Do You Cut the Stem After an Orchid Dies?

Orchid Growth Habit

• Orchid plants can be sympodial like Dendrobium orchids or monopodial like Phalaenopsis orchids. Sympodial means that they produce stems that grow horizontally over the ground, or rhizomes, from which new plant bodies grow at growth nodes. Sympodial orchids may be separated by cutting the ground stems on either side of a new plant body and planting it. Monopodial means there is only one stem, and Phalaenopsis orchids cannot be separated to form new plants.

Orchid Flower Stalks

• Many sympodial orchids store water and nutrients in structures similar to bulbs called pseudobulbs. These orchids produce flower stalks, referred to as spikes, from the leaves that form above the pseudobulbs or around the pseudobulb base. Monopodial orchids do not form pseudobulbs, and their flower stalks form below new leaves. Monopodial Phalaenopsis orchids may bloom a second time if flower spikes are cut below where the flowers appear on the spike.

Epiphytes and Terrestrials

• Many species of Dendrobium and Phalaenopsis orchids are epiphytes, meaning they grow in trees rather than on the ground (terrestrial), and some can grow as both epiphytes and terrestrials. Terrestrial orchids are hardy, and some species grow outdoors in almost any environment. After blooming, the flower stalk of terrestrial orchids should be removed so nutrients are not used to produce seed but are available for plant growth.

Deciduous Orchids

• Some Dendrobium orchid species are deciduous: They lose their leaves during drought or cold weather. These orchids look like bamboo shoots when they are leafless. The leaf stalks should not be cut, as they store food that the plant uses to make the new leaves along old stalks when conditions improve. The flowering spike on Dendrobiums should not be cut until it is completely dried up, as it also stores food for the plant.