Whats the active component in "KeikiGrow"? - Orchid Board

Lene Th. · #1 04-16-2009, 05:41 PM

Living in Norway, the orchid-society has real difficulties getting some product that are common in several other countries.
Some of theese products are "KeikiGrow" and all other sorts of growing-hormones like "DynaGrow" root-hormones and so on.

I have gotten some brilliant advices here before, on other products that containes the active component in root-hormones(like dispiril and B1-vit)

Now i need some help again...

My friend got this beautiful Phal. but is has grown a terminal spike (from the crown).
She really want to keep this one, and would like the phal to produce a keiki.
But, we cant get keikipro, or any other hormone-products to help the phal grow keikis...
Sure, there is a chance the chid will do this anyway, but we would like to be on the safer side.

Is there any other way to make a chid grow keikis, other than using hormones?
Or, what is the active component in this products, and can they be found elsewhere in other products that we mat be able to get our hands on...?

Becky15349 · #2 04-16-2009, 06:30 PM

The active component is a cytokinin, benzyladenine. Its a plant hormone.

Sometimes plants produce keikis on their own if they "know" they are dying...

Gold3nku5h · #3 04-17-2009, 12:13 AM

So is there a difference between a keiki and just a new growth?

Lene Th. · #4 04-17-2009, 03:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gold3nku5h

So is there a difference between a keiki and just a new growth?

There is.
A keiki is a duplicate of the chid, a new plant, and what this chid will have to produce to survive...
Since the spike is a terminal spike, growing from the crown of the Phal, there is now where for a new leaf to emerge.
Making a keiki, either a basal or one on the spike is the only way for this phal to be able to "survive" after a while.

I have tried to google for another product where i could find this hormone, but have not had any sucsess yet...

Gold3nku5h · #5 04-17-2009, 09:06 PM

So then if its with a sympodial? orchid (growing on a rhizome) all new growths are keiki's?

mirej · #6 04-21-2009, 08:42 AM

Originally, I asked Lene Th. if she had a tip for growing keikis. As she says, it is impossible to get our hands on products like KeikiGrow in this country and we must therefore think outside the box.

I found a product, I won't mention the name, but is the description ok?
Is this useable or is it throwing money out the window?

The webshop says this about it:
*** contains powerful natural growth enhancers, exotic micronutrients and bio-stimulants. The high concentration of these biological agents will potentiate the growth process of the plant, with specific advantage to its current stage of growth. *** is very highly concentrated and comes from natural sources. It is non-toxic and poses no environmental hazards. *** has many uses for the serious grower and used correctly it can help produce healthier more vigorous plants and higher yields. After many years of research and field testing, the natural cytokinins in *** can be put to productive use on your plants. Natural cytokinins such as those found in *** will help control and regulate: germination - root development - nutrition uptake - plant tissue composition - tillering - flowering -seed and fruit set. *** has been proven to effectively relieve stress, provide a more vigorous and healthy plant, which increases yields and profits.

camille1585 · #7 04-21-2009, 09:52 AM

If I remember right, I read on the forum several times that coconut milk is a good homemade keiki grower. Coconut milk contains several plant growth regulators and one of them is cytokinins (or something similar). As to how it's applied to the nodes, I don't know. I think you could incorporate it into some lanolin to make a paste you apply.

Becky15349 · #8 04-21-2009, 11:29 AM

New growths are not keikis, when speaking of monopodial plants. Keikis are growths that are eventually intended to leave the mother plant because something has effected the mother plant to make it think that it will not survive. Keikis are a way of reproduction in a life-or-death situation; its an evolved survival method. New growths are also developed from axilary buds, but are NOT really intended to grow roots and live separately from the plant; they are just a means of a plant continuing to grow and spread.

If you are talking about a monopodial plant like a phal, this is much easier to visualize because phals do not produce "new growths", they just grow more leaves from the crown. Sympodial plants like cattleyas do not produce keikis, they produce new growths (aka pbulbs) that CAN grow its own roots and survive apart from the rhizome. That is how people take divisons of large cattleya plants. However, the comparison between monopodial and sympodial is not really a fair comparison to draw however because they have such a difference in growing habit.

Hope that helps!
~Becky

mirej · #9 04-21-2009, 05:32 PM

Coconut milk? Seriously? Wow, I've got a coconut lying around at home actually, thanks, I'm likely to try that!

The plant that brought up the question is a phalaenopsis with a terminal spike. Hopefully it will grow a keiki on it's own but I want to help it.

camille1585 · #10 04-21-2009, 05:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mirej

Coconut milk? Seriously? Wow, I've got a coconut lying around at home actually, thanks, I'm likely to try that!

The plant that brought up the question is a phalaenopsis with a terminal spike. Hopefully it will grow a keiki on it's own but I want to help it.

I double checked in scientific articles, and coconut milk does indeed have very potent cytokinins It's not the liquid in the coconut that you should use. That's coconut water. Coconut milk is made by squeezing the grated flesh to get the liquid out of it. I usually get my coconut milk in a can, it's so much easier!