Question
Hi Wayne,
I was given my orchid as a gift and had wanted one for a while. It has three stems and is in a 1.3qt pot. One of the stems has grown another branch. All of the stems have bloomed and the whole plant is now bear apart from the new branch on one of the stems which will have three flowers. My question is how large a pot should I repot it in? Can I separate the stems and plant them as single plants? I am not sure if they have a common root. It looks like one of the stems is a separate plant. Now that the stems are no longer blooming can I prune them back or should I wait for them to turn brown or what should I do? If I am to prune how far back the stem should I cut? How long do Orchids last for? Where is the best area of the house to place it? I do not have windowsills (new house)?

Thanking You,

Linda.

Answer
Linda, unless you have a pot containing several distinct phalaenopsis orchids, you cannot separate the stems and plant them as separate plants.  It is not uncommon to have three flower spikes on a single plant.  Since you really should repot that plant, when you unpot it you will know whether there are separate plants as they will fall apart from one another.  Unpotting the plant will aso give you an opportunity to examine the roots.  Roots that are firm are healthy and those that are "mushy" are dead and need to be removed before repotting.  Be sure to get a bag of orchid potting mix and soak a portion of it to be used as it is usually quite dry in the bag.  Once you have identified the healthy root mass, you need to find a plastic pot with lots of drainage holes in it.  It should be large enough to comfortably accept the root mass.  If you can obtain a small table to place by an east facing window that should work well.  Phalaenopsis orchids like morning sunshine.  You should water it once per week.  Normally phalaenopsis bloom once a year and in the spring.  With regard to the old flower spike, you can cut them back just above a node (ie joint),  Some hybrids have  their spikes normally turn brown-- which is their nature,  If yours is of this type, don't panic, that is normal and, eventually, you will want to cut off the  entire brown spike.  On the other hand, spikes on some plants stay green and can send out branches which may rebloom.