Orchids Plus More Newsletter - December, 2004

Newsletter Name Change?

After several of you made suggestions to me to shorten the name of the newsletter we have decided that it may be a good idea. But first I'd like some suggestions from you, our readers. You can send me your suggestions and next month I'll let you know what happened and the new name for this newsletter.

New Orchids Added

Orchids-plus-more has added more orchids for your viewing and purchasing pleasure. Go to our website at orchid-store.orchids-plus-more.com

Pruning Your Orchid

The flowers have all died and when should you cut the stalk back and how far?

Pruning an orchid stalk (spike) should cause no harm to the plant. However, some orchids will produce new bloom shoots from the nodes on the old blossom stalk, or some plants will produce small baby plants (pups) from these nodes. The new plants may be removed and potted after they develop roots. Of course, some orchids do neither of these things. In either case, it doesn't hurt the plant if you remove the old bloom stalk; you may just miss some new blossoms or a baby plant.

Once the stalk turns yellow or brown, it is obvious that no blossoms or plants will be produced. You can then cut it to within an inch from where the blossom stalk originated on the plant. You can also cut it there when it is green if you don't mind losing potential blossoms. Another option is to just remove the end of the blossom stalk to shorten the stalk, but retain enough so that it may bloom again. If you do this, cut it back to about 1/4 inch above a node (indicated by a small leaf-like bract clasping the stalk).

Bob Roy has had a long time interest in orchids and the website; http://www.orchids-plus-more.com is the result of this. The website has become a very popular site for the understanding and the sale of orchid plants. The newsletter is also a result of this interest. Enjoy!

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