Mini Phal Mother in Distress W/ 5 Keikis... What Should I Do?

[LIOrchidGirl]

I was excited when I discovered my mini Phal was growing a keiki. Soon after I discovered 2 more. And just recently I discovered the last 2 were each growing another! So that's 5 keikis total. The mother's leaves stopped growing. She had two bigger leaves which both yellowed and fell. I decided to repot removing from clay pot and I discovered root rot, not one single root! Every plant has thin, papery leaves. Can any of these plants survive on their own? Can the mother be saved? Should I separate all or cut off the babies? Please help!!

[No-Pro-mwa]

Could you post 4 more times then give use some pictures. Is this a noID mini or something else? It could have been putting out keiki's because it was in trouble in the first place.

[LIOrchidGirl]

I wondered if that was the reason and I guess it is since there are no roots. I re-uploaded the pics.

[No-Pro-mwa]

Well it looks like some of them are putting out roots so they maybe able to survive on there own. You could even try wrapping spagh around them to see if they would put out more roots before you potted them up. You will have to put them in very small pots so they won't stay wet for to long.

I have been using fruit cups on things that are small and I burn hole in them with a nail. You have to hold the nail with a wrench as it will get hot and burn your fingers. I'm very happy with my fruit cups.

[LIOrchidGirl]

Fruit cups is an excellent idea! I was going to try to find mini pots but this will be a great alternative. Thanks fit the input!

[wintergirl]

Love those fruitcups Shannon. Great idea!

[No-Pro-mwa]

And stupid me I meant pliers, not a wrench. Yes they are working very well and they are nice and sturdy. I can put wholes in the bottom and sides how ever many you want to.

[lotis146]

Fruit cups are a great idea!

I think that's pretty darn cool to see all those keikis though I'm sorry it comes at the expense of the mother plant. I lost a plant this spring that had grown a keiki on its spike but it hadn't started any roots. It did however start to grow a spike of its own but then the mother died and the main spike started to die so I cut it just below the branch (started off the main spike) and put it in a plastic bottle with fert/KelpMax. At first I put a ziploc around it but then when temps went up I put it outside and that's when I saw improvement, no doubt b/c of all the rain we had. The wrinkled leaves on the keiki got a bit firmer though still no roots. Then in the last several weeks almost all my Phals are growing new leaves INCLUDING this keiki on a piece of its spike sitting in a plastic bottle. It appears it may finally be starting a root, meanwhile the branch below it just may be starting a keiki of its own.

So that's the long story of what I've been doing to keep my rootless keiki alive and it's been some months. Best of luck to you, please keep us posted.

You might also try posting this under Beginner discussion or Propagation and get more responses (I never do know just where to post...lol).

[LIOrchidGirl]

Thanks for the story, lotis146! It gives me hope for my keikis that have since been separated from their mother that may or may not be dead. I did the sphag and bag method on the mother and all the leaves have fallen. The only green left is a tiny leaf that sprouted a while ago but barely grew. The keikis were put in a fruit cup (again, great idea) and the biggest in a small pot. Every day i check and hope for signs of survival but the leaves continue to wrinkle. I'll just continue to keep the sphag moist and be patient.