Moth orchids

Phalaenopsis are now very popular house plants as their flowers last for months and new high tech. propagation methods have brought prices down. They were among a variety of orchids  suitable for growing indoors covered at last night’s Caley talk by Sudheer Carroll. One question that became  rather lost in all the discussion was what to do as the flowers  eventually fade. Is it best to cut out the whole spike or just back to a node (joint) to encourage repeat flowers more quickly ? The consensus  seems to be cut to the node once if the plant  is in good health but as the second flowers fade then take the whole spike out to  let the plant concentrate  on growth.                                               By this time the flower spike is likely to be quite leggy so it will also make a more balanced plant.