Question
Hi Jim,
My sister's cat keeps eating her Phal. Summer Magic Orchid. It is more that he eats the blooms. What can we do so the cat will not eat the orchid anymore? And how long will it take to re-flower?

Answer
Hi Dianna,

I'm afraid I have no solution, other than getting rid of the cat (grin), on how to stop the cat from eating your sister's orchid flowers as this is a first for me.  Many orchids secrete a sticky semi-sweet sap near the flowers, that may be what the cat is after.  It is possible to remove the sap with Q-tips dipped in isopropyl alcohol, but it can be a little work to keep up with sap removal since it may keep secreting it for several weeks.  

Or could it be that something else is eating the flowers?  It may be that there are some slugs or snails hiding within the pot, coming out at night to feed.  If there are, a pet safe solution to get rid of slugs is a product called Sluggo.  If you cannot find Sluggo at your local garden center, ask them if they have slug bait in which the main ingredient is iron phosphate.  

Phalaenopsis orchids normally produce blooms once a year so she will have to be patient until next year.  With that said, it is possible to force the phal. to produce a secondary blooming off the current stem or spike.  Locate the point where the bottom most flower had been, slide down the stem until you find a node which looks like a tiny leaf wrapped around the stem.  Go up an inch or two, cut off the top part of the stem and hopefully a new stem will grow from the node.  If all goes well, in 3 to 6 weeks you will see the new stem emerge and grow.  Be patient as it can be upwards of several months before new flowers are produced.  

Hope this is of some help.  Good luck!  

Jim Kawasaki
San Jose, Ca.