Question
Hi. The last flower of my orchid plant died out about a month ago. Then the spikes (stems that the flowers were on) were turning brown, so I cut them off one by one. Now I have a green main stem in the middle, that splits into two at the top. The one on the right, with buds (very small oval beds which I am assuming are flower buds), has now turned brown, while the one the left is still green, but has no flower buds. I really want to keep this plant, and I am not sure what to do. Should I cut the one on the right (right above the splitting point) before it affects the main middle stem?
I water the plant about every two weeks, and the window gets indirect light (sorta low in the Winter times) but as I live in an apartment, I have no control over the natural light, or the temperature. The leaves look healthy, and now I noticed that some parts of the white roots can be seen at the top of the soil.
Can you recommend anything to save this plant or should I just leave it alone?
thanks.

Answer
Hi Lisa,

In most circumstances, it is better to cut off the spent flower spikes once the flowers have all died off.  But, many people want to have more flower so they try to get a offshoot or secondary spike to grow from a latent node below where the bottom flower had been.  If the spike starts to turn brown, keep cutting the top of the spike about an inch above a latent node.  If it keeps turning brown after cutting the top off, you might as well cut the entire spike off as it may just have a death wish.  (grin)  

Look for a place in your apartment where it will be in bright shade (couple hours of early morning sun is okay), temperatures remain above3 60F and below 85F, humidity is above 50% and there is some light air movement present.  Water when the potting media starts to become dry.  Feed it a balance type orchid fertilizer once or twice a month.  

Roots becoming visible could just be due to the roots growing and they are becoming crowded within the pot.  It may be time to repot it but wait until early spring to do any repotting because temperatures will be warmer.  

Hope this has helped.  

Jim Kawasaki
San Jose, Ca.