Flowers

I’m kind of new to the whole orchid game, so I’m just muddling along without much concern about whether I am doing the right thing or not.

Orchid pruning came up in conversation a few weeks back and, honestly, I had never given it any thought.  Other than cutting the flower stalk all the way down to the plant when it gets done blooming, what’s to prune?  Well, according to the person with whom I was conversing, you should NEVER cut the stalk.  That didn’t make sense to me so it was time for a little research.  It turns out you can cut the stalk all the way down when it’s done blooming, but if you do some strategic pruning, you can encourage a second bloom cycle on the stalk.

First, let me clarify by saying I’m talking about Phaleanopsis orchids.   I have been growing cymbidiums for a few years and I cut those stalks down to the plant when they are done blooming.

Back to the phaleanopsis.  From the base of the spike count up to 3 nodes, then cut off the spike a one inch above the third  node.    Orchids are very susceptible to bacterial infection so it is strongly suggested that tools be sterilized between trimmings.

Now, a little trip to my personal orchids.  This orchid was ignored so I didn’t trim it back.  It has developed little buds at the end of the stalk so I’m thinking that the blooms will probably be less than robust, but we’ll see.

Here’s the plant from a distance.  Pretty scrawny, huh.

Now, here’s a plant where I cut the stalk all the way back last year.  It sent out a new stalk and look at this baby bloom!

So, prune or not; you’ll just get different results.  I will prune the next orchid that finishes blooming to see if I can get a second cycle of blooming.  I think the smarter thing I’ve done to get my orchids to rebloom is to water consistently and  fertilize regularly.

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