What is this? should I cut it off?

[Leobaby]

A little background... I got 2 orchids with root rot. I tried to save them. Now, for my last try, I rinsed the roots, cut off all mushy leftovers, and put them in pots with leca on the bottom, sphagnum on top, to try and stabilizes the stump, and more wet leca balls in a tray under the pots.
I don't know if they'll make it, the roots are all gone and the leaves are quite limp and wrinkly.
One of them still has 2 spikes. The flowers are gone, but the nods, especially one , is swelling. Please see picture attached.
Could that be a keiki?
Should I cut off both spikes, even though they're green, to maybe help the orchid focus on making some roots, instead of growing whatever that is from the nods?
Do I fertilize or not?
I already lost one orchid, which lost both the roots and the leaves, and I threw away the tiny stump left. (now I am sorry, maybe I could have saved it?) I don't want to lose more.
It seems to me that maybe this orchid is suicidal, to want to grow something on the spike, when she has no roots at all. What if it's a new flower spike? Clearly it's not possible to support that, when the orchid has no roots.
Should I cut off these spikes or leave them alone? if yes, where exactly?
thank you!

[Roberta]

Leave the old spikes, you could still get a branch that blooms again.

Also, hold those clippers! With roots, don't be quick to cut. Frequently, what you see "rotten" is the velamin, the spongy coating that holds water around the roots. You can strip off the icky part with your fingers, you'll find a "string" in the middle - that is actually the part of the root that moves water to the plant. If the velamin is gone, it is less efficient, but can still hydrdate the plant while it is growing new ones. If there are no roots, the plant has no way to take up water, and it will die for sure. A bad root is better than no root! Along with passively hydrating the plant, that root "core" will be useful to hold the plant in place in its new medium so it doesn't wobble - very important, wobbling can damate the fragile tips of new roots.

Those old spikes (if still green) can also serve as "reserves" for the plant while it is recovering - orchids can "recycle" the tissue of the old spikes.

[Leobaby]

Hi Roberta,
thank you so much for a quick reply. I am quite desperate, I don't want to kill another orchid.
I just have the feeling that she's trying to grow something from that node, when in fact she should focus on making new roots.
I want to kick myself for cutting off the mushy roots, including the strings.. but, it's too late now.
If you think I shouldn't touch the spikes, even if they're trying to grow new structures, then I'll leave them alone.
I'll update in a couple of days, I have the feeling that my orchid is trying to make a keiki, but who knows. I've never seen one in person.

[Roberta]

Leave it alone. And be patient - orchids do everything slowly (they even usually die slowly) Nothing happens in days... weeks or months is more like it. If it does grow a keiki (a baby plant) you will have to leave it attached to the spike until it grows roots, preferably 3-5 cm or more before you even THINK of separating it.

The limp leaves are due to lack of hydration because it has no roots. It may indeed grow new roots, or a new basal growth, or a keiki on the spike (they really do want to live) but it may not. You'll just have to wait. No point in tryng to fertilize it, it has no way to take up water much less fertilizer. You can reduce water loss by making a "mini-greenhouse" with a plastic bag - just remove it for a bit once or twice a day to provide a bit of fresth air. Or even put the plant into a plastic bag with a small amount of damp sphagnum moss (sphag and bag) to slow down the dehydration, again trying to buy it some time to recover. These approaches may or may not work, consider them a learning opportunity.

[Kittyfrex]

I have a phal that lost all of its roots, been trying to recover it for ages. Even pure sphagnum didn't entirely cut it. When it was about to dry completley, i gave up and just left some water in the decorative pot; no need to care about it if the orchid is dead. Except not. It developed a rootlet.

When your phals are doing bad water-wise, i've noticed that just keeping them wetter than usually does help, so long as you don't let the stem itself sit in water. All my pots have about a finger or two of bark on top (prevents most of the algae) that provides a drier enviroment to avid rotting, while the wetness it craves is just beneath.
If all else fails, it's a method to try, but only in a last resort sorta way. That alows you to leave some water that keeps getting soaked, especially if it's summer for you, without ever leaving the poor thing dry.

---------- Post added at 04:31 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:28 PM ----------

Originally Posted by Leobaby

Hi Roberta,
thank you so much for a quick reply. I am quite desperate, I don't want to kill another orchid.
I just have the feeling that she's trying to grow something from that node, when in fact she should focus on making new roots.
I want to kick myself for cutting off the mushy roots, including the strings.. but, it's too late now.
If you think I shouldn't touch the spikes, even if they're trying to grow new structures, then I'll leave them alone.
I'll update in a couple of days, I have the feeling that my orchid is trying to make a keiki, but who knows. I've never seen one in person.

Keiki's are more common than you think, especially in orchids that are midway to demise. It's their ace up a sleeve when all else fails (IF there's enough energy to start a keiki. A rootless orchid will need better hydration to fully develop one).