A little about me!

[Sonicles]

Hello everyone, I'm so excited to have found this forum as at last I feel I am in contact with like minded orchid lovers. I have a somewhat checkered past with orchids, my first experiences being with 2 plants, one was a phal & both were neglected although in flower. I quickly became obsessed, checking for problems & just generally staring at these beautiful plants. However, over a period of about a year and many hours of internet research, I managed to kill them with kindness. I was devastated & swore I would never have another as I had spent almost every waking hour 'worrying' about these plants & to no avail. But - guess what! About a month ago I was in my local supermarket & spotted a mainly motley crew of orchids which had obviously been left over from Christmas. They were all in cellophane boxes but I did have what I thought was a good look & although there were various alarm bells going off - I brought one home. Needless to say I have been again researching, not really knowing what I was looking for but I just felt something wasn't right. I eventually found this forum and I hope you may be able to help me.

[Dollythehun]

Welcome! Post 4 more times a show us a picture.

[jkofferdahl]

Welcome to the group! I'm guessing from your post in the terminal spike thread that your plant is a Phalaenopsis. However, if it's another genus it's quite possible that it's not a terminal spike - some types of orchids normally produce their spikes from the terminus. If it's a Phal, however, most likely its nature will take over and it'll grow a keiki.

[rbarata]

Welcome, Sonicles.
Like John said a terminal spike is not always the "terminus" for the plant. Probably a new baby plant (keiki) will grow from the side of your plant (assuming it's a Phal, obviously).

[Sonicles]

Hi, Thanks for your message. Yes it is a Phal (Thats all it said on the label) & was beautiful when I bought it. I knew that the flowers may not last long but it looked healthy. (Ignorance is bliss.) I have learned soo much just from reading the thread about Phal terminal spikes so I am grateful I found this forum today. I suspect this may be quite common when purchasing these orchids from a general store or such like. I will be checking this out ha ha.
Many thanks to all who contribute to this forum and mods such as yourself who take the time to reply to a newbie like me & make me feel welcome. P.S. I did take photos when I bought this plant which I will post as soon as I am able along with photos of how she looks now.

[jkofferdahl]

I'm so glad you've felt welcome here. The folks who post here are wonderful, sharing people and I'm personally quite proud to be a small part of this extraordinary community of friends.

Yes, please, I'd love to see a picture of the plant. Most growers wouldn't knowingly sell a Phal with a terminal spike, and in about 40 years of growing I've personally had exactly one plant produce one. That you bought one sort of amazes me.

A flower spike is essentially a specialized form of a leaf. It's not surprising that a Phal would eventually produce one from its growth terminus. That growth terminus, however, is only the terminus of the active growth on a Phal. You can think of the Phal's growth stem like you do a Cattleya's rhizome in a sense, except that it grows vertically rather than horizontally. Just as Cattleya's can produce multiple leads from the rhizone, a Phal's growth stem can also produce secondary growth, which becomes a basal keiki. These can be produced both on actively growing Phals and also on Phals with a terminal spike. On those with a terminal spike, it is the plant's strong desire to live which somehow triggers a dormant node to become active and produce a keiki. The keiki will grow roots and gain energy from them but is also fed by the original plant. Eventually the mother plant will lost its leaves and die but by then (a couple of years at least) the keiki will have likely matured, and maybe even bloomed. You see a very similar action when a keiki is produced from a previously dormant growth bud on a flower stem.

[Sonicles]

Many thanks for the interesting information. Its always good to have as much knowledge as possible. I hope I will see a positive outcome with my plant. I trimmed the flowering spike back a couple of weeks ago and the terminal spike still has a couple of flowers & I can't bring myself to cut them off. When they eventually drop, I will have to decide what to do with the terminal spike. I will post photos before then but meantime I am thinking of buying another orchid or two. Local nurseries seem to be very expensive so I might have a look online but would prefer to see before I buy. Thanks again

[jkofferdahl]

Others will have to tell you of the sellers over there. In the US there are a number of excellent growers/sellers in whom a buyer can put complete trust. More of my orchids have come from online sellers than from local purchases. I buy for the plants, however, and not because the plant is in bloom. Admittedly, though, seeing the plants, especially if they're in bloom, is a great way to buy!

[Sonicles]

Yes - I learnt the hard way not to chose a plant by it's flowers. A bit like buying a car because you like the colour (which I would never do lol)
I will have a look online to see what I like. The last one I saw was £2000 & the price didn't include the pot. Even I'm not that mad. I might see if anyone living in the UK has any suggestions. Ty

[estación seca]

Welcome to the Orchid Board!

Here are two excellent threads for Phal growers. Both can be found in the Beginner Discussion forum, accessible by selecting Forums in the left menu.

Using skewers to determine when to water

The Phal abuse ends here.