i’m new to orchids, but absolutely love them! my phalaenopsis had 3 stems and they have all eventually turned brown therefore i’ve cut them down. i have a few other orchids, and i haven’t had to do this with any of them. is this completely normal? like everything dies down eventually right???
It is perfectly natural for the spike to die back when the blooming cycle is done. Phalanopsis bloom once a year, typically. Now is a great time to repot. My experience is orchids from growers are in tightly packed sphagnum which is not ideal for home growers. Carefully remove the old media. Trim away any dead roots (brown or black, paper or mushy). Healthy roots are firm and green when wet, silvery when dry. If it fits in the old pot, you can reuse it. Otherwise size the pot so that the roots just fit. If possible use an orchid pot. They typically are clear and have copious amounts of ventilation holes. If you don’t have one you can add holes to a nursery pot. Use a 50/50 mix of sphagnum and bark. If you are heavy handed with the watering can, you can back off the sphagnum. Gently work the media around the roots to firmly seat the plant in the pot. The goal is to have an airy media that allows the roots to take up moisture but drys out quickly too. Orchids like their water but LOVE to dry out. While they can be intimidating, phals are pretty forgiving as long as you get the watering right. A great resource is Miss Orchid Girl on YouTube. She covers a plethora of topics on repotting, watering, fertilizing and blooming for different types of orchids. Good luck!
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