Give it more light and let it dry out between waterings. It looks like a Dendrobium. Your window looks too shaded. You don't state where you live - zone, State, conditions, etc. - so its hard to give information.

Jane

Looks to me like the flower stalk is dead. You can clip that off close to the bottom of that stem. Give it more light as well like Jane said.

I am sorry I should have given that information.

I am in south central Pennsylvania. Near Gettysburg.
I believe I am in zone 6b. It was very cloudy today when I took the pics so that could be why it is so shaded. If you think I should move it do a different window though I can try that.

So I should clip off the flower stalk? Should I clip it off down below the leaves?

You are not killing your orchid. It looks to be a hard-cane dendrobium. Maybe ArthurM will pipe in as he is our resident Dendrobium expert.

Your plant looks healthy to me except the leaves look very dark green which is usually a sign the plant is not getting enough sun. These plants like high light. You didn't mention the exposure of your window, North, South, East...

What is the plant potted in? Have you repotted it? Does the media look like bark pieces?

This plant likes to go almost dry between waterings. So only water after you feel the media with your finger to make sure it is almost dry. Move it to a Eastern window, if you have one. This plant can go outside in a shady spot and slowly moved to a brighter spot. Take it in when the night temps stay under 50.

Cut the dead spike off all the way to the bottom of the spike. Don't cut any of the plant. Your plant should drain freely when you water and not sit in any water. So, check the small pot to see if there are drainage holes.

Your orchid is probably a 'Dendrobium Phal' type. If you type Dendrobium orchid in Google, you will find a lot of specific information including some YouTube videos.

Jane

Here is a link that might be useful: Dendrobium

I have not repotted it since I got it from the store.
I believe it is in a fir-bark medium. It is in the same pot from the store which is kind of like a plastic pot with a lot of drainage holes.

The plant is in a window facing North/North East.

Thank you for that link it was very helpful. I am little confused on this part though. I am just not sure where to cut the stem:

"When your plant has finished blooming, you can cut the flowering stem at the point where it came out of the tall thin pseudobulbs. Do not cut off the tall thin stem because the new flower stem will grow from there"

This post was edited by Kelby232 on Wed, Aug 14, 13 at 15:51

Cut off the dried, brown spike. It will not flower again. The cane (green stick) is where you might get flowers in the future. That is why I said not to cut any part of the living plant, just cut the old flower spike.

Jane

So here is an update of my Orchid. The bottom set of leaves have turned a very light green now. I am not sure if that is a good thing or a bad thing. I have also cut off the old flower spike ( I hope).

I have cut off the stem as suggested and moved it to a southern facing window.

Any suggestions on what I should keep doing or what I should change?

{{gwi:189882}}

This post was edited by Kelby232 on Wed, Oct 23, 13 at 12:20

So here is another update on my orchid a few months later.

I have a new part of the orchid growing and it seems to be doing pretty good. What I started doing was watering it every 4-5 days. I am a little concerned about the way they are falling over. Any feedback on what I should do going forward or how I can keep them from falling over.

{{gwi:189883}}

These plants like to go dry. Don't water on schedule, only when dry. The plant needs repotting but you could wait until spring. Repot into bark pieces. Dends are always top heavy. I stick the little pots inside a clay or ceramic pot (with drain holes) to keep them from falling over.

Please do not water as frequently. You are coming into winter, growth slows down and days are short. Only water when almost dry.

Jane

I'm just outside of Detroit, I have a hard cane and water not more than every other week if it's inside the house, I put it outside for the summer and it gets watered no more than once per week, or if natures pretty good about the rainfall I leave it be, this summer and last summer were those kind of years. Make sure to step down the watering to maybe once this weekend, and the again at the end of the month and no water for the winter, until it starts to grow again in the spring. Watering in the winter is a sure way to kill a hard cane. Did that a couple times, won't do it again.