Flower spike stuck in a leaf. Should I cut the spike, leaf or let it be?

[mtessa]

The head of the flower spike is stuck in the leaf. I first noticed that a ‘curved stem’ was coming out instead of the head of the spike a few weeks ago. Should I just cut the spike? Maybe cut a part of the leaf to release it? It’s Phal equestris.

Thank you.

[DirtyCoconuts]

the worst thing that would happen is the spike dies, i would leave it, plants typically can adapt and get it fixed lol. i do not see this as a threat to the plant

[camille1585]

I've had it happen occasionally on some Phals, and very regularily on others. I would not do anything, spikes are very,very brittle and attempts at freeing it could snap it very easily. Sometimes if you catch it early enough (before it starts digging into the leaf) you can gently guide it back out where it should be.

[SouthPark]

Originally Posted by mtessa

Attachment 145382
Attachment 145383
The head of the flower spike is stuck in the leaf. I first noticed that a ‘curved stem’ was coming out instead of the head of the spike a few weeks ago. Should I just cut the spike? Maybe cut a part of the leaf to release it? It’s Phal equestris.

Thank you.

mtessa ----- it might not be stuck at all. It's hard to say if it really is stuck or not - as you just assume it is 'stuck', maybe.

In the wild - for some orchids, even if something gets stuck - nobody will be there to undo something. So one thing is to just let the orchid grow and do its thing.

The other option is - if you think it really is stuck, then get a piece of soft plastic, or rubber wedge, and gently jam that wedge between the side of the curved leaf and the stem ------ to widen the 'gap'.

[Roberta]

I agree with DC and Camille - let it be and give it a chance to free itself. The odds of damaging the spike are greater if you try to mess with it than if you let it do its thing. And definitely don't cut anything on the plant. That is much likelier to do permanent damage - and create a place where infection could get a foothold. If the spike gets longer and is still stuck you could try to press lightly on the leaf to make the space a little bigger and it might pop out. But whatever you do, be gentle. And if you lose the spike, it likely will do another one.

[mtessa]

Originally Posted by SouthPark

mtessa ----- it might not be stuck at all. It's hard to say if it really is stuck or not - as you just assume it is 'stuck', maybe.

In the wild - for some orchids, even if something gets stuck - nobody will be there to undo something. So one thing is to just let the orchid grow and do its thing.

The other option is - if you think it really is stuck, then get a piece of soft plastic, or rubber wedge, and gently jam that wedge between the side of the curved leaf and the stem ------ to widen the 'gap'.

Hello. Here’s another photo:



Yes, I’m thinking of letting it be. The flower spike ‘head‘ is still stuck in a leaf. The flower spike emerged as a loop, not with the head poking out as normal. I though the plant will push the head out, but it just grew longer still like a loop.

[SouthPark]

Originally Posted by mtessa

Yes, I’m thinking of letting it be. The flower spike ‘head‘ is still stuck in a leaf. The flower spike emerged as a loop, not with the head poking out as normal. I though the plant will push the head out, but it just grew longer still like a loop.

Thanks for posting the extra photo mtessa. I don't know if orchidboard processing is scaling down your images to relatively small size, or the images you upload are relatively small. But I can see a bit more in this second image.

Earlier, I assumed that the spike was sandwiched between the stem and a leaf.

Definitely - see how it goes naturally. We can sometimes be amazed about what at first seems to be fragile and weak (such as roots emerging) ------ but later to find that their slow growth and strength can push though things that we might assume couldn't be done.