Keep your Phalaenopsis in flower by following a few simple steps
In the wild the Phaleanopsis would only flower in the wet season when the temperatures rose; it would have a rest period in the dry season. Central heating nowadays keeps our homes to a reasonably constant temperature so with a bit of manipulation we can get the orchid to flower almost constantly.
The quickest way to get it to re-flower is to get it to produce a side shoot from the next node down the stem from the flowers. Unfortunately you have to sacrifice the last 2 flowers when they are still fresh and the ones further down the stem have started to fade and drop. When the flowers are fresh the sap is still rising but if you wait until they have gone over there is no rising sap to produce a new shoot.
Cut the stem back to just above the next node down the stem, this should throw out a side shoot in about 6 – 8 weeks. Only cut back to a node if it fresh and green, if it has gone brown and dry it won’t throw up another shoot.
If you wait until all the flowers have faded before you cut back, the sap will have stopped rising and you will have to cut the stem back to the bottom and wait until it puts up a new stem, this can take 18 months – 2 years.
