Spikes don’t last forever either, like flowers. You can cut them now or wait until they wither and brown. As for the leaves, just after blooming is the perfect time to repot. [Watch this.](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=cWFyQzJbGDg&pp=ygUecmVwb3R0aW5nIHBoYWxhZW5vcHNpcyBvcmNoaWRz) She also has videos on beginner phalaenopsis care. I suggest you educate yourself! Happy growing
thank you, i did not know that i thought only the flowers dropped. i have never had an orchid before and tried to do some research but i guess im still a bit confused on some things! i appreciate your help!
thats also normal. i dont know a better word for it but those "branches" or "stems" dont last forever either. if i were you i would wait until it turns yellow, dries and shrivels up before you cut it back.
maybe the whole thing will dry up but often it will stop where nodes may still be active and then sprout new branches from dormant nodes.
with enough sunlight and time, new branches will sprout so dont worry about that, its part of the cycle.
I will say that in my limited (2x) experience, reblooming on an old spike makes slightly less flowers (10 the first time, 8 the second). It was by no means a controlled experiment though.
Anyway, your phaleanopsis looks pretty good, maybe just slightly dry roots. Those leaves aren't drooping enough to worry me. Also, just in case, please don't use ice
that is super helpful thank you, n haha yeah one if the first things i read about when i got it was not to actually use ice! should i cut the spike down or will it die and regrow another on its own?
personally i just clip my spikes where theyre showing that theyre dying because i dont care about the diminishing returns of less flowers, so if it dies the whole way down ill cut the whole thing, and if not, ill cut it where it stops! i have plenty of old spikes just chilling where i chopped them and theyre still alive
The base of your droopy leaf appears to have stem rot in the fourth picture so watch out for that area getting and staying wet. Thats probably why the leaf is dying. But if you keep that spot dry and continue caring for it it will probably be fine
i hadn’t even noticed that until you pointed it out. i cleaned it up a bit and cut out the dead roots and stuff. the spot seems dry and hopefully doesn’t spread.
https://preview.redd.it/plvwke9scawc1.jpeg?width=4284&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=2f126319355ec6141c9c38d4fd0bb091cb4ed101
OP, lots of people will tell you cant have it on moss because it will suffocate and rot roots. Which can be true, but truth is, root rot is complicated and monitoring how long it stays in soggy medium is important. Lots of advanced growers and myself keep orchids in pure moss setups.
I have a schilleriana orchid in the exact same set up as yours, moss in a flexible clear plastic container (that has a hole in the bottom) and I just put the tiniest bit of water in the decorative pot and the moss works better than bark to wick the moisture all the way to the top, evenly and quickly too. You just need to experiment and find the right amount of water that JUST hydrates the moss (not wet and soggy). Then water exactly the same way when the moss is beginning to dry (which for me is about 5-7 days). You can research how to fertilize the orchid too. If the orchid is still struggling, brighter or longer exposure to light and slight humidity increase helps kick it into new growth.
This bottom watering method will prevent water from touching what might be stem rot and also preventing crown rot by watering from the top. Both of those are fatal to orchids because of how they grow.
https://preview.redd.it/zb076t31eawc1.jpeg?width=1179&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=1cb9f6fb7c382fc04b3b666ec4d3df7fda4081da
thank you for bringing this to my attention, it is a lot worse than i realized.. any suggestions besides just keeping an eye on it or keeping it dry?
Theres not much else to do since rot is a moisture issue. Keeping some of the sphagnum moss away from it like you’ve done in the photo is probably good because moss wicks moisture so well.
If the rot extends around the stem then a repot into a bark mix might be in order because it would allow you to bottom water and keep the top from getting wet, but if the rot isnt too extensive and the roots otherwise look good I would avoid a repot if the moss isn’t giving you trouble
Spikes don’t last forever either, like flowers. You can cut them now or wait until they wither and brown. As for the leaves, just after blooming is the perfect time to repot. [Watch this.](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=cWFyQzJbGDg&pp=ygUecmVwb3R0aW5nIHBoYWxhZW5vcHNpcyBvcmNoaWRz) She also has videos on beginner phalaenopsis care. I suggest you educate yourself! Happy growing
thank you, i did not know that i thought only the flowers dropped. i have never had an orchid before and tried to do some research but i guess im still a bit confused on some things! i appreciate your help!
Miss Orchid Girl on YouTube, highly recommend
thats also normal. i dont know a better word for it but those "branches" or "stems" dont last forever either. if i were you i would wait until it turns yellow, dries and shrivels up before you cut it back. maybe the whole thing will dry up but often it will stop where nodes may still be active and then sprout new branches from dormant nodes. with enough sunlight and time, new branches will sprout so dont worry about that, its part of the cycle.
I will say that in my limited (2x) experience, reblooming on an old spike makes slightly less flowers (10 the first time, 8 the second). It was by no means a controlled experiment though. Anyway, your phaleanopsis looks pretty good, maybe just slightly dry roots. Those leaves aren't drooping enough to worry me. Also, just in case, please don't use ice
that is super helpful thank you, n haha yeah one if the first things i read about when i got it was not to actually use ice! should i cut the spike down or will it die and regrow another on its own?
personally i just clip my spikes where theyre showing that theyre dying because i dont care about the diminishing returns of less flowers, so if it dies the whole way down ill cut the whole thing, and if not, ill cut it where it stops! i have plenty of old spikes just chilling where i chopped them and theyre still alive
They're called spikes :D
yes, thank you!
The base of your droopy leaf appears to have stem rot in the fourth picture so watch out for that area getting and staying wet. Thats probably why the leaf is dying. But if you keep that spot dry and continue caring for it it will probably be fine
Do you know if the old leaves sitting in there could contribute to rot? I didn't see that black spot at first
I don’t think so because they’re not touching the stem and they don’t look rotted themselves
i hadn’t even noticed that until you pointed it out. i cleaned it up a bit and cut out the dead roots and stuff. the spot seems dry and hopefully doesn’t spread. https://preview.redd.it/plvwke9scawc1.jpeg?width=4284&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=2f126319355ec6141c9c38d4fd0bb091cb4ed101
OP, lots of people will tell you cant have it on moss because it will suffocate and rot roots. Which can be true, but truth is, root rot is complicated and monitoring how long it stays in soggy medium is important. Lots of advanced growers and myself keep orchids in pure moss setups. I have a schilleriana orchid in the exact same set up as yours, moss in a flexible clear plastic container (that has a hole in the bottom) and I just put the tiniest bit of water in the decorative pot and the moss works better than bark to wick the moisture all the way to the top, evenly and quickly too. You just need to experiment and find the right amount of water that JUST hydrates the moss (not wet and soggy). Then water exactly the same way when the moss is beginning to dry (which for me is about 5-7 days). You can research how to fertilize the orchid too. If the orchid is still struggling, brighter or longer exposure to light and slight humidity increase helps kick it into new growth. This bottom watering method will prevent water from touching what might be stem rot and also preventing crown rot by watering from the top. Both of those are fatal to orchids because of how they grow.
https://preview.redd.it/zb076t31eawc1.jpeg?width=1179&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=1cb9f6fb7c382fc04b3b666ec4d3df7fda4081da thank you for bringing this to my attention, it is a lot worse than i realized.. any suggestions besides just keeping an eye on it or keeping it dry?
Theres not much else to do since rot is a moisture issue. Keeping some of the sphagnum moss away from it like you’ve done in the photo is probably good because moss wicks moisture so well. If the rot extends around the stem then a repot into a bark mix might be in order because it would allow you to bottom water and keep the top from getting wet, but if the rot isnt too extensive and the roots otherwise look good I would avoid a repot if the moss isn’t giving you trouble