Need help to save keikis on broken cane

[nms1107]

Hi All,

I'm a new member and have a sad dendrobium that I rescued from a clearance table in big box store last week. This is my very first dendrobium by the way so I may not use the right termminology in my post. It needed repotting and when I removed it from it's original medium, one of the canes just fell completely off, almost like it was rotting away. This cane has 2 keikis on it.

Not knowing what to do, I put the cane in some new bark hoping that it might put out some roots but now the one leaf that was on the top of it has started to yellow and looks close to death's door.

The 2 keikis still look ok but I don't know what to do to keep them growing. The roots on the keikes are so small and new - one has roots that are 3/4" long and the other has roots about 1/4" long and both have a new cane growing from their roots. One of the canes is about an inch tall, the other only about 1/4 inch tall. These are growing on opposite sides of the old cane but are extremely close together - only about 1/2 inch apart.

Can someone tell me how to proceed? I can't post a pic because my digital just bit the dust so I hope my desciption gives the info needed.

Thanks in advance for your replies.

Dutch

[quiltergal]

Dutch, I wouldn't bother trying to get the mother cane to grow new roots. I would cut the mother cane between the Keikis and lay each of them in a shallow dish of moist peat moss or some fluffy moist sphag. I'd use KLN water to moisten the peat or the sphag. That will help promote new root growth. When they have about 4 roots each about 1-2 inches long you can pot them up in their own little pots. If the leaves start looking wilty put them in a plastic bag to help keep them hydrated. HTH

[nms1107]

Thanks for the quick reply Terri! Is KLN a root starter? And if I can't find it at one of my local stores (small town in Iowa so limited resources), are there other options?

Thanks,
Dutch

[quiltergal]

Dutch, yes KLN is a rooting agent. It's made by DynaGro if that helps. Another similar product is SuperThrive.

[nms1107]

Wonderful - I'm off to try to pick one or the other up tonight.

Thanks again Terri!

Dutch

[quiltergal]

If you can't find either one locally you can order KLN from Ray Barkalow. He has lots of other goodies there like fertilizer, Physan 20 (fungicide), and loads of wonderful information about fertilization in general and growing orchids semi-hydroponic. I've learned lots from Ray in the last 6 months and highly recommend his site to new orchid growers.

Product Listing - Dyna-Gro K-L-N Root Growth Stimulant - 8 ounce Bottle

Keep us posted on the progress of your Keikis.

[Orchonubee]

The previous excellent suggestions Terri offered, are what I do. You can find all the products on line by using a search engine to give you several sites. Check each site carefully as there can be great price differences and shipping costs between them. Don't forget to look on eBay where I recently found the least expensive product I was needing.

I might also add the spraying of a weak solution of seaweed extract is beneficial.

[nms1107]

Well I wasn't able to find KLN or Superthrive locally so I'll order online along with the seaweed extract. In the man time, I've followed your advice Terri and cut the keikis and have them in some spagh. I moistened it with Better Gro Orchid Bloom Booster - hope that's ok until I get the the KLN. They still look perfectly healthy for now.

Thanks to all for the advice and tips!

Dutch

[LauraN]

Walmart sells superthrive. In ours its in the indoor plant section.

[nms1107]

Thanks LauraN! I'll check there tomorrow. Sorry for the delayed reply - was having computer problems

Dutch