Question
Wayne,

I have a Phal that I have been growing. The orchid was purchased from a grocery store and not a nursery or anything of the sort. When I received the plant it was in full bloom and beautiful. It's time at the store did not serve it well though, and it had stopped producing buds. I nursed it back to health (by nurse I mean, watered it just when the moss potting looked dry and gave it good, shaded light). Just as it produced its first new bloom on one of its two flower spikes, the bud got knocked off the process of moving. :( Since then the bottom second flower spike that spiked off from the original, is doing well and blooming, but the tallest spike where the bud got knocked off seems to have gone dormant.

My question is whether I should leave the spike as it is, or if I should remove the portion above the secondary spike so that the plant can redirect its energy to budding and blooming on the healthy spike?

Thank you!!!

Answer
Jaclyn, I recommend cutting back the tallest spike.  It may turn brown and die back on its own but some phalaenopsis retain their old green spikes. Look for the Nodes (ie joints on the old flower spike and make your cut just above the second node from the bottom.  If the old spike remains green it may rebloom from the node just below your cut.

Please not that these orchids should be repotted annually after flowering-- this is especially true for the "grocery store" plants.  They should be potted in a commercially prepared fir-bark based orchid potting mix. Before use, screen the fresh orchid potting mix to remove the finer, dust-like particles. Then, soak a portion of the potting mix that you plan to use for at least an hour (dry mixes containing fir bark repel water and soaking breaks down the repellency).  Be sure to use a pot that has lots of drainage holes so, when you water, the water runs freely through the pot.  I prefer not to pot in moss as it can dry out or, alternatively, stay too wet.  It also has a tendency to compact, which worsens the the above problems. Mixing moss into the fir-bark based potting mix causes it to deteriorate more quickly because it stays wet longer. Orchid roots are very different from most house plant roots because they contain chlorophyll and can photosynthesize.  In the wild they often grow in humid environments with their roots exposed to air and light.