IMO, "multiple spikes" applies whether all new, all regrowth of old, or a
mix.

I have never heard of a spike regrowing after it was completely cut off.

--

Ray Barkalow - First Rays Orchids - www.firstrays.com
Plants, Supplies, Books, Artwork, and Lots of Free Info!
..
"Mike" wrote in message
...
I am wondering about double spiking. When people say they have 2, 3,
4, or more spikes, does that mean that their phal produced them all in
the same time frame? Or do people consider double spiking when they
leave their old spikes and later when they flower again, they count
them in with the new spikes produced by the plant?

Can a phal spike from the same location where a previous spike was cut
from?

Mike

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IMO, "multiple spikes" applies whether all new, all regrowth of old, or a
mix.

I have never heard of a spike regrowing after it was completely cut off.

--

Ray Barkalow - First Rays Orchids - www.firstrays.com
Plants, Supplies, Books, Artwork, and Lots of Free Info!
..
"Mike" wrote in message
...
I am wondering about double spiking. When people say they have 2, 3,
4, or more spikes, does that mean that their phal produced them all in
the same time frame? Or do people consider double spiking when they
leave their old spikes and later when they flower again, they count
them in with the new spikes produced by the plant?

Can a phal spike from the same location where a previous spike was cut
from?

Mike

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I am wondering about double spiking. When people say they have 2, 3,
4, or more spikes, does that mean that their phal produced them all in
the same time frame? Or do people consider double spiking when they
leave their old spikes and later when they flower again, they count
them in with the new spikes produced by the plant?

Can a phal spike from the same location where a previous spike was cut
from?

Mike

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Ray wrote:

IMO, "multiple spikes" applies whether all new, all regrowth of old, or a
mix.



I usually count them from the base of the plant. A branched spike
is still one spike... Nicer though. They only count if they have
flowers or buds on them though. It is cheating to count the old brown
and dead spikes, even if it does sound like a more impressive number...
(*grin*).

I have never heard of a spike regrowing after it was completely cut off.


And I don't think you will, either... Maybe (just maybe) a spike
coming from a place very close to a spike that was cut completely off.

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 )

Ray wrote:

IMO, "multiple spikes" applies whether all new, all regrowth of old, or a
mix.



I usually count them from the base of the plant. A branched spike
is still one spike... Nicer though. They only count if they have
flowers or buds on them though. It is cheating to count the old brown
and dead spikes, even if it does sound like a more impressive number...
(*grin*).

I have never heard of a spike regrowing after it was completely cut off.


And I don't think you will, either... Maybe (just maybe) a spike
coming from a place very close to a spike that was cut completely off.

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 )

I didn't mean a spike regrowing from where it was cut off. I meant,
can a new spike grow next to where another spike was cut off? Or, do
you only get one spike per location (base of a leaf)?

On Wed, 17 Nov 2004 14:25:26 -0500, "Ray"
wrote:

IMO, "multiple spikes" applies whether all new, all regrowth of old, or a
mix.

I have never heard of a spike regrowing after it was completely cut off.

Mike,

Phals are not like some other types of orchids in this respect, unlike Paphs
or I think Cattleyas and Dendrobiums, but I am not sure about the Cattleyas
and Dends since I don't know them that well.

For Paphs (or at least most Paphs?), once a growth of leaves has had a
spike, that's it for that growth, and you need a new growth for a new spike.
New spikes in Paphs form from the center of the crown of the top leaf.

Phals are monopodial, so they just continue to grow new leaves from the same
base/crown/stem. And there is no such concept of "this leaf has been used
for a previous blooming, so it's all used up." No, they can have a new spike
that's adjacent to an old spike, under same leaf. Or it could be under a
different leaf. Old leaves do die off with time, but sometimes it takes a
long time, and while the leaf is viable, I always check around it and around
all of the leaves for spikes.

I had one Phal that spiked right under the topmost new leaf, so that's
possible to.

The one place where one would not be happy to see a spike is in the crown
itself (in the center, above the newest leaf). While it happens occasionally
that a Phal will spike from the crown, that will generally prevent it from
having new leaves, and this plant would probably eventually die. The way for
the plant to survive would be to form a basal keiki, but from what I heard
it's less likely to do that than just die.

My Question: I have never seen a new spike forming under an old Phal leaf
that has turned yellow. Is that possible? Has anyone seen that happen? Or is
that pretty much a limit as to where spikes may form?

That's all I know on the topic of new spike location in Phals. Anyone out
here have anything to add or subtract from this?

Joanna


"Mike" wrote in message
...
I didn't mean a spike regrowing from where it was cut off. I meant,
can a new spike grow next to where another spike was cut off? Or, do
you only get one spike per location (base of a leaf)?

On Wed, 17 Nov 2004 14:25:26 -0500, "Ray"
wrote:

IMO, "multiple spikes" applies whether all new, all regrowth of old, or a
mix.

I have never heard of a spike regrowing after it was completely cut off.

Thank you for your response Joanna.

I wish I had some answers for you, too. But as a beginner I have more
questions than I know what to do with. haha

Last December when I bought my orchid it was flowering. After it
finished flowering, I cut off the spike, and it grew 3 new leaves in
the last year. Recently, I discovered a spike forming from the
top-most leaf that existed when I bought the orchid (so there's 3 new
leaves above where the spike is now growing). There were actually 2
other healthy leaves below it that it could also spike from, and two
leaves above it (not including the top-most leaf), so I was a little
puzzled.

Does anyone know how tall a phal can get with all it's leaves? Mine
has 9 leaves and is getting pretty tall. As leaves eventually start to
die from the bottom, am I going to have a trunk to my orchid like a
palm tree?

Mike


On Sat, 20 Nov 2004 12:39:15 GMT, "J Fortuna"
wrote:

Mike,

Phals are not like some other types of orchids in this respect, unlike Paphs
or I think Cattleyas and Dendrobiums, but I am not sure about the Cattleyas
and Dends since I don't know them that well.

For Paphs (or at least most Paphs?), once a growth of leaves has had a
spike, that's it for that growth, and you need a new growth for a new spike.
New spikes in Paphs form from the center of the crown of the top leaf.

Phals are monopodial, so they just continue to grow new leaves from the same
base/crown/stem. And there is no such concept of "this leaf has been used
for a previous blooming, so it's all used up." No, they can have a new spike
that's adjacent to an old spike, under same leaf. Or it could be under a
different leaf. Old leaves do die off with time, but sometimes it takes a
long time, and while the leaf is viable, I always check around it and around
all of the leaves for spikes.

I had one Phal that spiked right under the topmost new leaf, so that's
possible to.

The one place where one would not be happy to see a spike is in the crown
itself (in the center, above the newest leaf). While it happens occasionally
that a Phal will spike from the crown, that will generally prevent it from
having new leaves, and this plant would probably eventually die. The way for
the plant to survive would be to form a basal keiki, but from what I heard
it's less likely to do that than just die.

My Question: I have never seen a new spike forming under an old Phal leaf
that has turned yellow. Is that possible? Has anyone seen that happen? Or is
that pretty much a limit as to where spikes may form?

That's all I know on the topic of new spike location in Phals. Anyone out
here have anything to add or subtract from this?

Joanna


"Mike" wrote in message
.. .
I didn't mean a spike regrowing from where it was cut off. I meant,
can a new spike grow next to where another spike was cut off? Or, do
you only get one spike per location (base of a leaf)?

On Wed, 17 Nov 2004 14:25:26 -0500, "Ray"
wrote:

IMO, "multiple spikes" applies whether all new, all regrowth of old, or a
mix.

I have never heard of a spike regrowing after it was completely cut off.




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On Sat, 20 Nov 2004 15:42:23 -0500, Mike
wrote:


Does anyone know how tall a phal can get with all it's leaves? Mine
has 9 leaves and is getting pretty tall. As leaves eventually start to
die from the bottom, am I going to have a trunk to my orchid like a
palm tree?

Mike

Don't worry. About the time you think it is top heavy you will
repot and find that all the roots are above ground and you have
to either mount the thing or put some roots back into the pot.
So it will grow up and it will grow new roots up the stem.
SuE
http://orchids.legolas.org/gallery/albums.php

Sue,

Ha! Someone should have informed my oldest Phal that that's the way it
should behave. Will you talk to it please, and persuade it to behave?

It has all these roots both above and below the potting medium, and it has
12 huge healthy leaves and it is very top-heavy. It got repotted recently,
after falling off the shelf one morning due to the top-heavy weight. The
repotting was a challenge, and the entire plant is staked now to keep it
from falling over, and even that is just a temporary solution, and I suspect
it will just continue to grow and fall over again. It very rarely looses any
leaf from the bottom, but very often grows new ones that are just huge.

Joanna

"Susan Erickson" wrote in message
...
Don't worry. About the time you think it is top heavy you will
repot and find that all the roots are above ground and you have
to either mount the thing or put some roots back into the pot.
So it will grow up and it will grow new roots up the stem.
SuE
http://orchids.legolas.org/gallery/albums.php

On Sun, 21 Nov 2004 02:12:40 GMT, "J Fortuna"
wrote:

Sue,

Ha! Someone should have informed my oldest Phal that that's the way it
should behave. Will you talk to it please, and persuade it to behave?

It has all these roots both above and below the potting medium, and it has
12 huge healthy leaves and it is very top-heavy. It got repotted recently,
after falling off the shelf one morning due to the top-heavy weight. The
repotting was a challenge, and the entire plant is staked now to keep it
from falling over, and even that is just a temporary solution, and I suspect
it will just continue to grow and fall over again. It very rarely looses any
leaf from the bottom, but very often grows new ones that are just huge.

Joanna

Double the bottom pot by putting the pot it grows in into a
larger pot and filling around the inner pot with gravel. The
weight helps balance the plants.

SuE
http://orchids.legolas.org/gallery/albums.php

Sue,
Thank you. I shall try that.
Joanna

"Susan Erickson" wrote in message
...
On Sun, 21 Nov 2004 02:12:40 GMT, "J Fortuna"
wrote:

Sue,

Ha! Someone should have informed my oldest Phal that that's the way it
should behave. Will you talk to it please, and persuade it to behave?

It has all these roots both above and below the potting medium, and it
has
12 huge healthy leaves and it is very top-heavy. It got repotted
recently,
after falling off the shelf one morning due to the top-heavy weight. The
repotting was a challenge, and the entire plant is staked now to keep it
from falling over, and even that is just a temporary solution, and I
suspect
it will just continue to grow and fall over again. It very rarely looses
any
leaf from the bottom, but very often grows new ones that are just huge.

Joanna

Double the bottom pot by putting the pot it grows in into a
larger pot and filling around the inner pot with gravel. The
weight helps balance the plants.

SuE
http://orchids.legolas.org/gallery/albums.php

Mike wrote:
.......................
..............................
....................................
Does anyone know how tall a phal can get with all it's leaves? Mine
has 9 leaves and is getting pretty tall. As leaves eventually start to
die from the bottom, am I going to have a trunk to my orchid like a
palm tree?

Mike

Let me comment on this part of your post. Over the years, I've seen
several people ask what to do with all the aerial roots when they repot
their Phal. To my surprise (as first) they often received advice to just
leave all the aerial roots out of the pot. I figure this advice either
comes from someone who hasn't grown Phals for very many years or from
someone who doesn't plan to grow their Phals in pots forever.
Now, I understand the concept of roots adapting to medium (or lack of
medium) they form in. Aerial roots suddenly placed in a pot may not live
nearly as long as they would have, had they grown into the medium on
their own. If you are going to keep the plant in a pot, you need to do
it though. If you don't do it the plant would eventually take on the
palm tree look that you mentioned.
My oldest Phal is just about 30 years old now. (Unfortunately, it and my
other Phals all have that incurable disease that slowly kills them. So
that run will end in a year or 2 or less.) I often try to imagine what
that Phal would look like by now if I had followed advice to leave the
aerial roots in the air. Probably 3 or 4 feet of dead trunk with the
Phal plant perched very high above its pot.

Steve

Thank you for your reply.

What incurable disease are you talking about?


On Sun, 21 Nov 2004 11:03:57 -0500, Steve wrote:



Mike wrote:
.......................
..............................
....................................
Does anyone know how tall a phal can get with all it's leaves? Mine
has 9 leaves and is getting pretty tall. As leaves eventually start to
die from the bottom, am I going to have a trunk to my orchid like a
palm tree?

Mike

Let me comment on this part of your post. Over the years, I've seen
several people ask what to do with all the aerial roots when they repot
their Phal. To my surprise (as first) they often received advice to just
leave all the aerial roots out of the pot. I figure this advice either
comes from someone who hasn't grown Phals for very many years or from
someone who doesn't plan to grow their Phals in pots forever.
Now, I understand the concept of roots adapting to medium (or lack of
medium) they form in. Aerial roots suddenly placed in a pot may not live
nearly as long as they would have, had they grown into the medium on
their own. If you are going to keep the plant in a pot, you need to do
it though. If you don't do it the plant would eventually take on the
palm tree look that you mentioned.
My oldest Phal is just about 30 years old now. (Unfortunately, it and my
other Phals all have that incurable disease that slowly kills them. So
that run will end in a year or 2 or less.) I often try to imagine what
that Phal would look like by now if I had followed advice to leave the
aerial roots in the air. Probably 3 or 4 feet of dead trunk with the
Phal plant perched very high above its pot.

Steve


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Mike wrote:
Thank you for your reply.

What incurable disease are you talking about?

This one:

http://www.geocities.com/tlswilso/Ph...s_2-15-04.html