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My Phalaenopsis is being a weirdo. It has this growth coming out of… | The Orchid Oasis | Planta community

magicmullet

My Phalaenopsis is being a weirdo. It has this growth coming out of the crown that I assume is a flower spike, but it it halfway stuck in the crown. I’ve waited weeks to see if it will sort itself out, but the loop just keeps getting bigger. I don’t want to pull on it, as it’s really in there and I’m scared I’ll break it. Anyone ever seen this weirdness? Should I just let it do its thang? Planted in 100% medium pine bark with frequent watering and sits in a window with lots of light. Recently getting over dehydration. I got this as a gift and have not had it bloom since last year’s flowers died off :(

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9 comments

  1. Jen

    That does not look like it’s growing out of the crown, but the side of the stem, which is GREAT. If a flower spike was growing from the crown, it would be called a terminal spike, meaning that no further leaves could grow and ultimately it would mean the demise of your plant unless it grew a keiki. Now… business…

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    • Jen

      Is this all the same growth? Grew out of the bottom then up through the leaf joint above?

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    • Jen

      Hard to tell, but if so, I’m thinking it might be the oddest flower spike growth pattern I’ve seen. It could be an aerial root, but the top doesn’t look like the lighter colored growing tip of a root, and the lack of silvery color makes me think it’s a flower spike as well. If that turns out to be the case, leave your orchid in one position. The spike will follow the light source, so if you keep turning the plant, it will go all squiggly again from there. (Maybe not in circle again, but wiggly for sure.)

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    • magicmullet

      I don’t think it’s the same growth!

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    • Jen

      Is the little one on top coming from the side of the stem- emerging from a new split in the plant? Or is it coming from the crease between the leaf and the stem, like coming up from the space below? And can you confirm that both ends of the circular growth are indeed embedded in the stem of the orchid? Or am I just not seeing the tip of one end?

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    • magicmullet

      Both ends of the loopy part are firmly embedded in the stem. The smaller growth looks like it’s coming from the crease between the leaf and the stem

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  2. MeasomerPi

    I had a similar problem with a flower spike last year. I tried waiting for it to either punch through the base of the leaf or for it to loops outwards like your has (my strategy here would be to cut above a node in the hopes that it would branch at that point). Unfortunately neither of those happened (it was held much tighter to the plant than yours) and eventually the plant aborted it. But luckily it produced two more spikes in a month or so. Sorry I don’t have a fix. I know how frustrating it can be. Let us know if you can fix it. I would love to know how for next time one of my go wonky.

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  3. magicmullet

    Hmmmm thanks for the comments! I’ll let it go for a bit longer and chop it if it doesn’t do anything in the next month

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