These are all new pictures of the only phal I have in spike and the flowers are on their way out as I type! I use a lanolin based product I purchased from a Canadian vendor. The instructions say to apply about a week or more AFTER the last flower has opened. The reason being, if applied too soon, you might get another spike and not a keiki. In my two year experience using this product, a week isn't enough time. You have wait until the plant has started its vegetative stage of growth; depending on the plant, late April or May. I have also read this product "might" kick-start a dormant Cattleya node into growing a pseudo bulb. I have not read it will work on any other orchid, but my knowledge base is limited. So with all of this in mind, go get your plant and your surgical tools!
First off, don't try to create five or six keikis on a spike or for that matter on a single plant with multiple spikes. It will be too stressful for the plant; two or three max!
You will need the following equipment: A sharp blade like an Exacto knife, scaple or single edged razor blade (sterility is not an issue here), a tooth pick, and tweezers.
Get comfy and make an incision off center on a node. IT IS VERY IMPORTANT THAT THIS CUT BE MADE OFF CENTER!
Using tweezers lift and remove the covering of the node being careful not to damage the underlying primordial node which lies just under the cover.
Using a tooth pick, apply a liberal amount of the hormone to the exposed node and GENTLY spread over the entire surface.
About every 10 days or so reapply more hormone to the node, again working it GENTLY onto the surface.
Now the wait begins! In about 2 weeks or so you will begin to see a swelling at the node. At this stage you won't know if it is going to be a spike or the desired keiki.
If you are successful, you will see small, VERY SMALL leaves form at the node. This is an old node I tried about 2 or 3 months ago and it just hasn't made up its mind what it wants to do!
As things progress, this is what you should have about 2 to 4 months down the road; this is just a guesstimate.
And before you know it, you will have your little guy/gal potted up on its own! This is a keiki that came from the above plant at the beginning of summer.
Any questions???? Well study hard. The test will be next week and will count for 50% of your grade!
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