Advice on Dend. with keikis

[Erinmir]

Ok, so here is my dilemma...

I've had this Dend. Norma Jackson 'Firecracker' for a little over a year. Hubby got it for me as a gift when my first 'chid died. I was determined to keep this one going. After its initial spike wilted, I looked after it as best I could and it did flower a second time later last summer. It hasn't since.

What has happened, is that it has lost all but 1 of its leaves and grown two keiki's where a previous spike had been. It also started growing a new cane, which unfortunately got destroyed when it got knocked out of a windowsill by a big gust of wind. It has recently grown one new cane and the two keikis are pretty big now... roots about 1" to 1.5" and a lot of them.

Here's the dilemma... do I hang on to the entire plant hoping for some miraculous recovery? Is this Dend. the deciduous kind? Or... do I remove and pot the keikis (if so, separately since they're growing at opposite angles? or together?) and separate off the new cane and the few older canes around it and repot, throwing away the rest?

Pictures attached... help would be greatly appreciated, I just don't know what to do with this poor little thing.

BTW... on last repotting, most of the roots seemed dead to me, dry as a bone despite regular watering, and felt like styrofoam.

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

See if you can shake the kheikis loose. They appear large enough to automatically come off the mother plant.

Keep growing this one. It's got a lot of life left.

If you're having problems with the roots potted, try mounting them instead. See if you have better control over how the roots do.

As for not flowering this season, maybe there was a stressor that delayed the bloom cycle. Don't worry about this, on the next bloom cycle it'll rebloom provided nothing else stresses it out.

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

Oh yeah...how regular is "regular" when it comes to your watering regimen?

[dsim]

Originally Posted by King_of_orchid_growing:)

See if you can shake the kheikis loose. They appear large enough to automatically come off the mother plant.

Keep growing this one. It's got a lot of life left.

If you're having problems with the roots potted, try mounting them instead. See if you have better control over how the roots do.

As for not flowering this season, maybe there was a stressor that delayed the bloom cycle. Don't worry about this, on the next bloom cycle it'll rebloom provided nothing else stresses it out.

u mean the keiki can be "plucked" off the cane when it is "ripe"?

[Erinmir]

Originally Posted by King_of_orchid_growing:)

Oh yeah...how regular is "regular" when it comes to your watering regimen?

I really douse them all once a week, but the zygo and usually the dend get an extra watering mid week. I fertilize every other week and mist usually every morning during dry months (winter) here.

[learning2letgo]

Yes, the keikis once large enough, will actually be able to be pulled loose from the original plant... If they don't detach with a gentle pull, let it grow a little longer and try again... If no success, snip it away gently without damaging the mother plant