Joanna: I'd probably let it proceed, for now, but try to keep a close watch
so that if it shows any sign of further decline, you can either cut the
spike again, or, if it's gotten far enough along, cut the flowers/buds and
use the keiki paste on a lower node. Kenni

"J Fortuna" wrote in message
news:2ZTAf.5095$Le2.710@trnddc04...
What should I do? I have a Phal that has only two leaves, and has not
grown any new ones in a while. The two remaining leaves are healthy
enough, and it's root system seems to be good enough as far as I can tell,
but still it's not one of my thriving ones for sure. This is the third
time in a row that this Phal has put out a spike. I cut off the spike the
last two times, trying to get it to concentrate on leaf growth instead.
But now it has put out a spike for the third time, and I am beginning to
question my own judgement.

Since the orchid seems to 'insist' upon spiking, should I let it spike
after all?

Should I try the keiki-grow paste? I bought this paste to apply to another
plant but wound up not using it on that one, since the spike was very
spindly and I did not see how I could strip a node effectively, even if it
had had a node that did not have a bud growing out of it (which it did
not).

What would you do if it were your Phal?

Thanks for advice!

Joanna