Is there a way to save a broken spike?

[Alice]

Hi, concerning the first post, I think there might be a possibility at least for phalaenopsis to save the spike. I, too, once taped the broken flower spike. At the time the plant had four buds. The top part where the buds were was hanging on a thin thread, really. So I taped it as tight as possible trying to put it back on its place. All of the flowers bloomed later on.

[OrchidAddict]

Hi, concerning the first post, I think there might be a possibility at least for phalaenopsis to save the spike. I, too, once taped the broken flower spike. At the time the plant had four buds. The top part where the buds were was hanging on a thin thread, really. So I taped it as tight as possible trying to put it back on its place. All of the flowers bloomed later on.

Hmmmm....interesting! It seems that little "string" must have been doing something. Although, the buds were possibly opening simply because they were pretty much ready to open in the first place. It's like roses: when you buy roses, they're barely out of bud...but then they open up into these amazing flowers, all from just sitting in some water. So, if the buds on the orchid were just about to bloom anyway, the plant might have been giving it just enough moisture with that little string to keep it going. I can't imagine it would work for a spike that's completely severed and has no buds on it yet, though. Still, it's an intriguing idea! :-)

[gardenguysorchids]

Had the break occurred higher up the spike chances are good that it would have branched out with a new blooming spike. I have one that has three old spikes plus a new one. Two of the older spikes finished providing blooms after several years and the tips began to dry up. I cut them back to the next node and both sent out new shoots almost immediately. Unfortunately the lowness of your break and perhaps the newness of the spike will prevent yours from doing so. Just water it and give it as much morning light/sun as u can and you will be awarded with a new blooming spike soon. Good Luck!

[Alice]

Hi, yes, I, too, am not sure if it will work on other orchids and on other phals and it also had the buds forming when that happened. Though, it seemed to me that the string was not sufficient to do the trick, as the last buds were much smaller in size than the first one. The interesting thing was that it bloomed for a decent period of time after opening