Is this even POSSIBLE ? fabulous keiki ! - Orchid Board

BeexDD · #1 12-20-2012, 02:53 AM

So I was just so marvelled by what I've noticed these days,that wanted to share with you my new experience.
Had that Phal given by a friend who was not having the suitable conditions required by Phals provided by his house,so wanted me to take care of it during winter.
Now,i know that my place provides a nice environment for Phals,due to the fact that there are some temperatures fluctuations between night and day,but never expected something like this to happen:You see that the "mother orchid" had given birth to a new kid,and now they look like one beautiful plant,but on the spike,you can see that the keiki beautifully developing there is starting to develop a...SPIKEEE???? I mean,it has no roots,and already producing flowerss??? BRAVEE KIDDD !!!

Am I wrong ? It looked like a spike to me,maybe I am too rushing to draw conclusion....what do you think,guys ?

escualida · #2 12-20-2012, 03:32 AM

Hi, yes it looks like a spike. That's totally normal it happens all the time from what I can tell. I think I read somewhere that since the mother and keiki share the same hormones the keikis develop spikes as well. Congrats!

tucker85 · #3 12-20-2012, 07:49 AM

Congratulations, it does look like that keiki is going to bloom. I've had two phals do that same thing. When the keiki is left in place it usually blooms at the same time as the mother plant.

BeexDD · #4 12-20-2012, 08:02 AM

oh,yesss,the mother plant it's currently developing a spike too,I forgot to mention ! Will the flowers be smaller or will they have the same size as the ones bloomed by the mature orchid ?

tucker85 · #5 12-20-2012, 08:55 AM

In my experince with phals with blooming keikis, the flowers were a little smaller than the adult plant but not much. The Keiki is still getting nutrition and water from the mother plants root system.