Basal keiki....like two plants for the price of one?

[seaj]

I've been on the hunt for cheap phals to play around with and during my last excursion I came across this really great plant that I almost decided to take home. It had a leafspan about 8 inches across with 6 or so leaves. The plant had 3 dense branching spikes with 2 inch flowers with red dots on a yellow backdrop. Growing from the base of the plant was a basal keiki with two leaves about 4 inches across. I also saw another plant in the store with a basal keiki as well. Now for $15, the price didn't seem too bad to me, but the store next door had large phals for $6 each that were begging to be experimented on.

Price stuff aside, basal keikis add value to a plant right? I know that basal keikis, can result from crown issues like crown rot, but on a healthy plant, don't they potentially offer double the blooming power when the keiki matures? Or do they redirect blooming energy away from the parent plant? Sorry, I don't know what I'm talking about.

If you had the opportunity to pick between two healthy identical plants with the exception of one having a basal keiki, which one would you pick?

[billc]

Buy 2 @ $6.00 and the 1 for $15.00 and for less than $30.00 you're all set.

Bill

[Ray]

I would probably follow Bill's advice.

I'll add, however, that basal growths usually cannot be separated from the mother plant, and often form because there is something going on with the original plant that leads to its early demise.

[tucker85]

Like Ray said, basal keikies can form because there's a problem with the main plant, but not always. There are some phals that have a reputation for forming basal keikies regularly. They can become large specimen phals with lots of flowers.

[seaj]

Originally Posted by billc

Buy 2 @ $6.00 and the 1 for $15.00 and for less than $30.00 you're all set.

Bill

Originally Posted by Ray

I would probably follow Bill's advice.

I'll add, however, that basal growths usually cannot be separated from the mother plant, and often form because there is something going on with the original plant that leads to its early demise.

I did buy two of the $6 phals. I'll make a post about them soon. These plants are for my semi-hydro experiment. I'll be going back for higher quality/more expensive plants soon if these two take off.

Originally Posted by tucker85

Like Ray said, basal keikies can form because there's a problem with the main plant, but not always. There are some phals that have a reputation for forming basal keikies regularly. They can become large specimen phals with lots of flowers.

I shouldn't have mentioned that whole mess about prices because I was hoping the thread would go more in this direction becsause I'm pretty sure that the plants were 100% healthy.

So to ask again, do basal keikis add value to a healthy plant the way multiple spikes do?

[zxyqu]

I think that a quality specimen plant can be rewarded with basal kiekis. But like stated above, you do have to consider why the plant is throwing a new growth. Some species just throw kieki's galore (lueddemanniana comes to mind quickly, see here:Big Leaf Orchid forum • View topic - Phal. lueddemanniana 'Woodlawn' Specimen)
Do you know what the cross was? I ask because if it doesn't have a name, it's not awardable, and therefore wouldn't have much short of personal value. Think this answer is in the eye of the beholder.

[bballr4567]

Some species just produce basal keikis. Does yours have a name?

[seaj]

Originally Posted by zxyqu

I think that a quality specimen plant can be rewarded with basal kiekis. But like stated above, you do have to consider why the plant is throwing a new growth. Some species just throw kieki's galore (lueddemanniana comes to mind quickly, see here:Big Leaf Orchid forum • View topic - Phal. lueddemanniana 'Woodlawn' Specimen)
Do you know what the cross was? I ask because if it doesn't have a name, it's not awardable, and therefore wouldn't have much short of personal value. Think this answer is in the eye of the beholder.

Originally Posted by bballr4567

Some species just produce basal keikis. Does yours have a name?

I'm sorry but I didn't think to check for a tag. At this point in time, I'm not concerned with ID's because I'm trying to focus on learning basic phal care for now. The plant was being sold directly from the grower so I don't think it would be too hard to track down its ID. There were at least 50 of the same cross at the store so I hope they'll have some in stock if I ever get a chance to go back.