Where do you cut a Phalaenopsis stem after it's done flowering?

[raybark]

There are basically three schools-of-thought on this:

1) Cut it off as close to the plant as possible. (This is probably the best option when wanting to allow the plant to focus its energies on growth.) This will do nothing to harm the plant.

2) Cut it off just above the point where the lowest blossom was (some say just below it, some say to go to the second lowest blossom). That will often encourage a plant to branch and rebloom, but that tends to "sap" the plant's energy and stores, resulting in few, smaller blossoms, and sometimes causing it to skip a year of normal blooming.

3) Leave it alone. If it starts to yellow, remove it, but if it stays green, it will be contributing to photosynthesis, and may resume growth and bloom when it is good and ready.