a member called Spritzhenry has written a very informative blog about orchid growing, if you put 'awkward orchids' or spritzhenry into the search box you should be able to find it-- mines still alive and has grown 2 new leaves but no flowers yet

patience is needed for these flowers! I had one given me in July 2008 (Phalaenopsis) when it had finished flowering I cut off the stem and kept it alive with little water .a year later.. on Nov 7th 2009 a stem appeared,.. the first flower showed on March 8th 2010 and lasted until July. I am keeping it alive again hoping for another flower.

Hi, Rob76, i agree, with Vileve, we have done the same, it does need patience, it may seem dead, but, give it time, and, it should grow again. We now have 3 lovely blooms on ours??? We have a picture of it on our photo section, good luck. ##**

Thanks all - appreciated!