Question
Where do I cut off the drooping flowers on my Phalaenopsis orchid? I don't know what the spike or any of that is, I got it about a week and a half ago, and I don't know much about it.

Answer
Hello Jennifer,

If you got the phalaenopsis orchid plant less than 2 weeks ago, the flowers should be good for longer than that.  Phalaenopsis flowers usually last for 2 months or longer after opening, so unless yours had been open for some time before you bought it, there may be a problem.  

Here are some things to check.  Where you have it, are there any fruits close by?  Fruits as they ripen emit a gas that can be deadly to the flowers.  If no fruits, was the room painted recently?  Paints emit a gas as they dry.  Is there a heater/air conditioner vent close by or right above it?  When the heater-a/c goes on it changes the temperature suddenly which the flowers do not like, slow and gradual changes are fine.  Where it is growing, does it get direct afternoon sunlight?  Phalaenopsis prefer bright shade with maybe a couple hours of early morning sunlight.  

You may cut off the droopy flowers by cutting it off at the base of the flower stem if you like or leave it alone and it will fall off on its own in several weeks.  The spike is the long stem growing upwards from the plant on which the flowers are.  

Hope this helped.

Jim Kawasaki
San Jose, Ca.