Phal NoID with Keikis and Blooms

[KristenJ]

Hi all,

I have a Phal NoID that I've had for about a year and a half now. A couple of months ago, it had 3 bumps on an old stem and started growing a new leaf. 2 of the bumps became keikis. Each only has 2 leaves. They haven't continued to grow in about a month. The 3rd bump turned into another spike, which now has blooming flowers on it.

The mother plant seemed like it was doing ok until this week. It hasn't continued to grow the new leaf at all and now an older leaf is beginning to yellow at the tip. The keikis also haven't grown any further. The only thing that it is doing right now is that the buds are opening.

I am wondering if there is anything I can do to keep the mother plant from losing its large leaf. The mother plant only has three large leaves plus the small one that it never finished growing. I don't want to lose the mother plant, but it has always been kind of struggling when compared to my other phals. I also don't want to lose the keikis. Does anyone have any clue what's going on with my phal or what I can do for it? Thanks!

[WhiteRabbit]

I'm not good with Phals, so here's a

[jai_star]

well the mummy plant is doing a lot of things giving birth to 2 keikis and producing flowers these are severly sucking all the nutrients out of her. If she is losing an old leaf this is normal , the new leaf is not growing much this is normal too because she needs all her energy on the babies and flowers. The leaf will grow when you remove the keikis and the bloom spike. So MY sugesstion is to remove the keikis and pot these up allow the flowers to bloom to enjoy. The mummy plant will recover after this don't worry Phals are quite hardy than most people think. I am an experienced Phal grower ask me anything else

[PaphMadMan]

It is a very common misconception that keikis somehow suck nutrients from and stress the mother plant. It simply isn't true. It is no more stressful to the plant than growing a new basal leaf, and just like a new basal leaf it quickly begins to supply energy to the mother plant through increased photosynthesis. It is normal for old leaves to die eventually, and it is common for Phals to slow down new growth in the winter, so I'm not sure there is any problem here. A picture might help by showing the appearance of the yellowing leaf.

I have 2 questions... Has the plant been repotted in the time you've had it, and do you fertilize regularly?

[KristenJ]

Thanks for the bump & reply. How should I go about removing the keikis? They each only have 2 leaves and no roots yet.

[Paul Mc]

Oh... Well, the lack of roots may be an issue. We generally remove keikis once they have about 2 to 3 inches worth of Rita. I've never had success with rootless keikis before (getting them to root) but a few have.

I agree that the mother may have just slowed down because it is focusing on the flower production at the moment. Flowers do take a bit of energy and they store that energy all year long for their show. It's probably not something to worry about, but I would check the roots and to see how they are doing if at all possible.

Pics of the yellowing leaf would be helpful, as would pics of everything else you are describing. It is natural for the older, lower leaves to die and be shed off as newer leaves will be produced. Some of my own Phals only have 3 leaves and never seem to produce more than three or 4 at one time, while others have 7 to 8! Again, I'd check Te root system. If there is any sort of issue, we generally see it in the roots first.

If you have your Phal in a clear pot, then you can just look in and maybe remove a bit of the medium to take a look around. Otherwise, just be very very careful not to break the flower stalk or the keikis off.

[KristenJ]

PaphMadMan: I have had it for a year and a half and have not repotted it yet. I have been fertilizing it once a month.

This orchid has always had three or four leaves at a time. When I bought it, it didn't have any roots visible around the pot, but it always seemed to be okay. I was just concerned because so much was going on. I am posting the pictures of the upper roots and the yellowing leaf.

I removed the upper layer of moss to look at the roots because there weren't any around the sides of the pot that could be seen. From the upper roots, it looks like they are all not doing too good. Should I repot now? I've never had an orchid with roots that looked this bad.

[escualida]

A year and a half is usually too long to go without repotting a phal that is in moss. You should try to repot it if you can, that will give you a better look at the roots and you can go from there.

[camille1585]

I agree, that's too long to go without repotting. Sphag needs to be changed yearly as it degrades quickly and turns acidic over time. If the roots are in poor shape I would sacrifice that spike (enjoy it in a vase) to let the keikis get all the energy.

PaphMadMan- I agree, but if the mother plant is in poor shape, keikis and spikes are a burden. A plant with a poor root system can't supply enough water/nutrients for it's own growth, as well as the keikis. So the keikis grow at the expense of the mother, especially if the keikis are a result of a weak plant going into survival mode.

[KristenJ]

Hi all,

I repotted last night and I am afraid the roots are in incredibly poor condition. I did not get any photos sorry. I have 2 really good roots and about 5 questionable ones. They weren't quite squishy or completely discolored, so I kept them to give the orchid every chance I could. There was one new root growing, but it's only about 1.5 inches long. I soaked in KLN rooting hormone before I repotted.

Is there anything I can do to try to save the mother plant? I am thinking of cutting off the bloom spike. There are about 5 blooms on it, all fully open. The keikis have not grown in about a month, so I am wondering if I should just leave them on as extra energy sources. Also, the bottom leaf has not yellowed any more since my original post and the newly growing leaf has grown a tiny bit.

Thanks everyone!