Friends, do you recommend I wait until the flower stalks are dried and brown before cutting them off or is it OK to remove it after the last flower drops? The stalk is a pencil diameter thick at the base. My thought is if I leave it, the plant will continue to “feed” the old flower stalk. But maybe if I leave it and wait until it’s dried the plant could also “recycle” the nutrients in the stalk. Maybe this is all crazy talk 🤪 What do you recommend?
At this point, either option is totally fine. The orchid WILL continue to put energy into any flower spike. So I always let the wellness of the plant guide my decisions. They put a TON of energy into a flower spike, and can start to look a bit weary, (more limp leaves, more wrinkled pseudobulbs, or just slower growth of more vital structures like roots.) I tend to err on the side of overall plant health and cut spikes completely down to the base when they’ve basically run their course. I do this with all my types- even phalaenopsis, which I know, I know, some people keep forever- hoping for a second flush of flowers. I’d rather that the plant use its resources to get bigger, stronger, and they’ve generally rewarded me with more and bigger bloom shows. 🙂
3 likes Thank you. The flower spike was huge and the plant does look less perky than it did before- bulbs a bit wrinkly and leaves droopy). The plant is attempting to grow a new bulb but it’s not very plump. Thank you for your advice. I think I’ll cut the spike off so that the plant can start to recover and hopefully bloom next year 🌸🌺🌻
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