Question
QUESTION: Hello, firstly thanks for having this fantastic opportunity to ask for advice!

Since my mum gave me orchid this march i have been reading a lot about them and trying to make it feel as good as possible, it was blooming up to August, it had one stem with flowers, when the dried and fell off all the stem turned completely dry and brown so i cut it off about an inch or so from the base. Since then I have been fertilizing and looking after the plant, it grew 9 huge new leaves and now about 3 weeks ago i saw some new growth between the leaves, it turned out to be a new stem, it has grown now to about 30cms and it is a bit crooked, i am just starting to think when i have to start and support the stem with the bamboo supporter and clip like it had on before, the stem is quite thick and not very flexible, is it going to grow straight or have i missed supporting it correctly, plus i have noticed another new stem is appearing between the leaves so a bit confused and scared as I want to do everything right, very excited as it had only 1 stem beforehand :) Plus there are some roots quite long on top of the compost, three of them appear to be completely dry and brown, should i cut these off or leave them?

Thanks for any advice and help!
Kind regards
Gunta

ANSWER: Hello Gunta,

You have done a fantastic job in caring for the phalaenopsis!  Keep up the good job!!  

Yes, it may be a little late to try supporting the new stem but you can try doing it carefully.  With the bamboo support pushed into the pot near the stem, wait until the temperature is above 18C for several hours to gently move it towards the support.  Do not attempt to move it too much at once but move it slowly over several days when it is warm, moving it too quickly or when temperatures are below 15C could cause the stem to break because a cold stem is very brittle.  The main thing is to not force the stem.  But if you cannot clip the stem to the support you may use a length of string to tie it loosely to the support.  

By the way, if there are any buds on the stem already, be sure to keep the phalaenopsis in the same position facing the light.  If the pot is rotated as the buds develop, when the flowers finally open they may be facing in different directions rather than all in the same direction.  

With the new stem growing, you can try directing it towards the support in the same manner as described above, gently and slowly as it grows longer and longer.  

If the exposed roots are shriveled and dry looking you can cut them off or leave them alone, the choice is yours.  If there are some fat and firm live roots exposed, you can keep them that way by lightly misting them in the early morning.  The reason the others became dry was due to a lack of moisture, misting the live ones will keep them alive.  

Hope this has helped.

Jim Kawasaki
San Jose, Ca.



---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Hi Jim, thanks a lot for your help! I have managed to tie the stem to the bamboo stick, pfew i did not damage it :) I is now more or less straight. it does not have the buds yet, so maybe i did it just in time! From your answer arose another set of questions, if you don't mind :) Firstly, should I tie or clip the stem more than once if it grows more in length? And,maybe silly, but should i tie each stem to a separate support? And lastly, thanks for the tip about misting, I have been only soaking them in the water once a week, so why the misting? Is it very good for them and please could you explain why in the morning? Should I mist the leaves and stems as well and afterwards flowers? Many Thanks, you've been a big help to me as I could not find the specific info on supporting the stems!
Kind regards
Gunta

ANSWER: Hi Gunta,

Sorry, only one question allowed!  (just kidding)  

That's great you were able to get it tied going straight up.  Yes, you can or should tie it in several places as it grows taller but do not tie it above the lowest bud, this will allow the spike to begin to bend over as it continues to grow.  When the buds open, the weight of the flowers will cause the spike to bend over even more which really helps make a beautful presentation of the flowers.  As for the other spike(s), it probably would be a good idea to have separate stakes for each, especially when the spikes do not all grow from the same side of the phalaenopsis.  

Misting will help keep the exposed roots from drying out too much between waterings.  You may also mist the leafs if you wish but it isn't as important as misting the roots.  Do not mist the flowers.  Why only mist in the morning?  The reason is to allow enough time for any water droplets that get on the leafs to evaporate before night fall, water left overnight on the leafs can become a prime breeding environment for fungus to grow - fungus can kill the leaf if not the entire phal.  

Keep up the good work!  

Jim Kawasaki
San Jose, Ca.



---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Hi Jim

Many thanks for your explanation, i can do a better job in looking after my phal :) I shall no mist it in the mornings from now and hope to see the snow white flowers which I adore soon!

It is so nice and unbelievable that with the help of AllExperts someone from Latvia can get a valuable advice like this from an exper! i will be back in the future if I need any help in looking after my orchids!

Your help and advice is much appreciated and has been a great help!
Thanks once again
Gunta

Answer
Hi Gunta,

Yes, it truly is amazing that a person from one part of the world is able to ask a question and have it answered by another from the opposite side of the world.  Makes me wonder how people got answers to questions in the past!  

You are so very welcome.  Just glad I could be of some help.

Jim Kawasaki
San Jose, Ca.