removing Phal keiki - Orchid Board

VickiC · #1 12-29-2011, 06:30 PM

Hello everyone,
I need your advice as to how I should remove Mother Phal's keiki, please:

1. Should I wait until after blooming to remove the keiki or would now or anytime be fine? I've never had a spiking keiki, so I'm clueless.

2. When I remove it, should I cut just below the roots or farther down the spike? If you advise farther down the spike...how far? (By the way, I always cut spikes on my other phals down to near the plant base [usually just above the 1st node..maybe an inch or so] after blooming, so I plan to cut the remainer of this one the same way, unless you advise otherwise. Your thoughts?)

3. I have been contemplating potting the keiki in S/H. Do you foresee any problem(s) with doing this or would potting it in a traditional mix be best...or does it matter?

I will gladly welcome and appreciate any other advice, tips or comments from you.

Vicki

Daethen · #2 12-29-2011, 08:29 PM

Wow, very healthy mom and baby. A few things you could try. I personally would wait till it was done blooming. It looks great and may shock the keiki into dropping it's blooms if done now. You could cut it an inch on each side of the keiki and pot it up. You could mount mommy and baby together on one mount and let them keep doing their thing. You could situate a pot so that the roots of the keiki are on the medium in the new pot and leave them like that until the keiki is basically established in it's new pot then cut it free of momma and it should cause it no trouble.

Val · #3 12-29-2011, 08:37 PM

If the mother plant is healthy and has a strong root system, my advice is to keep the keiki on, at least for a while. (This could also be the first step towards a specimen plant.)

Let me explain: the most important factor in removing and potting a keiki is its root system. Yours looks great, but you have to consider the fact that roots grow "tailored" to the medium they grow into. Therefore, the existing roots of your keiki are aerial roots (adapted to extracting water from atmosphere humidity). The higher the humidity will be in their new medium, the harder will be for them to adapt (and survive). The best time for repotting is the moment your keiki starts growing new roots (usually in sprintime). The new roots will grow into the new medium, perfectly tailored to it.

Anyway, repotting now could be stressful for the keiki, since it will need a lot of resources for blooming, while only relying on its own roots, which are mostly aerial.

A year ago my Patricia Lillian (75% Phal. equestris) gave me 14 keikis, so I have extensive experience. I kept 5 of them on the mother plant and they are doing great (growing new leaves as we speak). Of the 9 others, I gave away 3 and potted 6 in slightly different conditions. I have noticed that they grow faster when kept on the mother plant, but if I will ever decide to remove and plant them it will be quite difficult, since they grew long roots that wouldn't fit easily into any regular pot. But I do intend to keep all 5 of them on the mother plant. Last year they all bloomed at once (7 spikes on 5 keikis) putting on quite a show. Think about a specimen plant!

Daethen · #4 12-29-2011, 09:45 PM

I think I remember you posting about that, Val. That was a beauty!!

Ray · #5 12-30-2011, 10:05 AM

I vote with Jonada on this one. Arch the spike gently and pot the keiki while still attached, so it can take root while still partially supported by "mom".

VickiC · #6 01-01-2012, 08:03 PM

I'm so sorry that I haven't already replied to you, but I've been having computer connection issues. Hopefully things are ok now, but time will tell. I wanted to thank you for your responses and advice.

Thanks Jonada....I haven't thought about mounting mom and baby together on the same mount. That's a good idea. Also, I had forgotten that I've read in the past about people bending the spike/keiki over in the way you mentioned so that's another option that I overlooked. Whatever I decide to do, I appreciate your reply.
....................................

Val, I looked back at past threads trying to find the picture of your orchid that Jonada mentioned, and I finally found it. What a beauty it is! Leaving a keiki on an orchid is new to me, but I can certainly see that doing so makes for a very nice show of blooms. Thanks for giving me another option.

.............................................

Ray, I checked out yours and Jonada's suggestion for bending the spike over as you mentioned. Should I not be concerned that the spike would snap? Also, the plastic pot that my phal is in seemed to tilt as I bent the spike. Maybe a solution to that would be to place the plastic pot in a clay pot ??

Thanks again to everyone for your help.
Vicki

Lagoon · #7 01-01-2012, 09:48 PM

Hi ya Vicki

Don't stress, just send it to me and I'll deal with it!

Merlyn · #8 01-01-2012, 10:38 PM

I have 2 equestris that continually put out keikis. I pot each one up while still attached to mama plant and keep them that way until either mama dries up the spike or I can see that the keiki has attached to the pot. Haven't lost one yet this way ! For ease of movement I just poke 2 tiny holes in the small pots and the mama pots and twist wire them to it. Been doing this for about 6 years.