Dendrobium kingianum keikis - what to do

[astrid]

Hey all!

My den kingianum threw me two keikis that have grown rather quickly.

I am just wondering at what point I should remove them and pot them separately. Should they be a certain minimum height (example: at least half as tall as the canes)? Should they have a minimum number of roots (example: at least 5 roots or at least an inch long)? Should they have grown leaves first?

And then I wanted to ask a few more questions.
How soon will they flower? Are they technically already flowering size because they came from a mature plant?

Would you pot them in sphagnum moss, or a regular potting mix?

Thanks, everyone!

[Ashleyma23]

Originally Posted by astrid

Hey all!

My den kingianum threw me two keikis that have grown rather quickly.

I am just wondering at what point I should remove them and pot them separately. Should they be a certain minimum height (example: at least half as tall as the canes)? Should they have a minimum number of roots (example: at least 5 roots or at least an inch long)? Should they have grown leaves first?

And then I wanted to ask a few more questions.
How soon will they flower? Are they technically already flowering size because they came from a mature plant?

Would you pot them in sphagnum moss, or a regular potting mix?

Thanks, everyone!

I am not familiar but that is wonderful ! I am interested in buying one of these.

I hope others can chime in!

[WhiteRabbit]

I mostly leave mine on the parent. If you wish to remove them, the same recommendation of a minimum of 3 inches of roots as for other orchid keikis applies. They can bloom while very small on the parent. As with all keikis, the 3 inches of roots is a minimum - more roots, bigger keikis stand the best chance. If I do want to remove any to share, I take ones with more than one year's growth.

I have potted mine in sphag or fine fir bark mix.

[astrid]

Originally Posted by Ashleyma23

I am not familiar but that is wonderful ! I am interested in buying one of these.

I hope others can chime in!

They're wonderful, but can be difficult to rebloom if you don't offer them cold enough nighttime temperatures during winter. Even when they're out of bloom, they look really nice, though!

---------- Post added at 06:24 PM ---------- Previous post was at 06:23 PM ----------

Originally Posted by WhiteRabbit

I mostly leave mine on the parent. If you wish to remove them, the same recommendation of a minimum of 3 inches of roots as for other orchid keikis applies. They can bloom while very small on the parent. As with all keikis, the 3 inches of roots is a minimum - more roots, bigger keikis stand the best chance. If I do want to remove any to share, I take ones with more than one year's growth.

I have potted mine in sphag or fine fir bark mix.

Thanks! That's just the advice I was looking for!

Hah, on my den unicum, I had a keiki self-remove from the mother plant and it made a 3 inch root in the last month or so. It was really surprising because the keiki itself is only about 2cm long.

[gnathaniel]

One of my kingianums grows many more keikis than the other and I pull a lot to share. For me they establish best if I twist them off when they're close to or completely leafed out and with newly growing roots. I mostly pot them in fairly tight sphagnum in 1-2" clay pots with the bottom drainage slightly enlarged. This time of year they usually put on more growth by fall, which is a good time to give them away so I don't have to bring them back in for the winter. The couple I kept through last winter did bloom more and more readily than a larger seedling I have, though different genetics so may not be a fair comparison.

I agree this is a great species in or out of bloom, and I love how diverse some of the different clones can be. I don't grow kingianum half as well as Sonya does but my couple have been perfuming my front porch since about mid-March.