Basal keiki safe to remove ?

[iloveorchids88]

I was wondering if this basal keiki is safe to remove ? It's been attached to the mother about 5 yrs now and has a well established root system. It hasn't spiked yet. Thanks.

[iloveorchids88]

I'm referring to the plant on the right side

[Roberta]

Phal. basal growths (not really keikis) should be left alone, not detached. They are likely to be intimately connected to the original growth (which here looks like it is doing well also). Some Phals are more inclined to make a clump like this... which leads to a better show when it blooms. Phal keikis that grow on an old flower spike can be removed once their roots are well established... they tend to form after the spike has finished producing flowers, just another way to propagate itself. But what you have just needs to be nurtured. Repotting might be in order, to get those roots back into the medium.

[Ray]

I would normally agree with Roberta’s assessment on that, but seeing how well the second plant has developed roots, I’d bet you can safely separate them.

To prevent any infections from entering the wounds, I’d unpot, then cut them apart, then wait a day or two for the wounds to dry out and “scar over” before potting them up again. An alternative would be to use a q-tip to dust the wounds with cinnamon, being careful to avoid getting it on the roots.

[iloveorchids88]

Originally Posted by Roberta

Phal. basal growths (not really keikis) should be left alone, not detached. They are likely to be intimately connected to the original growth (which here looks like it is doing well also). Some Phals are more inclined to make a clump like this... which leads to a better show when it blooms. Phal keikis that grow on an old flower spike can be removed once their roots are well established... they tend to form after the spike has finished producing flowers, just another way to propagate itself. But what you have just needs to be nurtured. Repotting might be in order, to get those roots back into the medium.

On the subject of repotting, I did so last summer but I'm not sure if its necessary this year. The longest stretch of time I repotted this orchid was about 3 years but I thought that I was pushing my luck so I'm going to to err on the side of caution and repot yearly. To my untrained eye the potting mix appears fine. Is there such a thing as repotting orchids too frequently ? thanks

[Roberta]

Originally Posted by iloveorchids88

To my untrained eye the potting mix appears fine. Is there such a thing as repotting orchids too frequently ? thanks

Like everything else related to orchids, there's the "general advice" and then the "it depends". First, your medium looks fine to me too. In this case, repotting would be for the purpose of getting the roots of that new growth into the medium, which probably calls for a slightly larger pot. With nice large bark like that (which will drain well) a potting job can easily go two years or so.

Phals, in general, respond well to repotting... but any repotting runs the risk of damaging growing root tips, so it still needs to be done when there's a good reason to, it is still possible to disturb the plant too often. The other thing is that roots adapt to the medium, so change of medium type can be damaging. (Roots that are adapted to moss may die in bark but then the plant is likely to make new roots that adapt to the new medium) So fresh medium is good, but it is possible to over-do it.

[iloveorchids88]

Originally Posted by Roberta

Like everything else related to orchids, there's the "general advice" and then the "it depends". First, your medium looks fine to me too. In this case, repotting would be for the purpose of getting the roots of that new growth into the medium, which probably calls for a slightly larger pot. With nice large bark like that (which will drain well) a potting job can easily go two years or so.

Phals, in general, respond well to repotting... but any repotting runs the risk of damaging growing root tips, so it still needs to be done when there's a good reason to, it is still possible to disturb the plant too often. The other thing is that roots adapt to the medium, so change of medium type can be damaging. (Roots that are adapted to moss may die in bark but then the plant is likely to make new roots that adapt to the new medium) So fresh medium is good, but it is possible to over-do it.

I've had several experiences where I rescued some phals that were potted with moss, only to repot them in bark. The leaves started to become limp and eventually die.

I've found that every phal i've seen for sale is potted in moss. So if i were to repot and want to transistion to bark I'm going to do it gradually, perhaps start off with a
mix of mostly moss and some bark and with each subsequent repotting use more and more bark and less and less moss.

[iloveorchids88]

i forgot to mention i my rationale for removing that basal growth. I feel that the mother plant might be expending too much energy supporting that growth and that small keiki on the spike. In addition the plant has blossomed

So my reasoning was that the mother plant might be less burdened if the basal growth were to live on its own.

I also included a pic of the mother plants flower spike to give you a more complete picture of how this orchid is doing.

As a side note, this was my first orchid i've and the fascination continues to this day

[Roberta]

The new growth is contributing to the health and strength of the plant, not detracting from it - nice roots, and leaves that are photosynthesizing. So it's doing what comes naturally. Separating the new growth is what may be traumatic... you'll probably have one piece or the other survive but likely lose one of them.

[aliceinwl]

I have a few Phalaenopsis that I purchased with or that subsequently developed side growths. Something ended up being wrong with the parent plant in 5 out of 6. I’d be reluctant to separate unless there’s no workable way to pot the side growth and parent as is. If the parent plant doesn’t seem to be thriving, whatever is going on may have triggered the side growth.