Is cinnamon always necessary?
 

I rescued some very weary looking Phals yesterday. Will post pics soon for advice. The previous owner trimmed down the spikes that had gorgeous blooms two weeks ago. The spikes are still green and the cuts looks fresh. I'm going to grow these fellas outdoors because they were deprived of any kind of air flow.

Should I put cinnamon on the ends of the cuts to prevent bacteria? These plants are in a distressed state. Are there instances when cinnamon does harm?

I never bother with cinnamon on the end of a spike. These will dry up pretty quickly and don't feed anything back in to the plant so you should be fine to leave it. I can't see any harm in using it on the spike if you want to be sure though.

I would use cinnamon on cuts on the actual plant if you get any damage there.

Be very careful about using cinnamon on the roots. cinnamon is a desicant (it dries things out) and can cause roots to dry up too much and be unable to absorb water again. A small amount dabbed on cuts in the roots is OK, just be sparing with it when used on roots.

I agree with Rosie, there is nothing to be gained by putting cinnamon on these cuts, for one thing they are not fresh and will have "scabbed" over by now anyway.