How to Cut a Phalaenopsis Orchid Spike

Phals at NYBG Orchid Show 2012

So you have a beautiful Phalaenopsis orchid, but its blooms are starting to wilt and fall off. What do you do now?! First of all, don’t freak out and throw your plant in the garbage; fading flowers are totally normal and they do NOT mean that your orchid is dying! Orchids can live for years and years and years with the proper care. Part of this proper care is knowing when and where to cut the flower spike. This is one of the most common questions I get in the comments section of my blog posts, so I thought it would be helpful to write about how to proceed once your Phal (the most widely available type of orchid) has finished blooming.

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How to Recognize Orchid Roots and Orchid Spikes, Part Deux: Photos!

I’m finding that my post about how to identify whether you have an orchid spike or a root is my most viewed post by far. For example, just in the past week, my spike* vs. root post has been viewed nearly 6x as many times as my second most viewed post of the week. Clearly, “is it a root or is it a spike?” is a big question for new orchid owners!

So in the interest of helping orchid growers out even more, I decided to do another post on this topic, this time with LOTS of photo examples to help better illuminate what a root looks like and what a spike looks like. If you haven’t read my original post, I recommend doing so before you dive into this one. All the below photos are of orchids in my own collection. Because you’ll see more roots growing from your orchid than spikes, let’s begin with root pics:

Two roots emerging from the base of a Phalaenopsis
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My New Phal from Home Depot

Pretty magenta phal

Today, I went into Manhattan to wander around the Garden District and possibly get a new orchid or two. I was just really, really in the mood for a new one, because none of my orchids are currently in bloom (though two are currently in spike!). While the flower shops on W. 28th St. have a large selection of orchids, they make me a little uncomfortable because you can’t set foot in one without being asked if you need help by about five separate employees. The situation sort of reminds me of the people who stand outside of restaurants in Little Italy and Little India, the ones who try desperately to get every passerby to come in and eat there. It reeks of desperation.

Anyway…so I was again reminded that the orchids in the Garden District are a bit out of my budget at the moment. I did good and left the area without making any purchases. Though I was tempted by some really lovely Dendrobiums and perfect Zygopetalums at one of the stores. I do love me some Zygos!

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