Let it keep going or...?

[jkofferdahl]

Some spikes are more inclined than others. Shorter spikes seem, in my experience, more likely to rebloom. If Phal cornu-cervi is in the parentage you can all but count on reblooming. I've seen them blook for 5 years from one spike. And equestris is no slouch, either.

[the_noob]

I'm actually reeeeeeeeally tempted to cut one of the spikes after blooming and try stem section propagation. A few nodes look really "ripe".

[jkofferdahl]

Originally Posted by the_noob

I'm actually reeeeeeeeally tempted to cut one of the spikes after blooming and try stem section propagation. A few nodes look really "ripe".

Rather than cutting the stem get some keiki paste (all over on Amazon or eBay), and use it while leaving the spike on the plant. You should find that doing so will lead to a much higher likelihood of success.

[the_noob]

Originally Posted by jkofferdahl

Rather than cutting the stem get some keiki paste (all over on Amazon or eBay), and use it while leaving the spike on the plant. You should find that doing so will lead to a much higher likelihood of success.

How does keiki affect the mother plant? Is it going to be a lot of work for her? Looks like I have 5 "ripe" nodes and another 5 "flat" ones at the bottom part of the spike. What is the maximum number of keikis a plant can have? I mean, if I apply keiki paste to all 5 fat nodes, anticipating that not all would grow into keikis, and if I end up with exactly 5... Will I then need to sacrifice some of them?

And what happens to blooms then? Do I need to cut back?

Sorry for so many questions!

---------- Post added at 06:38 PM ---------- Previous post was at 06:34 PM ----------

Originally Posted by Salixx

For new plants that I receive or bring home, I just assume they will lose all their buds (it saves the heartache a bit when and if it does happen).

I picked the one with the least number of open flowers and with the most buds, hoping that I could enjoy them for longer... sigh!

So now question regarding reblooming - Would I be able to stake it again so that it looks nice and tall like what I have now? Or would the spike become shorter and shorter?