Newbie advice post-flowering
 

My phalaenopsis has flowered beautifully for several months but the flowers
dropping off now. As a complete novice to orchids my question is this... do
I prune back the plant and if so how far back and at what time of year?

Have searched a few books and websites but not found the answer to this
question.

Thanks in anticipation
Joyce

David Hewitt wrote:

My phalaenopsis has flowered beautifully for several months but the flowers
dropping off now. As a complete novice to orchids my question is this... do
I prune back the plant and if so how far back and at what time of year?



And since this is the single most popular question about orchids, it
is remarkable that the American Orchid Society culture sheets don't seem
to address it. I checked...

Do not prune the plant. You may, at your discretion, remove the
spent inflorescence (flower spike), just the same as you would deadhead
a geranium or a rose. Cut it off reasonably near to the foliage. Yes,
you can sometimes get more flowers if you cut it higher (about the
middle would probably work), but in my opinion it stresses the plant too
much and just starts to look ugly after a while. I usually compromise
by leaving the inflorescence on the plant until it turns completely dry
and brown- but that may not look so nice.

Since phalaenopsis grow upwards (monopodial - one footed), new
leaves emerge from the crown of the plant. If you damage the crown you
will have problems. Keep water out of it as much as possible. You may
(and will) loose leaves from the bottom, usually one at a time, and
usually concurrent with the growth of new leaves at the top. This is
completely normal. If you start to lose more leaves than you grow, then
you should start worrying. New flower spikes will emerge from the base
of the plant.

That is a start. You have probably already found the AOS culture
sheets, here is one for Phalaenopsis:

http://www.orchidweb.org/orchids/culture/phal2.pdf

Rob

--
Rob's Rules: http://www.msu.edu/~halgren
1) There is always room for one more orchid
2) There is always room for two more orchids
2a. See rule 1
3) When one has insufficient credit to purchase
more orchids, obtain more credit
LittlefrogFarm is open - e-mail me for a list )

David Hewitt wrote:

My phalaenopsis has flowered beautifully for several months but the flowers
dropping off now. As a complete novice to orchids my question is this... do
I prune back the plant and if so how far back and at what time of year?



And since this is the single most popular question about orchids, it
is remarkable that the American Orchid Society culture sheets don't seem
to address it. I checked...

Do not prune the plant. You may, at your discretion, remove the
spent inflorescence (flower spike), just the same as you would deadhead
a geranium or a rose. Cut it off reasonably near to the foliage. Yes,
you can sometimes get more flowers if you cut it higher (about the
middle would probably work), but in my opinion it stresses the plant too
much and just starts to look ugly after a while. I usually compromise
by leaving the inflorescence on the plant until it turns completely dry
and brown- but that may not look so nice.

Since phalaenopsis grow upwards (monopodial - one footed), new
leaves emerge from the crown of the plant. If you damage the crown you
will have problems. Keep water out of it as much as possible. You may
(and will) loose leaves from the bottom, usually one at a time, and
usually concurrent with the growth of new leaves at the top. This is
completely normal. If you start to lose more leaves than you grow, then
you should start worrying. New flower spikes will emerge from the base
of the plant.

That is a start. You have probably already found the AOS culture
sheets, here is one for Phalaenopsis:

http://www.orchidweb.org/orchids/culture/phal2.pdf

Rob

--
Rob's Rules: http://www.msu.edu/~halgren
1) There is always room for one more orchid
2) There is always room for two more orchids
2a. See rule 1
3) When one has insufficient credit to purchase
more orchids, obtain more credit
LittlefrogFarm is open - e-mail me for a list )

"Rob Halgren" wrote in message
...
You may, at your discretion, remove the
spent inflorescence (flower spike), just the same as you would deadhead
a geranium or a rose. Cut it off reasonably near to the foliage. Yes,
you can sometimes get more flowers if you cut it higher (about the
middle would probably work), but in my opinion it stresses the plant too
much and just starts to look ugly after a while. I usually compromise
by leaving the inflorescence on the plant until it turns completely dry
and brown- but that may not look so nice.

In my opinion, if the Phal is healthy (i.e.: if it has lots of healthy
looking leaves and lots of healthy roots, and is not loosing more of either
of those than it is gaining over time), it is a good idea to try to see if
it will choose to reuse the flower spike, so if I were you I would either
cut the inflorescence just below where the lowest of the wilted flowers used
to be or leave the flower spike alone and wait and see if it turns dry and
brown or decides to reflower after all. I think for newbies (and I still
consider myself one on my more humble days -- with only 3 years of
experience) having an orchid in bloom is more important than for experts
(such as Rob). And even though experts claim that a secondary blooming is
never as impressive as a primary one, for those of us with less experience
the difference is either not noticeable or unimportant. I assume that this
may be your only orchid plant right now, whereas Rob has a greenhouse full
of them, and thus one flower in bloom more or less makes less difference to
him. Also you never know whether or not you will be successful in getting
the orchid to grow a new inflorescence within the next year or so, so trying
to get more flowers out of this flower spike may be very tempting. And if
the Phal is healthy, a second blooming on the same spike shouldn't hurt it.
However, if it does appear to be showing signs of stress, especially if it
is loosing leaves and not growing enough new ones to compensate, then cut
the flower spike down.

An additional thought, what kind of light is your Phal getting: how close to
a window is it, and which direction does the window face? A lot of newbies
have the orchid plants in the middle of the room somewhere, which is
acceptable while it is in bloom, but not enough light in the long run.

A final thought: you might consider buying another Phal if this is your only
one thus far. Two Phals are not any harder to take care of than one, and
this way you can prolong the time during which you have an orchid in bloom,
without relying on the first one to reflower.

Best,
Joanna

On Fri, 13 Aug 2004 13:19:19 +0000 (UTC), David Hewitt wrote:

My phalaenopsis has flowered beautifully for several months but the flowers
dropping off now. As a complete novice to orchids my question is this... do
I prune back the plant and if so how far back and at what time of year?

Have searched a few books and websites but not found the answer to this
question.

Thanks in anticipation
Joyce

Welcome Joyce, Although I don't do well with Phals, my mentor
told me that a rule of thumb would be to cut only brown or straw coloured
spikes etc. Make the cut just above a node.
Feel free to ask more questions, this is a great group.
Cheers Wendy

Besides, if you leave the spike, you might just get some keikis. Never
know.

Cheers,
Xi

Wendy wrote:
On Fri, 13 Aug 2004 13:19:19 +0000 (UTC), David Hewitt wrote:


My phalaenopsis has flowered beautifully for several months but the flowers
dropping off now. As a complete novice to orchids my question is this... do
I prune back the plant and if so how far back and at what time of year?

Have searched a few books and websites but not found the answer to this
question.

Thanks in anticipation
Joyce


Welcome Joyce, Although I don't do well with Phals, my mentor
told me that a rule of thumb would be to cut only brown or straw coloured
spikes etc. Make the cut just above a node.
Feel free to ask more questions, this is a great group.
Cheers Wendy

Besides, if you leave the spike, you might just get some keikis. Never
know.

Cheers,
Xi

Wendy wrote:
On Fri, 13 Aug 2004 13:19:19 +0000 (UTC), David Hewitt wrote:


My phalaenopsis has flowered beautifully for several months but the flowers
dropping off now. As a complete novice to orchids my question is this... do
I prune back the plant and if so how far back and at what time of year?

Have searched a few books and websites but not found the answer to this
question.

Thanks in anticipation
Joyce


Welcome Joyce, Although I don't do well with Phals, my mentor
told me that a rule of thumb would be to cut only brown or straw coloured
spikes etc. Make the cut just above a node.
Feel free to ask more questions, this is a great group.
Cheers Wendy

Welcome, Joyce!

Joanna, with all due respect, I disagree with a few of your points. I know
how tempting it is to try to get an offshoot from the original spike, but I
think we'd all agree that we try, clumsily as are our attempts, to mimic the
plant's natural state. In nature, no one would come along and cut back the
spike to force more flowers. The plant needs a rest, and probably a
repotting, after months of supporting its flowers. On the other hand,
leaving the spike on the plant to do what it likes is fine with me. If it
branches or forms a keiki, then so be it. If the plant is given proper
culture and conditions, it should rebloom next year at roughly the same time
as it did this year. (No guarantees on that - orchids do surprise us!)

A better way to be sure of having flowering orchids year-round is to buy one
orchid per month, in bloom. Yes, I know it's a positively Machiavellian
idea, sure to addict one more unsuspecting newbie to our habit, but I think
Joyce already has the bug, don't you Joyce? LOL

Diana

Welcome, Joyce!

Joanna, with all due respect, I disagree with a few of your points. I know
how tempting it is to try to get an offshoot from the original spike, but I
think we'd all agree that we try, clumsily as are our attempts, to mimic the
plant's natural state. In nature, no one would come along and cut back the
spike to force more flowers. The plant needs a rest, and probably a
repotting, after months of supporting its flowers. On the other hand,
leaving the spike on the plant to do what it likes is fine with me. If it
branches or forms a keiki, then so be it. If the plant is given proper
culture and conditions, it should rebloom next year at roughly the same time
as it did this year. (No guarantees on that - orchids do surprise us!)

A better way to be sure of having flowering orchids year-round is to buy one
orchid per month, in bloom. Yes, I know it's a positively Machiavellian
idea, sure to addict one more unsuspecting newbie to our habit, but I think
Joyce already has the bug, don't you Joyce? LOL

Diana

Welcome, Joyce!

Joanna, with all due respect, I disagree with a few of your points. I know
how tempting it is to try to get an offshoot from the original spike, but I
think we'd all agree that we try, clumsily as are our attempts, to mimic the
plant's natural state. In nature, no one would come along and cut back the
spike to force more flowers. The plant needs a rest, and probably a
repotting, after months of supporting its flowers. On the other hand,
leaving the spike on the plant to do what it likes is fine with me. If it
branches or forms a keiki, then so be it. If the plant is given proper
culture and conditions, it should rebloom next year at roughly the same time
as it did this year. (No guarantees on that - orchids do surprise us!)

A better way to be sure of having flowering orchids year-round is to buy one
orchid per month, in bloom. Yes, I know it's a positively Machiavellian
idea, sure to addict one more unsuspecting newbie to our habit, but I think
Joyce already has the bug, don't you Joyce? LOL

Diana

J Fortuna wrote:


experience) having an orchid in bloom is more important than for experts
(such as Rob). And even though experts claim that a secondary blooming is
never as impressive as a primary one, for those of us with less experience
the difference is either not noticeable or unimportant. I assume that this
may be your only orchid plant right now, whereas Rob has a greenhouse full
of them, and thus one flower in bloom more or less makes less difference to
him. Also you never know whether or not you will be successful in getting


Thanks for the vote of confidence Joanna... Actually the greenhouse
isn't up yet, and I have yet to enjoy the luxury of having a whole
greenhouse (or plant room) full of simultaneously blooming plants. That
isn't for lack of plants, mind you. I think, however, that I mostly
agree with you. It is easy (easier?) to defer gratification when you
know that the plant will bloom again. I'm reasonably confident that if
I cut the spike off of a plant that I will see another one. And when I
first started growing I would have probably tried to rebloom it. Any
flower is a good flower.

That said, I've tried it both ways often enough to know that a secondary
blooming can really stress a plant. So, whenever I'm in doubt I will
cut off the whole inflorescence, knowing that this is the only way I'll
see another blooming (at some far distant time, perhaps). The main
problem is that a lot of the phalaenopsis you buy at the mega-mart
aren't in very happy condition. The flowers may look nice, but the
plant is obviously stressed (yellowed leaves, wilting, etc.). Sometimes
you get hold of a vigorous plant in excellent condition, and there is
absolutely no reason to avoid reblooming the spike. Over the internet,
it is hard to tell which plant is being asked about, so I almost always
defer to the safe "cut it off" advice. In my own collection, assuming
the plant is healthy, I don't cut anything (keeps viruses away! - and
I'm lazy), if they rebloom they rebloom. If not, oh well.

I have also heard that you almost never get a secondary blooming if you
cut the spike after Mother's day. I've heard various claims on that
(Easter, Memorial day, Canada day...). And who knows what happens in
the antipodes. I'm pretty sure that is bogus, at least with current
breeding. And I don't think a secondary blooming is any less
'impressive', although there are usually fewer flowers. Some plants (
and owners) will push it, however, and rebloom the secondary
inflorescence, and rebloom that... etc. Eventually it gets to be a very
long bare stem with all sorts of twists and turns and a few flowers at
the end. I find that less than pleasing.

Rob

--
Rob's Rules: http://www.msu.edu/~halgren
1) There is always room for one more orchid
2) There is always room for two more orchids
2a. See rule 1
3) When one has insufficient credit to purchase
more orchids, obtain more credit
LittlefrogFarm is open - e-mail me for a list )

J Fortuna wrote:


experience) having an orchid in bloom is more important than for experts
(such as Rob). And even though experts claim that a secondary blooming is
never as impressive as a primary one, for those of us with less experience
the difference is either not noticeable or unimportant. I assume that this
may be your only orchid plant right now, whereas Rob has a greenhouse full
of them, and thus one flower in bloom more or less makes less difference to
him. Also you never know whether or not you will be successful in getting


Thanks for the vote of confidence Joanna... Actually the greenhouse
isn't up yet, and I have yet to enjoy the luxury of having a whole
greenhouse (or plant room) full of simultaneously blooming plants. That
isn't for lack of plants, mind you. I think, however, that I mostly
agree with you. It is easy (easier?) to defer gratification when you
know that the plant will bloom again. I'm reasonably confident that if
I cut the spike off of a plant that I will see another one. And when I
first started growing I would have probably tried to rebloom it. Any
flower is a good flower.

That said, I've tried it both ways often enough to know that a secondary
blooming can really stress a plant. So, whenever I'm in doubt I will
cut off the whole inflorescence, knowing that this is the only way I'll
see another blooming (at some far distant time, perhaps). The main
problem is that a lot of the phalaenopsis you buy at the mega-mart
aren't in very happy condition. The flowers may look nice, but the
plant is obviously stressed (yellowed leaves, wilting, etc.). Sometimes
you get hold of a vigorous plant in excellent condition, and there is
absolutely no reason to avoid reblooming the spike. Over the internet,
it is hard to tell which plant is being asked about, so I almost always
defer to the safe "cut it off" advice. In my own collection, assuming
the plant is healthy, I don't cut anything (keeps viruses away! - and
I'm lazy), if they rebloom they rebloom. If not, oh well.

I have also heard that you almost never get a secondary blooming if you
cut the spike after Mother's day. I've heard various claims on that
(Easter, Memorial day, Canada day...). And who knows what happens in
the antipodes. I'm pretty sure that is bogus, at least with current
breeding. And I don't think a secondary blooming is any less
'impressive', although there are usually fewer flowers. Some plants (
and owners) will push it, however, and rebloom the secondary
inflorescence, and rebloom that... etc. Eventually it gets to be a very
long bare stem with all sorts of twists and turns and a few flowers at
the end. I find that less than pleasing.

Rob

--
Rob's Rules: http://www.msu.edu/~halgren
1) There is always room for one more orchid
2) There is always room for two more orchids
2a. See rule 1
3) When one has insufficient credit to purchase
more orchids, obtain more credit
LittlefrogFarm is open - e-mail me for a list )

On Mon, 16 Aug 2004 09:48:02 -0400, Rob Halgren
wrote:

J Fortuna wrote:



That said, I've tried it both ways often enough to know that a secondary
blooming can really stress a plant.

I had a large white phal in a 8 inch pot with a considerable
number of leaves. Note the had. I just let it bloom until it
died. This was years ago and I did not realize it was going down
hill but when it quit blooming after 18 months there was no
strength left to live.


I have also heard that you almost never get a secondary blooming if you
cut the spike after Mother's day.

Rob

We have had such a funky summer with cold wet spells interspersed
with very hot days. My phals are re-spiking. I have never seen
this before.
SuE
http://orchids.legolas.org/gallery/albums.php

On Mon, 16 Aug 2004 09:48:02 -0400, Rob Halgren
wrote:

J Fortuna wrote:



That said, I've tried it both ways often enough to know that a secondary
blooming can really stress a plant.

I had a large white phal in a 8 inch pot with a considerable
number of leaves. Note the had. I just let it bloom until it
died. This was years ago and I did not realize it was going down
hill but when it quit blooming after 18 months there was no
strength left to live.


I have also heard that you almost never get a secondary blooming if you
cut the spike after Mother's day.

Rob

We have had such a funky summer with cold wet spells interspersed
with very hot days. My phals are re-spiking. I have never seen
this before.
SuE
http://orchids.legolas.org/gallery/albums.php

On Mon, 16 Aug 2004 09:48:02 -0400, Rob Halgren
wrote:

J Fortuna wrote:



That said, I've tried it both ways often enough to know that a secondary
blooming can really stress a plant.

I had a large white phal in a 8 inch pot with a considerable
number of leaves. Note the had. I just let it bloom until it
died. This was years ago and I did not realize it was going down
hill but when it quit blooming after 18 months there was no
strength left to live.


I have also heard that you almost never get a secondary blooming if you
cut the spike after Mother's day.

Rob

We have had such a funky summer with cold wet spells interspersed
with very hot days. My phals are re-spiking. I have never seen
this before.
SuE
http://orchids.legolas.org/gallery/albums.php

In article ,
Susan Erickson wrote:

On Mon, 16 Aug 2004 09:48:02 -0400, Rob Halgren
wrote:

J Fortuna wrote:



That said, I've tried it both ways often enough to know that a secondary
blooming can really stress a plant.

I had a large white phal in a 8 inch pot with a considerable
number of leaves. Note the had. I just let it bloom until it
died. This was years ago and I did not realize it was going down
hill but when it quit blooming after 18 months there was no
strength left to live.





i have a golden peoker daughter that's been blooming on two spikes since
march of '03. plant seems fat and happy; just grew a nice big new leaf.
one spike has 2 flowers left, *may* be trying to do a keiki thing, and
looks like it might try to branch. the other spike lost its last flower
the other day.

i was going to leave it alone, but reading this is making me nervous, so
i compromised and cut the flowerless spike off (time for Experiments in
Stem Propagation :) ; am watching the other one. if it tries to branch
a flower spike, i'll cut that branch off, but i want to see what the
itty bitty green things are, to see if they'll develop into anything.

--j_a, fingers crossed...

In article ,
Susan Erickson wrote:

On Mon, 16 Aug 2004 09:48:02 -0400, Rob Halgren
wrote:

J Fortuna wrote:



That said, I've tried it both ways often enough to know that a secondary
blooming can really stress a plant.

I had a large white phal in a 8 inch pot with a considerable
number of leaves. Note the had. I just let it bloom until it
died. This was years ago and I did not realize it was going down
hill but when it quit blooming after 18 months there was no
strength left to live.





i have a golden peoker daughter that's been blooming on two spikes since
march of '03. plant seems fat and happy; just grew a nice big new leaf.
one spike has 2 flowers left, *may* be trying to do a keiki thing, and
looks like it might try to branch. the other spike lost its last flower
the other day.

i was going to leave it alone, but reading this is making me nervous, so
i compromised and cut the flowerless spike off (time for Experiments in
Stem Propagation :) ; am watching the other one. if it tries to branch
a flower spike, i'll cut that branch off, but i want to see what the
itty bitty green things are, to see if they'll develop into anything.

--j_a, fingers crossed...

Xi Wang wrote in message ...
Besides, if you leave the spike, you might just get some keikis. Never
know.

I know the advice to cut off spent spikes to 'conserve the strength' of
a plant represents the wisdom of generations, but it doesn't correspond
very well to my recent experience with phals or to my own humble opinion
of biology.

A previous poster urged us to think of what happens in nature but my
conclusions are somewhat different: the flowers are long lived and
wilt as soon as pollinated so the strategy must be to persist until
a (possibly infrequent) pollination event occurs. If weather, passing
wildlife or other hazards of life in the wild damage the flowers, it
may make sense for the plant to sprout another branch off what's
left of the spike. Presumably there's some regulatory mechanism
that only allows this if the plant can afford it (admittedly this
may be partly bred out in domesticated varieties).

What is the metabolic cost of a flower spike? Well obviously it is a
bunch of growth that doesn't photosynthesise much, but it doesn't
weigh more than a big bunch of aerial roots such as phals often have
and no one worries about those sapping the life of the plant.

On my office windowsill for example I have an unidentified white phal
in a 5 inch pot, originally bought in bloom but spent from a florist
for 50 pence. It has been in bloom most of the time since. Currently
it has 8 open flowers and couple buds coming on branch from a spike that
first came up in october and had 10 flowers. Since that time there has
also grown a new leaf bigger than the previous ones and a new, thicker
flower spike that's shooting up a quarter inch a day. Will I chop off
any presentable flowers or even any nodes that might sprout more?

Phals are pretty vigorous growers and normally what you want is maximum
flower enjoyment. If you're grooming the plant for exhibition or
something your mileage may be different, but I'm a convert to
squeezing out the maximum flowers.

Leo

Xi Wang wrote in message ...
Besides, if you leave the spike, you might just get some keikis. Never
know.

I know the advice to cut off spent spikes to 'conserve the strength' of
a plant represents the wisdom of generations, but it doesn't correspond
very well to my recent experience with phals or to my own humble opinion
of biology.

A previous poster urged us to think of what happens in nature but my
conclusions are somewhat different: the flowers are long lived and
wilt as soon as pollinated so the strategy must be to persist until
a (possibly infrequent) pollination event occurs. If weather, passing
wildlife or other hazards of life in the wild damage the flowers, it
may make sense for the plant to sprout another branch off what's
left of the spike. Presumably there's some regulatory mechanism
that only allows this if the plant can afford it (admittedly this
may be partly bred out in domesticated varieties).

What is the metabolic cost of a flower spike? Well obviously it is a
bunch of growth that doesn't photosynthesise much, but it doesn't
weigh more than a big bunch of aerial roots such as phals often have
and no one worries about those sapping the life of the plant.

On my office windowsill for example I have an unidentified white phal
in a 5 inch pot, originally bought in bloom but spent from a florist
for 50 pence. It has been in bloom most of the time since. Currently
it has 8 open flowers and couple buds coming on branch from a spike that
first came up in october and had 10 flowers. Since that time there has
also grown a new leaf bigger than the previous ones and a new, thicker
flower spike that's shooting up a quarter inch a day. Will I chop off
any presentable flowers or even any nodes that might sprout more?

Phals are pretty vigorous growers and normally what you want is maximum
flower enjoyment. If you're grooming the plant for exhibition or
something your mileage may be different, but I'm a convert to
squeezing out the maximum flowers.

Leo

Leo wrote:

I know the advice to cut off spent spikes to 'conserve the strength' of
a plant represents the wisdom of generations, but it doesn't correspond
very well to my recent experience with phals or to my own humble opinion
of biology.

A previous poster urged us to think of what happens in nature but my
conclusions are somewhat different: the flowers are long lived and
wilt as soon as pollinated so the strategy must be to persist until
a (possibly infrequent) pollination event occurs. If weather, passing
wildlife or other hazards of life in the wild damage the flowers, it
may make sense for the plant to sprout another branch off what's
left of the spike. Presumably there's some regulatory mechanism
that only allows this if the plant can afford it (admittedly this
may be partly bred out in domesticated varieties).

What is the metabolic cost of a flower spike? Well obviously it is a
bunch of growth that doesn't photosynthesise much, but it doesn't
weigh more than a big bunch of aerial roots such as phals often have
and no one worries about those sapping the life of the plant.



Leo,

As a biologist, I would have to agree with the sentiment of your
post, but I think you underestimate domestication. Yes, there is (has
to be) some regulatory mechanism that has evolved to limit the blooming
capacity of the phalaenopsis. It does make logical sense, assuming that
these plants are perennial and have evolved to bloom over many years,
although a single sucessful pollination event and seed distribution
would ensure evolutionary 'success' in the strictest sense. An
inflorescence is a substantial metabolic cost to produce, and perhaps
less to maintain, but reblooming a spike invokes the 'production cost'
more frequently. Seed production is expensive, very expensive, if we
let it get that far. Also, it may look like the mature flowers are not
doing anything, but they are respiring (consuming sugars that the green
parts must make) and transpiring (releasing water that the roots must
uptake). If they aren't doing those two things they are dead, and none
of us want that. They aren't contributing much, and they are costing at
least a little. Presumably, based on collective experience, a healthy
happy plant has little trouble paying the bills.

However, we aren't growing these plants in their native
environment. Environmental stimuli which might serve to limit blooming
may not exist in the typical windowsill. More importantly, we have
spent a hundred years breeding the limiting capacity out of the genus.
Generations of orchid breeders have selected for free blooming, long
blooming, and large (more 'metabolically expensive') flowers. Ease of
bloom is probably one of the most important characteristics, and if
breeders have done their job the plants should be too genetically stupid
(to coin a phrase that needs coining) to know when to stop blooming.
This is a good thing for orchid growers (sellers, anyway). If we were
growing species orchids on trees in SE Asia, then there wouldn't really
be an issue.

Interesting thoughts though. I'd never really considered it
before. And I may have falsely considered it just now...

Rob

--
Rob's Rules: http://www.msu.edu/~halgren
1) There is always room for one more orchid
2) There is always room for two more orchids
2a. See rule 1
3) When one has insufficient credit to purchase
more orchids, obtain more credit
LittlefrogFarm is open - e-mail me for a list )

Leo wrote:

I know the advice to cut off spent spikes to 'conserve the strength' of
a plant represents the wisdom of generations, but it doesn't correspond
very well to my recent experience with phals or to my own humble opinion
of biology.

A previous poster urged us to think of what happens in nature but my
conclusions are somewhat different: the flowers are long lived and
wilt as soon as pollinated so the strategy must be to persist until
a (possibly infrequent) pollination event occurs. If weather, passing
wildlife or other hazards of life in the wild damage the flowers, it
may make sense for the plant to sprout another branch off what's
left of the spike. Presumably there's some regulatory mechanism
that only allows this if the plant can afford it (admittedly this
may be partly bred out in domesticated varieties).

What is the metabolic cost of a flower spike? Well obviously it is a
bunch of growth that doesn't photosynthesise much, but it doesn't
weigh more than a big bunch of aerial roots such as phals often have
and no one worries about those sapping the life of the plant.



Leo,

As a biologist, I would have to agree with the sentiment of your
post, but I think you underestimate domestication. Yes, there is (has
to be) some regulatory mechanism that has evolved to limit the blooming
capacity of the phalaenopsis. It does make logical sense, assuming that
these plants are perennial and have evolved to bloom over many years,
although a single sucessful pollination event and seed distribution
would ensure evolutionary 'success' in the strictest sense. An
inflorescence is a substantial metabolic cost to produce, and perhaps
less to maintain, but reblooming a spike invokes the 'production cost'
more frequently. Seed production is expensive, very expensive, if we
let it get that far. Also, it may look like the mature flowers are not
doing anything, but they are respiring (consuming sugars that the green
parts must make) and transpiring (releasing water that the roots must
uptake). If they aren't doing those two things they are dead, and none
of us want that. They aren't contributing much, and they are costing at
least a little. Presumably, based on collective experience, a healthy
happy plant has little trouble paying the bills.

However, we aren't growing these plants in their native
environment. Environmental stimuli which might serve to limit blooming
may not exist in the typical windowsill. More importantly, we have
spent a hundred years breeding the limiting capacity out of the genus.
Generations of orchid breeders have selected for free blooming, long
blooming, and large (more 'metabolically expensive') flowers. Ease of
bloom is probably one of the most important characteristics, and if
breeders have done their job the plants should be too genetically stupid
(to coin a phrase that needs coining) to know when to stop blooming.
This is a good thing for orchid growers (sellers, anyway). If we were
growing species orchids on trees in SE Asia, then there wouldn't really
be an issue.

Interesting thoughts though. I'd never really considered it
before. And I may have falsely considered it just now...

Rob

--
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2) There is always room for two more orchids
2a. See rule 1
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