New growth of leaves beside main Phalaenopsis

[annie1931]

Somewhere way way back this was mentioned, but I can't find it. I have two leaves growing nicely about 2" from the main plant - from a root I suppose. Now they are kind of fun to see, however I don't want them to turn into something that might drain the energy from my main plant. My main plant is growing a new spike, strong and thick...

1. should I snip the new baby down to discourage growth?

2. Should I leave it alone?

3. Will leaving it alone siphon off energy from the main plant?

4. Will snipping leaves to base really make a difference (because I think more will just grow up anyway)?

[RosieC]

It is was right up against the plant I would guess it was a basil keiki, but 2" away does not sound like that.

It is not usual for a Phal to grow a keiki from the roots so I'm not sure what this might be.

Can you post a pic?

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

I'd leave it alone. You never know what's going to happen to the older Phal. When you repot next, see if you can wiggle the smaller Phal loose. Chances are, if it's big enough for you to be concerned, it probably is large enough to manually remove without a whole lot of effort. You can then grow the smaller one safely on its own.

The name of the game is more, not your one and only. More of the same kind of orchid is good. If one dies, you have others. This is how mother nature intended it to be. It's a numbers game (sex and reproduction is always a numbers game no matter what species on earth we're talking about - that includes us as humans).

[Brooke]

It's not unusual for a phal to grow a keiki from a node on a root, particularly if there is any doritis in the background.

Enjoy the multiple plants in one pot, when they bloom it is outstanding.

Brooke

[RosieC]

Cool, I didn't realise that!