spike, flowers and all, in order to allow the plant to redirect it's energy back to its self and roots. I've brought a very weak phal back to robust health by doing this. Others with more experience may chime in 😊

[Roberta]

Unless I can't stand the appearance of a plant with spent spikes (or they seriously get in the way) I tend to leave them. In the case of Phals they do sometimes send out a branch that blooms. But even for orchids that don't rebloom on old spikes, the plant can eventually reclaim/recycle that tissue (it's one of the ways in which they are very efficient). I have had the "Oh s***t" reaction often enough when I cut something that looked dead that wasn't (Epidendrums, Barkerias, and Dendrobiums are especially notorious for that sort of deception) that unless there's a good reason (such as exhibiting or space considerations) , I let old spikes and old growth get brown and crispy before cutting.

[estación seca]

I don't cut anything that screams unless I anesthetize it first.

[charlesf6]

Yes I've changed my ways and become very patient in these matters also.

[camille1585]

Unless I decide that a plant needs a forced rest from whatever it plans on doing with that spike, I never cut them when they're still green. Some quickly yellow and die after the last blooms fall off, and then I cut the spike.

But I have many Phals that like to take a break after blooming, and a few weeks/months later the spike starts extending again and produces new blooms, and this can repeat itself several times before the spikes eventually dries up. My Phal pallens is the most extreme in that each blooming period, it likes to grow new spikes but also "reactivate" old spikes after over 10 months of nothingness.

Some have a dormant green spike for a while, and after a while (record is a year) it explodes with activity, producing side spikes and keikis.

One thing I never do is cut the spike partway to encourage a side spike. It's a preference thing, I don't like forcing my plants to bloom that way. They do what they want!

[Ben_in_North_FLA]

The debate of when or whether to cut a spent but still green spike should be looked at in a different way.
What is your purpose on growing this phal?
Do you just want the same size plant and bloom every year? Or do you want your plant to grow larger and give more, larger flowers on a stronger, possibly branched inflorescence that will last longer?
Do you want to see the genetically maximum, in bloom quality that your plant is capable of?

Once you have made that decision and go with the latter, you will realize that removing a spent but still green flower spike is your way of telling the plant... go ahead and rest and grow stronger. Rule of thumb for winter/spring blooming phals is to cut the spike whether it has flowers or not on it at mother's day,,, middle of May. Put flowers in a vase and enjoy them. Then give the plant a rest and an opportunity to grow stronger for next year.

[camille1585]

I have never heard that rule of thumb, and I'm not sure what the logic is behind it. Why chop the spike off a plant that is still in full bloom? It defeats the purpose of growing and nurturing the plant, since the point is to get blooms. Cut flowers never last as long.

With excellent culture and a healthy plant, I find the impact of old but green spikes on future plant growth and vigor to be minimal. (I even get 2 new spikes on some Phals that still have old spikes.) If I have the slightest suspicion that the plant is struggling (eg due a root problem), I cut old spikes.

[Ben_in_North_FLA]

winter/spring blooming phals , by mother's day, have already been blooming several months and, again... the choice is to just stress plant until its last flower falls off or let it rest and recoup its energy for stronger bloom on next cycle. Commercial growers at some point (t may vary depending on their system) will cut all blooms and re energize the plants for more growth and larger blooms with more spikes. on next cycle. If you want to see just how big your plant's leaves can get and just how strong a bloom it can produce, try this on one or a few of your phals and observe the difference. A good test would be to use two of same plants, possibly a couple of keikis from same spike. Let one keep its flowers until they all fall off and let spike re bloom until it eventually dries out and the other plant , do what commercial growers do and evaluate the difference.
IF you have a summer bloomer phal with doritis in its ancestry obviously that is a different subject.

[Mountaineer370]

I have a nice Phal hybrid that I bought in bloom. It had around 30 flowers on three spikes. When all the blooms died, I cut back the spikes even though they were still green. I will never do that again. It took almost two years for that plant to bloom again, and I will always wonder if it would have rebloomed on those green spikes I cut. My practice now is to not cut anything off unless it is brown and obviously dead.

The exception would be a stressed plant that was in need of help to remain viable.

Just my based on my limited experience.