Separate a Keiki from phal that only has roots?

[bcleroux]

Hi everyone,

I have a sick phalaenopsis which started growing a keiki.

The mother plant has one leaf at the bottom of the crown, and it does not look like it will produce anymore leaves. However, the mother plant appears to have a healthy root system. I do not know what caused the mother plant to lose her other leaves, but I believe that what ever it was is now gone, as the remaining leaf has been stable for quite some time.

Considering that the mother plant is mostly all roots should I separate the keiki when it is ready? Would it be safe if I left them together?

Thanks!

[fishmom]

Definitely it would be safe to leave them together, and that is what I would advise. The mother plant is still nourishing the keiki as well as the surviving leaf, and it is possible it will produce another leaf or another keiki if you let well enough alone. The keiki will not survive if it has no roots, and even if it develops roots, there is no reason to separate the two unless it is an awkwardly spaced growth. Give it time.

[jkofferdahl]

I would leave them together. For so long as the mother plant is alive it will help nourish the keiki, allowing it to grow more vigorously.

[camille1585]

Is it a basal keiki or stem keiki?

If it's a basal keiki you can leave it, and if the mother plant crown dies then the keiki becomes the new crown. One of my Phals did that a couple years ago and is growing as if nothing happened. If the mother crown doesn't die I would still leave the basal keiki. They are usually hard to separate and you get double chance of blooms with a 2 crown plant!

If it's a stem keiki you can leave it attached until it has enough roots to be separated.

[Optimist]

I'd leave them together, based on your description. A roots only phal could just die, and they seem happy at this moment. I have a phal where the basal keiki is just too tangled up with the mother and I have left them alone. I am sure in the wild, they have whole "colonies" of keikis, because asexual reproduction is just another way to reproduce that some plants have. (It certainly does not take forever, like seeds do).

[PaphMadMan]

If it is a basal keiki the root system belongs to it now, keep it attached. Eventually the roots that came from the old crown will die off but until then they greatly add to the strength of the keiki. It is all one plant.

If it is a stem keiki, keep it attached at least until it has abundant roots of its own, but even then it will continue to benefit from the mother crown's roots as long as they are healthy and the stem is green. Again, it is all one plant with the combined strength of all the healthy parts until you separate it, or the connection dries up.