Paph. Flower Has Dropped. No What?

Paph lovers, I hope you can answer a question for me. Thanks kindly in advance! I've only had my paph for a few months and it was my first so I'm not completely familiar with care tips for them yet. It's doing very well and getting BIG. My question is: after the flower drops from the spike, should I cut the spike down and where do I cut it if so? Because the stem seems to be drying, getting very hard. Since it is so dark, I'm not able to tell by color if it's drying up. The foliage is doing very well, mottled and beautiful and I eagerly await a new bloom, but must I wait for another spike to grow before this happens? Or should I not cut the current spike because it will have another bloom? I can't tell. Advice please? Thanks!

It depends on what Paph it is !
Some of mine bloom sequenntially , 1 drops off as another opens(paph Pinocchio var album as been blooming off 2 spikes for the last 9 months).
If there is no buds apparanent then i would cut the spike close to the crown of the plant but it will not do any harm waiting for a few weeks if your not sure.

__________________
Who the smeg is Dwayne Dibbley ?

Do you know what type of paph it is, Lore? Or is it a NOID?

Julie

Paphs, or slipper orchids, unlike Phalaenopsis (or moth orchids) will generally not extend it's spike unless you have one of the sequential flowering types... like Paph glaucophyllum, or Paph chamberlainianum, etc, etc and hybrids thereof...

If the spike is 'drying' then cut it close to the leaves. The plant will not flower again from this growth so keep an eye out for new growths from the side of the plant... treat them well as they will be where the new flowers will come from...

good luck on the next flowers and hope it is soon...

cheers
tim

you don't need to cut too far down or else you have to be careful not to cut into the leaves.

on most paphs you can actually grab the spike near the crown and give a quick "twist" and it will break. make sure to use your other hand to stabilize the growth too so that doesn't twist.

__________________
Jason

Thanks for the tips!
Julie, it's a candy apple 'ching hua' x maudiae 'eureka'. I have a pic of it in the paph section someplace.

Lore,

Jason's the paph guru, but a 'eureka' hybrid is unifloral. I don't know the candy apple pedigree off-hand. That means, after the bloom dies cut the spike just above the leaves and wait till next season.

On a paph it's pretty easy to tell if it wants to push out another flower. The bud will be on the spike saying, "me, me! I'm next!" They don't behave like phals, where you cut the spike back and it will reinitiate more buds. If you don't see it, it's not coming!

Julie

exactly.

__________________
Jason