What is my Pleurothallis Palliolata doing?

[PleuroPal]

I've had this plant for about a year and it looks happy. It's hanging in a spot that gets good ambient light in the morning, mid-day shade, and maybe an hour of direct(ish) sunlight in late afternoon. The evening light will be increasing as the season progresses. I keep the medium moist at all times and feed it a couple of times a month using MirAcid (Miracle Grow for Acid Loving Plants), which is what Andy swears by.

Here's my question(s): Are these new growths emerging from the older leaves keikis, or just the normal growth pattern? And where are my flowers? Also, if they are keikis, will they eventually put out roots? At what point (and how) would I go about propagating new plants from these growths, assuming they are keikis?

Answers/suggestions to any or all of these questions would be greatly appreciated. Particularly the one about getting it to flower... Thanks!

Ray

[Tindomul]

Hi, they are keikis. Mine has a ton and all of them eventually grow a ton or roots. Mine has not flowered for me either, and have had it for a year or so, also from Andy's. I don't know what to do to get it to bloom.

[PleuroPal]

Thanks for the response Tind! I hope someone will share the flowering trick with us both soon.

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

Pleuros tend to kheiki when they're not grown under the correct temperature range for them to flower. Instead of flowering they'll keep growing kheikis where the flowers should be. My Pleurothallis restrepioides did this as well. Restrepia striata (brachypus?) kept putting out kheikis when they were grown cooler, but warmer, they put out flowers.

I recommend growing them a bit warmer. I've grown them before, and they did the same thing that both of yours did under cooler conditions.

[Tindomul]

Wow, I can't believe I thought I was doing something good, and was growing them too cool!! Who would have thought it. Thanks for the help, I am going to wait and see if this summer they bloom, when overall temps rise naturally.

[PleuroPal]

Thanks for the tip your highness. As summer approaches and deepens I don't think "too cool" will be the issue for long. In fact, I'm sure that will be the least of my worries. But between now and then I expect there will arrive a happy medium, and we'll see what happens. Peace.

[PleuroPal]

Update on the keiki situation: I spoke to Andy yesterday and he said that the reason was that I had been growing this plant too warm. Palliolatas like cool temperatures and can handle night time temps down into the high 30's no problem. He said theirs are growing outside right now (in the shade of course) and blooming like crazy.

[harrywitmore]

Most of my Peuros are flowering or beginning to and they are in a greenhouse that gets down to 45F at night now. Most didn't start until it got cold. According to IOSPE this is a cool to warm growing species but that doesn't mean it will flower in all those conditions. It's considered an Acronia now.

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

I've grown this plant outdoors before, and it gets cold here in the winters. A temperature of 36 F or 45 F doesn't trigger the blooms. It just kept growing more kheikis.

Extreme warmth doesn't do anything either. It can easily climb up to 100 F here in the summer time.

This is the same problem I had with Restrepia striata (maybe it's Restrepia brachypus now, not sure).

I grew the Restrepia outdoors, and all it did was kheiki.

It bloomed in slightly warmer temperatures of the spring.

This indicates the Restrepia flowers and grows better in intermediate conditions. Same with the Plths palliolata.

High humidity might help it along too.

[Tom_in_PA]

My 2 cents.....

I grow both my Plths palliolata & Restrepia brachypus on the cool side in winter and intermediate in the summer (under lights). A few of my Plths palliolata have buds and if they don't blast should open in a week or two. Both my Restrepia brachypus flower for me regularly in these conditions as well.