Orchid seems to be growing a baby out of its body

[julialikesorchids]

My orchid had seemed to be dying for a while so I had accepted it but now she’s back growing her own new leaf and what I initially thought was a flower stem but just today I realized it look more like leaves than like a stem tip. I know that typically keikis grow from the flower stems but I haven’t seen anything about them growing directly from the body. I don’t want it to overtake and eventually kill the mother orchid.

Has anyone had this happen before or know what to do in this situation? (or if there is anything to do?)

She has had a tough life I found her covered in scales and incredibly dry in the trash 5 years ago and she took 2 years to recover.

I don’t know what type of orchid it is, but it’s the common one you find in the grocery store.

Julia

[camille1585]

Welcome to Orchidboard!

Your orchid is a Phalaenopsis, and that growth is what is called a basal keiki. You are correct that keikis generally are more likely to grow on a flower stem after blooming, but plants will occasionnally make a keiki at the base of the plant. This will more often happen to stressed, unhealthy plants, particularily if the crown has rotted out. It can also be genetic, with certain genetic backgrounds being more prone to it than others.

If you can keep the mother plant alive, that little plantlet will grow into a second plant and eventually produce it's own roots. It's best to leave it attached to the mother plant because the risk of severely damaging one or both of them is rather high.

[aliceinwl]

I agree it’s a basal keiki. On my Phalaenopsis that have had a tough go of it, this tends to be sign that they have “turned the corner”. They can’t grow from the crown, but they’re ready and determined to grow from somewhere :-)