Question
Hi Jim,

I have a phalaenopsis orchid and this past week the flowers withered away and fell off.  I believe this is a normal process for the phalaenopsis orchid plant to go through.  My question is, can I cut off the long stem that the flowers where growing on (the one that comes from the plant) or should I leave it alone and new flowers will grow on it?

Thanks,

Marc

Answer
Hi Marc,

Good question.  The answer is "maybe".  Maybe because it depends upon how mature the phalaenopsis orchid plant is and whether the stem begins to die off from the top.  If there are less than 4 mature leaves, cut the stem off near the bottom.  But, if there are 4 or more mature leaves you may leave the stem on and wait to see if it will produce a secondary flowering stem.  

Why do I say 4 leaves?  Phalaenopsis orchids use their fleshy leaves to store moisture and nutrients when the plant is under stress and producing flowers can be a stressful time for it.  With fewer than 4 mature leaves, the plant may begin to draw moisture and nutrients from one or more leaves in order to survive while attempting to produce flowers, the leaves will soon wither and may eventually die-off.  With 4 or more leaves the plant is better able to support producing flowers with little or no adverse affects.  

If you leave the stem alone, occasionally check the top of the stem to see if it is beginning to die or turn brown.  If the tip does not begin to die-off, you may have a phalaenopsis orchid plant that can produce flowers from the same stem over several years - lucky you!  But, if the tip does begin to die-off, remove the part of the stem that produced flowers, leaving the lower portion that had no flowers.  To do this, look where the lowest flower had been then follow the stem downward until you see a node (bump), go back up an inch or two then cut the top off.  If all goes well, in one to two months a new stem will emerge from the node.  Be patient as it can take from three to six months for that new stem to produce flowers.  

Hope I answered your question without adding any confusion, but if you have any other questions, ask and I'll try to answer them.

Good luck!

Jim Kawasaki
San Jose, Ca.