Cane or Keiki?

[scy]

I'm so excited that my very first orchid (dendrobium hollywood), which had some trouble in the beginning, is finally bouncing back and rewarding me with new growth! It has new growths on opposite sides of the same cane. I was curious to know how can one visually tell the difference between flower spike, cane and keiki growth?

I know that with a flower spike vs keiki, a keiki is a baby plant and will have roots. 2nd Picture shows baby roots. How can one then tell if it's a keiki vs a cane? While I understand that dendrobiums do not naturally grow straight, I would like to keep mine tidy (should I decide to get more orchids). When can I start to stake the larger growth? Any tips on how best to go about this to avoid damage?

The last photo is a cane that originally fell off the main plant (accident during repot). I saved it and notice that the leaf color is different from the other leaves. Is there a reason for this?

Thanks in advance for helping me understand more about my dendrobium!

[WhiteRabbit]

hard to say re: growth in first two pix - it's near the base of the older cane, but could be a keiki - or it could be a new cane both would be growing roots. - I'd leave it be. The new growth in the third pic looks like it's a new cane.
Generally, the new growth will grow towards the light, so turning the plant every few days can help it grow straight (tho I do have some plants with horizontal growth)

I do have a quite tall Den, and am curious myself on how best to stake new growth, so I look forward to seeing what other members may suggest

[Junebug]

It's a cane and it should grow to full length within the next 2 months.

[scy]

Originally Posted by Junebug

It's a cane and it should grow to full length within the next 2 months.

They are both canes? Thanks for clearing that up, but how do you tell the difference between cane and keiki if both have roots?

[scy]

Originally Posted by WhiteRabbit

hard to say re: growth in first two pix - it's near the base of the older cane, but could be a keiki - or it could be a new cane both would be growing roots. - I'd leave it be. The new growth in the third pic looks like it's a new cane.
Generally, the new growth will grow towards the light, so turning the plant every few days can help it grow straight (tho I do have some plants with horizontal growth)

I do have a quite tall Den, and am curious myself on how best to stake new growth, so I look forward to seeing what other members may suggest

I don't plan on removing anything if it is a keiki. I'd rather have it as a large cluster. It's interesting that the diameter of the growth in first 2 pics is much larger than the other one in the 3rd pic. Thanks for the advice!

[silken]

I don't think there is much difference except a new cane comes from near the bottom of the mature cane and a keiki is higher up on a mature cane at one of the nodes. Eventually you need to remove the keiki if you want its roots to grow into some potting media.

I use a ring stake that clips onto the rim of the pot for some of my dendrobiums (I only have 4). Others have a small stake (kebab skewer or thin bamboo) right beside the tall canes and they are tied to the stake for stability. Many dens are skinny at the bottom and fatter near the top and wobble around a lot if not staked.

[scy]

Originally Posted by silken

I don't think there is much difference except a new cane comes from near the bottom of the mature cane and a keiki is higher up on a mature cane at one of the nodes. Eventually you need to remove the keiki if you want its roots to grow into some potting media.

I use a ring stake that clips onto the rim of the pot for some of my dendrobiums (I only have 4). Others have a small stake (kebab skewer or thin bamboo) right beside the tall canes and they are tied to the stake for stability. Many dens are skinny at the bottom and fatter near the top and wobble around a lot if not staked.

Thank you so much for clearing all that up!

I do have a dormant eye at the top of the same spike with the canes growing on the bottom, so it'll probably be a keiki one day. I will wait until the cane gets taller before I attempt to stake it to my bamboo skewer. A ring stake is definitely not a bad idea!

[WhiteRabbit]

a new cane will be growing along the plant's rhizome, while a keiki won't be - a keiki will easily come off with a gentle twist even if it's quite large, a new growth shouldn't, tho could especially when quite small - tho I wouldn't recommend trying this to see if it's a keiki or not

[silken]

scy I wanted to ask you what the name of the miltoniopsis is that you use for your avatar. It is beautiful!