A saved phal, but what will the future bring

[Shani962]

Hi.

In march of 2021 i saved a phal from my mother in law. I think it had crown rot. The leves got yellow and fell off and the stem was sick too, so i cut it a bit till green and put cinamon on the wound.

Some time later a keiki started growing. The keiki today has 4 leaves and 4 long roots but im still waiting to grow some more before i cut it off. Or i shouldnt? The mother phal has a lot of good roots-didnt have big enough see throu pot. I think becaue of that the keiki grew very fast this summer.

But i keep thinking what if i cut the keiki when its ready-enough roots- will a new keiki grow from the mothe plant stem?

Best regards Shani

[Shadeflower]

hi shani, big congrats on that rescue.
That is quite some dedication but also great care you have given it.

The substrate is on the verge of going bad and that will just take any roots with it so chuck that old substrate. Now is the time to do it.

Give the phal a good rinse and try to remove all the old substrate stuck in places.

So what you will end up with is the old motherplant an the keiki with 4 roots. You get some fresh substrate and pot the keiki so the keiki is the main plant in the pot, those 4 roots you pot into the substrate with the motherplant now hanging out of the pot to the side.

This will preserve what is left of the mother plant roots and the keiki roots will start to grow into the pot.

You've done the hardest part. Just pick a good substrate you like, medium grade bark is always a good choice.
Good luck with it.

[Shani962]

Why do you think the substrate is on the verge of going bad? Its not even 1 year old it should be still good, at least i hope. When repoting the phal in march 2021 I used a brand new bag :O In my region its hard to find good quality medium.

So what do you think, would a new keiki develop from the mother plant stem if the keiki would be detached?

---------- Post added at 02:17 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:12 PM ----------

When you say: "... so the keiki is the main plant in the pot, those 4 roots you pot into the substrate with the motherplant now hanging out of the pot to the side."

Would not be better if i just potted the 4 roots in a little pot to be suspended in the air? Keiki orchid ready for separation from mother plant Phalaenopsis keikis are generally considered ready f… | Orchid plant care, Orchid planters, Flower garden plants

[Shadeflower]

I am by no means someone who knows what to do with phals, it's a bit down to the grower.
If the substrate is only a year old then it probably will still be ok.

I mean in that case just leave it. Or pry it out, re-orientate it in the pot and stick the substrate back in place. With phals I do not worry about repotting them, they can handle it well. But at the same time it will do fine as it is. The roots on the keiki have stopped growing but it won't need them yet as long as it still has some functioning roots in the pot.

[WaterWitchin]

That keiki is big enough to detach from the mother plant and just pot it up, or pot up deeper without detaching it so the older base is at level with the medium and keiki roots down into medium. Either way will work. No real reason to do as you show in your link. That's a method for when roots are much shorter.

Whether another keiki will form from the old plant if you detach the keiki, who knows? You can try. I wouldn't expect too much more energy from the original plant though. Putting out a keiki when rest of it is gone is probably about as much as it will do at this point.

Good save of the original plant.

[Shani962]

Thank you for your ideas and opinion. I think i pot the keiki but need to prepare the roots. Now they are aerial- not used to a lot of moisture so that i dont have then die off.


Hi. WaterWitchin
Thank you for replying.
The keiki actually has 3 roots-1 is growing from the mother stem-i forgot to say (look at picture 3 the lower one is not attached to the keiki). But if i cut the keiki now wont it be in a shock? Now it has all of these roots and then it will have only 3? Wont it withered from a lack of roots to sustain it?

Originally Posted by WaterWitchin

"I wouldn't expect too much more energy from the original plant though. Putting out a keiki when rest of it is gone is probably about as much as it will do at this point. "

The mother plant sure doesn't have leaves, but with all these roots - some a green that means it produces fotosintesis and food for itself- you still think she is still gone? I think the stem is still green inside. I never considered her gone just yet.

But if you think mother phal has no more to offer than it's better to let keiki have all of those roots - seams a shame to throw that away.

[WaterWitchin]

Most of it hinges on what YOU feel comfortable doing. If it were mine, I'd be potting it up deeper, keeping all the roots, and probably cutting back stem base that you can't see below surface as there's probably a dead stub there. OR I'd cut it off at a point leaving those top four or five newer roots, and dispose of the bottom.

You know your environment and your cultural skills and what you would prefer. As I said, my guess is that original stem base is probably about done as far as providing more keiki's, but who knows? Yes, so far it has viable roots. That's why I'd just pot it up deeper, but not attempt to see if it would produce another keiki. Its value would be served by supplying more root while the keiki grows bigger.

I wouldn't care or see it as a waste, either way, but you might. I'm also not one to save every viable cutting taken off a plant when I prune it, or salvage back bulbs, unless someone wants a start. Some do, and I don't.

[Jeff214]

I'm not a phal grower so I dont have much to add here but wanted to say - Nice save!