A month ago a friend gave me a Phal at the end of the blooming cycle. I repotted it and snipped off the flower spikes (2) at about 8 inches of length thinking it would promote growth of new flower stems. It is now one month later and there are already new growths on the spikes. I originally thought they were new flower stems but now I see that they are new plants. I have no idea what to do with these new growths. See attached photo. I need advice as to what to do now?
It is three months+ and there is a new development. One of the keikes is sprouting a non-leaf growth that I originally thought was a long awaited root. But now it has a look more like a flower spike. Is that possible? see new image.
Last edited by labyrinth1959; 11-11-2023 at 11:43 PM..
Reason: New development
Is there anything that can be done to accelerate the root growth?
Nope. Orchids teach patience. They don't do anything fast. Give good care, and observe. If you take the keikis too soon, your odds of growing them into new plants decrease drastically. The better developed they are while sharing resources with the mother plant, the better they will perform on their own.
Of course if you're bothered by hovering small phals, you can simply snip off the spikes and discard them entire. Maybe you don't want two free plants?
I can’t answer your question but I have a phal. philippinensis growing two keikis on the two lower branches of a flower spike (one per branch) that hasn’t yet produced any flowers. The tallest growth point hasn’t yet decided what to do, but it’s still growing so maybe it’ll do something eventually.