Question
Hello Wayne,
Last week I did a somewhat spur of the moment thing and bought a beautiful phalenopsis orchid from a local nursery. I have the plant in between my 2 due south facing windows.  It receives about 2hrs of direct sunlight in the morning, then bright indirect light the rest of the day. Although I'm an orchid newcomer, I have various houseplants, a bonsai collection, and I'd say I do have a green thumb. My specific question is concerning the spikes. Currently I have one spike with about 7 blooms on it and one very small bud on the end.  Is there any way I can increase the number of spikes and blooms? I've been reading forums and I see that once the final flower falls off I should cut the spike? Will this stimulate additional spike formation?

Answer
As far as bloom spikes are concerned, on some hybrids the bloom spike dies after it has finished its bloom period.  The other type of hybrid retains its green bloom spike and can rebloom on that same spike. Which type of bloom spike a plant produces is genetically determined.  Let's assume that you have the type that retains its old bloom spike and that it remains green after flowering. When the last bud has opened and the last flower has fallen, cut off the bloom spike above the second or third node (ie joint) in the bloom spike. If the bloom spike remains green, it may send out a branch from the node just below the cut end and that branch may develop buds and flowers. If it is the type where the flower spike dies back after flowering, just remember that this is the plant habit and has nothing to do with your growing conditions.