Potting or mounting phal keiki with aerial roots

[camille1585]

Originally Posted by Shadeflower

I think you and camille are saying the same things, camille just elaborated in more detail.

I think you're right and we do more or less say the same thing, but I took the original post to mean that because orchid keikis don't rot in the wild, we're shouldn't expect them to ever rot (or rarely) in culture. I also types my reply rather hurriedly as I was on my way out the door to go play tennis. My apologies to you, YAON!

[YetAnotherOrchidNut]

Originally Posted by Shadeflower

I think you and camille are saying the same things, camille just elaborated in more detail.

Yeah me too. Seem like if she and I disagree on anything in this thread its probably related to how aerial keikis end up rooting in the wild. :-)

---------- Post added at 10:52 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:43 PM ----------

Originally Posted by camille1585

I think you're right and we do more or less say the same thing, but I took the original post to mean that because orchid keikis don't rot in the wild, we're shouldn't expect them to ever rot (or rarely) in culture. I also types my reply rather hurriedly as I was on my way out the door to go play tennis. My apologies to you, YAON!

Ah, if I gave that impression then I should be apologizing not you. :-)

My point was more just that the meme "putting air roots in media is always a bad idea" is overblown. As long as you can kind of mimic the "keiki ripped off in a storm" scenario it should be good. Eg much as you said: choose appropriately airy media and appropriate pot sizes, and maybe use bottom heat as well and it need not rot out.

---------- Post added at 11:10 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:52 PM ----------

Originally Posted by tmoney

edit, there’s about this many roots you can’t see on the backside. and of course i suck and didn’t get the yellowing leaf tips too well

here is your image big:



You can use the image link to link to your own attachments. :-)

FWIW, some of those roots look pretty long, its hard to visualize from the photo, but I might not put all the roots in the pot just because if you do you might break them, or end up needing a much larger pot than you should start with. It should dry quickly.

[Mr.Fakename]

I rarely get keikis, but when the time comes to pot 'em up, I consider them as normal plants. As such, they're potted and watered like everybody else.

Camille sent me a bunch of seedlings this spring, they went from open air in her apartment to S/H in my terrarium; they didn't lose a root.
I'll agree that the #1 thing for successful adaptation is choosing an airy medium.

[K-Sci]

Originally Posted by YetAnotherOrchidNut

For what its worth I think it is a myth that Phal/keiki air roots will rot if they are placed in media.

I've have proof that it is a myth in my greenhouse. I cut the tops off my overgrown phalaenopisis, let them sit on the bench for a week or so, then plant the top with its aerial roots in bark potting media. The roots grow normally establishing a new plant, while the base of the plant grows one or more new tops.

I've used the same technique to grow phalaenopsis from keikis.

-Keith

[tmoney]

ok, its potted up now! i was gonna wait till this afternoon, but decided to do it with my morning coffee. thanks for the input all, and if it dies im blaming you guys, hahahahah.

yanon, im not sure i understand the photo link thing. it doesnt do anything when i tap it....but thanks!

edit to now include a pic of the potted plant. 5 stems and a whole mess of very long roots in there. yes, a few broke while potting....and you can see better the yellowing that is happening, and hence my sense of urgency!

[YetAnotherOrchidNut]

The picture thing was me being stupid. Never mind. :-)

Good luck with your keiki!

[WaterWitchin]

Originally Posted by tmoney

...sorry to mods, and anyone else on the board. im starting to realize i can jack threads

tmoney... I only moved your comment to its own thread, because it was a good question, and wanted you to get responses specific to your inquiry. The other thread was more of a general topic. I very rarely do that, but believed it was for your benefit...certainly not a chastisement. It is also a good question for someone else who's a newer grower, and I didn't want it lost in the shuffle, so put it somewhere it could be more readily found. If hijacking were a crime here, I'd have already been strung up and buried.

That's one beast of a keiki. It came to you mounted, and appears to have been growing that way for awhile. To me it looks more like a phal that maybe started out as a keiki, but has become a mounted phal. I still don't quite get it. It's probably just a lack of communication by misunderstanding your terminology.

Originally Posted by tmoney

...edit to now include a pic of the potted plant. 5 stems and a whole mess of very long roots in there. yes, a few broke while potting....and you can see better the yellowing that is happening, and hence my sense of urgency!

Five stems? Do you mean five leaves? Five crowns? And if five crowns, you potted them up all together? I'm still not following, and am curious to know.

It appears to be potted up well. Wouldn't worry about the yellow leaf... probably just wasn't getting enough water, or was going to lose the leaf anyway due to age.

[tmoney]

Originally Posted by WaterWitchin

tmoney... I only moved your comment to its own thread, because it was a good question, and wanted you to get responses specific to your inquiry. The other thread was more of a general topic. I very rarely do that, but believed it was for your benefit...certainly not a chastisement. It is also a good question for someone else who's a newer grower, and I didn't want it lost in the shuffle, so put it somewhere it could be more readily found. If hijacking were a crime here, I'd have already been strung up and buried.

That's one beast of a keiki. It came to you mounted, and appears to have been growing that way for awhile. To me it looks more like a phal that maybe started out as a keiki, but has become a mounted phal. I still don't quite get it. It's probably just a lack of communication by misunderstanding your terminology.



Five stems? Do you mean five leaves? Five crowns? And if five crowns, you potted them up all together? I'm still not following, and am curious to know.

It appears to be potted up well. Wouldn't worry about the yellow leaf... probably just wasn't getting enough water, or was going to lose the leaf anyway due to age.

hey ww! well i just realized in the last couple weeks how much of a rambler i am on this forum. and i feel bad about steering convos away from the op. so you were right to move it, no offense taken and i really appreciate all the responses!

your confusion is due to my own lack of knowledge! so we got the keiki along with 2 others, and they were cut from the flower spike and shipped bare root. but it is a monster, you’re right about that. i put it on the mount as a temporary solution till it started pushing new basil roots. the roots it has all come from the same growth point (the base?), and there are 5 crowns ? all growing from a single base. they just diverged and each have a growing stem with about 3 or 4 leaves each. but they diverge so close together at the base i can’t separate them and they all share the same bunch of roots. it’s definitely a unique situation for us in phals. yes, this is a phal, a fasciata.

[Roberta]

Some Phals do tend to form clumps, and this appears to be one of them. So those basal growths are not keikis (separate plants) but rather part of the mother plant... sending out new basal growths is one of the ways that a monopodial orchid can perpetuate itself. Eventually, all of them likely will do this... I have never seen a 10 foot/3 meters tall Phalaenopsis. Most Vandas (same growth pattern) will do the same... maybe get taller than the max for a Phal, but they have limits too before they start making new basal growths.

[WaterWitchin]

It’s pretty cool, as the most I’ve seen one do that is a double. Then again, I don’t grow many Phals. I really kinda want to get my hands on it and examine closely!