question about phal and dendro

[Vulpes Velox]

hello there
i have a question about my phalaenopsis and dendrobium nobile i havent been able to find answers to, so hopefully someone here can help me.

anyway, im quite new to growing orchids and just have a few. one of them is a phalaenopsis that have had flowers for a few months. they now fell off and the stems have turned kinda orange, but otherwise just standing there like before (not that pretty). do i just leave them or what do i do about them?... the plant seems healthy enough otherwise, just started getting a new leaf, and the old leafs are a nice green colour and strong.

about my dendrobium nobile. no flowers on it but its grown something like 20 cm in 2 months.. and on the side of an old cane seems to come a new one on the middle with roots sprouting out and such (its maybe 15 cm long by now), is this the plant doing an asexual reproduction since the flowers it had werent fertilized?

[Ray]

If the old flower spike has changed from green, cut it off as close to the base as possible without damaging the plant.

If you grow the plant quite warm, then allow it to be overall cooler for a couple of weeks as autumn approaches (don't let it get colder than about 12°-13°C), the plant will likely initiate a new flower spike in about 6- to 8 weeks, and you'll get another treat in winter.

The keiki (Kay-Kee, Hawaiian for "baby") on a nobile den is not a result of the flowers not being pollinated, but suggests that the culture wasn't quite right. It obviously wasn't all THAT bad, or neither the mother plant nor the keiki would be all that healthy!

If the root system has about 10 cm of total root length (the sum of all of the roots), repot it and you have a plant to share.

[Vulpes Velox]

hey, thanks for the reply

ill go cut my phal later then. how does the plant manage to lose the the spike in the wild?

when you write that i suggest that the culture wasnt quite right, what do you mean by that? something i can improve on?.. and for repotting would i need to cut/break it off?.. the roots on the keiki are only about 5 cm now though so ill wait. but the new cane is quite big, almost looks like it will fall off by itself

[RosieC]

When cutting off the Phal spike I usually like to sprinkle a bit of cinnamon on the cut afterwards. It just helps make sure no infection gets into your plant that way. I think some people use Listerine instead for the same reason.

[Vulpes Velox]

okay, thanks for the advice ill keep that in mind.. already cut it now and dont have anything cinnamon (nor listerine) near by though.. but next time ill try it

[RosieC]

I've cut spikes and NOT put anything on them lots of times and had no problems, so if you don't have anything I wouldn't worry too much.

I've only started using cinnamon more recently to be extra careful after seeing advice here on this forum to that effect.

[Vulpes Velox]

yeah im not to worried... but better be safe if possible

[JennS]

Vulpes, as for you question on the Phal spike, in the wild (this is just my guess, not factual), I would think it would eventually be broken off by an animal or some environmental effect. If you left the spike on longer, eventually it would have completely died (turned all brown) and become quite brittle. Once it has become that brittle all it would take is an animal that rubbed up on it to scratch themself or a bird landing on it to snap it right off. I would think a bad storm or something else could break it too. Then, in nature, the temperature shift woudl initiate a new spike. I would also think that sometimes the spikes does not fall off, and that will not negatively affect the plant. It just does not look very pretty, and most people like a more uniform and neat look.

As for the Nobile (den.) the culture issue could be a variety of things. Generally when a Nobile type Den sends out a keiki it was lacking something that it wanted. This coule be something like not enough light, not enough of a cooling period or none at all, too much water during the drought period, etc. If you can describe your care for the plant, when you received it, if it was in flower at the time, has it flowered since then, etc. If you can tell us a bit more of those things, someone can probably help you pinpoint what to change in the future. It is pretty common for the Nobiles to send out Keikis though, so don't be too concerned.

When the keiki has roots of it's own you can use a sharp (steralized, I use rubbing alcohol for this) to gently detach it from the cane. Then it can be replanted on it's own or you can add it to the pot with the mother plant.

[Vulpes Velox]

it had flowers for a long time, but when they fell off, right away it started to grow very fast (compared to previously) and at the same time the keiki began to grow. it stands in full light by the window. the only difference it have been subjected to is a longer wait with fertilization (ive been on vacation, and just told my friend watering it would be enough). will a keiki normally mean it will take longer for the plant to bloom again?

[Ross]

Originally Posted by Vulpes Velox

about my dendrobium nobile. no flowers on it but its grown something like 20 cm in 2 months.. and on the side of an old cane seems to come a new one on the middle with roots sprouting out and such (its maybe 15 cm long by now), is this the plant doing an asexual reproduction since the flowers it had werent fertilized?

That's a keiki, and that is not typical for a nobile Dendrobium (in my experience.) In your area, this plant should be in full grow mode and sending out lots of leaves and lengthening the canes. By this fall (say October) it should be wanting to turn the leaves yellow and drop them off. This is normal. As to the keiki (baby) plant, do what you want, but my guess is that it will suck off energy from the blooming you want in the spring. I would cut it off if it were mine. Sorry. You will get get best bloom in spring if you keep this plant healthy till late fall (say October) then start letting it get really dry. With hold all fertilizer at this point. Then wait patiently till spring when lengthening days bring new growths. At that point you should see buds developing along this year's spikes (which will be naked by then.) Hope this helps.