worried. new on this

[shining]

hi. i hope you can help me because i'm new on this. i was given a phal on september that was blooming. after nearly three months flowers fell and i did nothing until 2 months ago. i then pruned the spikes (it has 2) below the 3rd upper knot (as i was told) but it did not do well and the tops started drying. two weeks ago i was told that it must be cut above the 3rd lower knot, so i did this and it seems ok, though one of the cuts wasn't very clean and i don't know if i should actually recut. i was given another phal on december just pruned below the 3rd upper knots (one spike with different "branches") and it started producing two keikis. i thought it was flowering as i was absoloutely new at this but after seeing the aerial roots grow and grow i started thinking that it was not blooms but new plants, which i then confirmed. so the roots were very long (about 20-30 cm) when i repotted the two keikis but i managed to get them into their pots though it was difficult. the bigger one has started to produce a spike (green and vigorous!) but the smaller one hasn't yet. should i do anything else for them or just let them grow? as per the mother plant, two much time with the keikis on (about 2-3 months) left it a little weak and i cut the spike just above the 3rd below knot but it started drying and did a new cut yesterday above the 2nd knot. i think it was for lack of water because i've seen so many times in the internet that orchids are not ok with too much water, and i was given this phal inmersed in water so i thought of having it with less water and didn't seem to like it... strange. anyway, is there anything i did wrong and something i could do for them that i haven't done? thanks!

[uncasteeb]

As far as the mother plant goes i would cut the spikes off close to the bottom.This hopefully will give the plant some time to recover , grow roots & leaves.

[sadie]

Phals don't always send out a second spike from the original spike. For most phals (not all, but most) the spiking season has passed.

I'm with uncasteeb -- let the mama plant rest. She's done a lot of work, what with flowers, keikis and all. Even the healthiest orchids need a little break. They can't be in bloom all the time.

So I wouldn't worry about the keiki that didn't spike and the mother plant that didn't throw another spike. As long as the plants look healthy (no droopy leaves, no rotted roots) then just keep watering and giving them sunshine. They should begin spiking naturally this fall/winter.

[LJA]

I agree.

While it's possible to encourage further blooms on some by cuting the spike a few nodes above where it joins the plant, here, we always cut them all the way back once the flowers are on their way out. The plant gets to rest, grow more roots and a leaf or two, and it can store up energy for a really nice blooming next season.

[shining]

Thank you very much for your help!