End of the road - new Phal popped a terminal spike! :-(

[DrDawn]

I just picked up some new Phals in June and one of them (which is spiking up nicely) had a small leaf at the top. I noticed a few days ago that there was something growing in that little leaf, and I was confused because I didn't think it was ready to sprout ANOTHER new leaf, but now I see the tell-tale sign of a little mitten spike coming out the top. :-( I'm so sad! The flower spike is looking good (not bloomed yet), and I'm sure whatever comes out the top will be great, but I was hoping that this plant was going to stick around a while! This is my first phal to grow a terminal spike, and I don't think anything I did was particularly the cause, I'm just sad.

I've got my fingers crossed for some keikis or something as it begins its long death, but I thought you all would understand my disappointment.

FYI: Its a Phal Chia E. Yenlin 'SRM1302'

[fishmom]

Don't give up hope! A basal growth or a keiki from the spike is actually quite likely. Meanwhile, you get to enjoy the bloom.

[JScott]

The word "terminal" in the phrase "terminal spike" can be somewhat misleading. "Terminal" just means that which relates to the end of something. Here, the word is not being used the same way it is used in the phrase "terminal brain cancer". If you have a terminal illness, the illness will bring you to the end of your life, and you are definitely going to die. However when we talk about a terminal spike, that just means that the spike is coming from the terminus of the plant, which is the end of the plant from which growth comes. A terminal spike doesn't mean the plant is going to die. It just means that the plant can't grow from that direction anymore. The plant will most likely grow a new shoot from lower down on the stem. The new shoot will come from the same place a flower spike typically comes, and the plant will continue to grow and live from there.

[DrDawn]

Originally Posted by JScott

A terminal spike doesn't mean the plant is going to die. It just means that the plant can't grow from that direction anymore. The plant will most likely grow a new shoot from lower down on the stem. The new shoot will come from the same place a flower spike typically comes, and the plant will continue to grow and live from there.

Ok, I'll keep my fingers crossed. It did sort of surprise me when I repotted all my new plants that this one was the largest in terms of number of leaves, but its root system wasn't great when I got it. Hopefully it makes some keikis! The only other Phal that I've had make keikis is Phal. (formerly Dpts.) pulcherrima and that thing just won't stop making keikis! But it is also still growing new leaves, so it is just making a mound.

[aliceinwl]

Think “top” not “death” when dealing with a terminal spike. Mine have never missed a beat, when they would have naturally started growing a new leaf from the growth with the terminal spike, they just push a side growth or two instead. It’s a quick way to a nice looking clump :-D

[Ray]

Also, be very careful when thinking of “basal keikies”, as they are nothing like true keikies growing on flower spikes.

Those growing on flower spikes ultimately have their own foliage and roots, so can be separated and grown independently. A “basal keiki” isn’t really a keiki in that sense. It’s more like what happens when to “top” a plant to get it to branch: you remove the apical meristem (growth point), so the plant initiates new ones to compensate.

In a phal with a terminal spike, the meristem has somehow converted from continuously-growing foliage production to becoming a single inflorescence. If the plant has enough reserves, it will initiate a new “growth front”, sharing the same root system.

[SouthPark]

It is true what JS mentioned. Not sure how the scare-mongering started with this 'terminal spike' thing.

It had to be somebody or some group (in the past) not being clear about explaining what happens from there on -- and what to expect ----- and to tell people to not worry etc.

A big thumbs up for pointing this out right here JS.

[Roberta]

Think about it... Phals don't get taller forever. (I have never seen a Phal as tall as a tree, for instance...) So at some point they're going to do basal growths at any rate. (Vandas do that too) The spike is "getting in just one more" before it goes on to develop into a clump. They don't grow along a rhizome, but any given growth does have a finite pattern. Force of nature.

[SouthPark]

True! For some reason - or somehow - there became an association of 'terminal spike' being the same as full orchid expiry (or curtains, final call, kaput, bucket time etc).

As long as we maintain good growing conditions for the phal when such a spike develops - all will be great, and they should just tell people to think of it as a 'new nice chapter'. Or in plant talk ----- starting fresh, turn over a new leaf.

[JScott]

Originally Posted by SouthPark

It is true what JS mentioned. Not sure how the scare-mongering started with this 'terminal spike' thing.

It had to be somebody or some group (in the past) not being clear about explaining what happens from there on -- and what to expect ----- and to tell people to not worry etc.

A big thumbs up for pointing this out right here JS.

Well thank you, I'm honored that you approve of my comment! I just try to do the best I can with the information that I have (also, I have a degree in Latin, and I am really into semantics, so I am just fascinated by the different ways the words like "terminal" can be used, so that helped me out with providing that bit of insight.)