Keiki stem drying, mother is completely dead. Help!! - Orchid Board

slogie · #1 05-31-2024, 10:46 AM

I am a complete newbie to orchids, but we got one for my mom last year as a gift and didn't know anything about it, how it blooms and such. We ended up over watering it and the roots fell off and now the mother has died but a keiki sprouted after that. We tried to put it in water. So it has been in water for about 3 months now with just the crown and the keiki sprouted. But now the stem is completely drying and so we wrapped some moss around the keiki to see if it would encourage the roots, but the keiki leaves seem to be shriveling up. Is there any way we can save the keiki? And do you think I would be able to get back the mother? It seems to have rot away.

slogie · #2 05-31-2024, 10:59 AM

I don't know the name of the moss that is tied around it. We got it from a friend because the sphagnum moss that we had was mixed with some coconut coir and we didn't know if that was killing the mother and so we just tried the water culture method. I am just so confused right now and don't know what to do. I don't want it to die as we got this for my mom for Mother's Day and really wanted her to have a nice plant. But now it seems we killed it.

WaterWitchin · #3 05-31-2024, 11:49 AM

After getting some spaghnum moss wet and squeezing excess water out, put in bottom of a small pot or dish. Lay the keiki on top of the moss. Cover with something that lets light in (a baggie turned upside down). Every two or three days leave bag off for a couple hours, make sure moss stays damp. If it's going to make it, it will slowly grow roots and when the roots start gaining length you can pot it up. The mother is dead, so all you can do is go forward.