AboutWayne King Expertise Any question about orchid culture. I have thirty+ yrs of growing experience,president 2x of our local Orchid Growers Guild,held a position in most all other offices associated with the Guild at one time or another. Head of Orchid judging team for local club meetings and some shows. Member of two Orchid Socities and local Rep.for Mid America Orchid Congress for several yrs.I have in my collection about 800 Orchid plants of all types.
Experience
Past/Present clients Previously an expert on expertcentral.com.
Question My orchid started growing one stem about 4 mos ago. That stem kepps getting taller but no flowers. Now several other stems have started to sprout. Do I pinch back all but one stem to get better blooms, or just let it do its own thing?
Answer Patricia, in part, it depends upon what type of orchid you have. The most common orchid is the phalaenopsis orchid. The "stem" on that orchid would refer to the flower spike. If you have a strong, healthy plant with many leaves, I would just let it do its thing. Another possibility is that you have a dendrobium orchid. In that case the "stem" would be a cane. Each cane would have leaves along its length. Again, let it do its thing as, eventually, during flowering season, the dendrobium cane could send out a flower spike.
