Phal sprouting a new plant!! - Orchid Board

james mickelso · #1 08-02-2010, 10:11 PM

Until I moved back to the beach here in SoCal, I had miserable luck with Phals. Most died. Now they are happy as can be. And lo and behold......I have one that is sending out a new shoot/growth/plant. What do I do now? Let them co-habitate? Take them to Mexico for a quicky er wedding? Wow!!! I'm such a proud parent now!

WhiteRabbit · #2 08-02-2010, 10:54 PM

LOL!
Sounds like a basal keiki - sometimes Phals sprout them if the crown of the mother plant has been damaged - but sometimes they do it just because they feel like it.
I don't know if they remove easily from the mother or not, as my only experience with basal keikis is the one now growing on a completely crown rotted plant, so I have no intention of trying to remove it - doesn't look like it has an independent root system - yet ? - anyway ...

I'm sure others with more experience with this situation will chime in

Rosiefuture · #3 08-03-2010, 01:44 AM

Hi James,

You can remove a basal keiki if it has it's own roots, provided there are several and they are about 3 inches long. Having said that, the general consensus here is to leave basal keikis attached to the parent. This makes for a bigger plant over all and if both spike and flower together you get a lovely show of blooms.

If you could post a pic of your plant and it's new growth we would be able to give you better help.

Marion

RosieC · #4 08-03-2010, 07:57 AM

Congratualations

I would leave it on the parent to get a bigger plant and possibly bigger flower shows.

james mickelso · #5 08-03-2010, 03:42 PM

Thanks. The phal is in very good health and has never been damaged. It is a big white phal with around 12-15 flowers when in bloom. I photograph it when it blooms. If I can find a way to post images, I'll send one along. I am on a laptop and have no scanning capabilities. Sorry. If there are orchid enthusiasts who live in southern california and would like me to photograph anything, let me know. I generally shoot in 4x5 color transparencies. I can shoot color neg if you want.

nenella · #6 08-03-2010, 04:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RosieC

Congratualations

I would leave it on the parent to get a bigger plant and possibly bigger flower shows.

with Rosie don't split it leave it alone!
keep us posted!

Aussie42 · #7 08-04-2010, 10:10 AM

In my experience with Doritis (fairly closely related to phals I believe) I find it best to leave the keiki alone. After quite a while the plants naturally separate - the stem of the parent slowly dies back as the parent grows upwards until the stem is dead above the keiki and you end up with two (or more, if you have a couple of keikes) separate plants.

And even then, you may want to continue to let the plants 'cohabit' a pot as a specimen.

Cheers,
Aus.

Call_Me_Bob · #8 08-04-2010, 10:50 AM

its to my understanding that the keiki in question is a basal keiki

RosieC · #9 08-04-2010, 12:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Aussie42

Doritis (fairly closely related to phals I believe)

Doritis has now been reclassified as Phal I believe so all Doritis and Doritinopsis are now just Phals.

Aussie42 · #10 08-05-2010, 12:43 AM

Ah, so I have a few Phals now. Good to know, thanks Rosie.

In case it wasn't clear, the plant formerly known as Doritis throw basal keikis. I leave them to grow in the pot with the parent. When re-potting, I often find that the stem of the main plant is dead below a certain point. When this dead stem is above the level of the basal keiki the keiki either falls apart from the main plant or is very easy to remove with little or no stress to the parties. It's like a teenager - all grown up and will (hopefully) to move out on their own.

Cheers,
Aus.