"Training" spike?

[orchidaddict789]

Seriously, if I don't break the almost 3-foot-long onc spike it's going to break itself. But I'm having trouble staking it, because it grows almost horizontally straight out from the pot. It kind of takes up space and if I don't notice the long green thing hanging in the air I'll certainly walk into it (need to be really careful around the plant). Anyways, I wish I can pull the spike into a more vertical position so everything will be more convenient, but I know that'll be really dangerous. If I leave it as is it's still in great danger from...me . Or at least stake it...maybe train it to go upwards little by little (safe??)...any ideas?

[Diane]

I've done the bit by bit training, it works if you are really gentle.

[LJA]

Lily, if it's 3 feet long, I think you'll be ok pulling it to nearly vertical near the top and tying it to the stake there. In other words, you'll have something that looks a little like a capital D, just not as drastic: the straight part is the stake, the curved part is the spike. Similar situations have happened here and I've had to pull them almost vertical. Just pull up slowly, and tie or clip it when it's reasonably out of the way.

[Tanya]

If the spike is still soft you can still try to train it to a vertical position by doing it bit by bit. One alternative is to hang the plant high and let the spike grow the way it want.

[Lore]

Everyone had great advice! Good luck with it!

[orchidaddict789]

Thanks, everyone. I'll go perform some spike training now and see how it goes .