Keiki and repot

[SteveM]

Hi all,

Thank you for all your advice ahead of time. I have a phal which is growing like crazy. 3 new leaves since I got it in Jan and started growing a 4th, most growth happened after march. I just noticed a Keiki last night. plant looks healthy to me. The newer leaves are somewhat smaller thought. I know this can be an indication of stress. A lot of the surface roots are dried up, I see a good number of green ones through the medium and it is sending out a lot of new roots. I was planning on switching it over to lava rocks cause my phal I planted a month ago i it is doing very well in it. Now that I am seeing los of of shriveled roots on the surface should I just let the plant be for now or clean up roots and repot it. The Keiki is too young to make it. No roots and a bassl Keiki. I really dont want to just snip the Keiki. I kniw keikis arent always a good sign but based on the plants leaves and growth I say that it is a keiki from good health. Taking the shriveled roots I see Im not so sure. Or is that a flower spike. LOL. I have never seen one before. I am attaching a pic below. Keiki under 3rd new growth on right side. The hole in lower leaf was from grower that had a stake through it holding the flower spike that I recently cut off.

[Roberta]

Welcome!

First with regard to the"keiki" - a basal growth like that is part of the plant, shares a roots system with the mother plant. So it is quite different than a true keiki that develops on a flower spike with its own roots system. So don't even THINK about cutting it. Some Phals (in part a function of parentage) tend to form clumps, which is great for flowering - each growth of the clump can produce spikes making for an even better display once they mature.

As far as repotting goes, that's typically a really good idea on general principles on a newly-acquired plant, the old medium is likely broken down. If it is producing new roots, that's an especially good sign for getting established in new medium. Phals can be repotted any time (even in bloom). So go ahead and repot, but don't cut that new growth! And don't be too eager to cut what looks like "bad" roots... if the outside part (the velamin) is rotted, you can gently strip it off with your fingers. But if that stringy core of the roots is still firm, leave it - even if it isn't very efficient it can still help hydrate the plant, and in addition can help to hold the plant firmly in place when you repot - wobbling will tend to cause damage to those tender green root tips on the new roots.

[estación seca]

It's better to open a new thread for a new question. More people will see it. One of the moderators will probably see this and move it for you. To open a new thread, just go to Forums in the left menu. Select the correct forum (don't worry about this too much) and in the upper left click the button New Thread.

Our advice will depend on your growing conditions. What are your temperatures through the year? Humidity? Light? How and how often do you water? What is the potting medium? Does it look old and broken down or are there still large spaces between the chunks?

I would never snip off a basal growth. Exposed roots in homes often die back because the humidity is low. That isn't a problem if there are good roots in the medium.

Originally Posted by SteveM

Hi all,

Thank you for all your advice ahead of time. I have a phal which is growing like crazy. 3 new leaves since I got it in Jan and started growing a 4th, most growth happened after march. I just noticed a Keiki last night. plant looks healthy to me. The newer leaves are somewhat smaller thought. I know this can be an indication of stress. A lot of the surface roots are dried up, I see a good number of green ones through the medium and it is sending out a lot of new roots. I was planning on switching it over to lava rocks cause my phal I planted a month ago i it is doing very well in it. Now that I am seeing los of of shriveled roots on the surface should I just let the plant be for now or clean up roots and repot it. The Keiki is too young to make it. No roots and a bassl Keiki. I really dont want to just snip the Keiki. I kniw keikis arent always a good sign but based on the plants leaves and growth I say that it is a keiki from good health. Taking the shriveled roots I see Im not so sure. Or is that a flower spike. LOL. I have never seen one before. I am attaching a pic below. Keiki under 3rd new growth on right side. The hole in lower leaf was from grower that had a stake through it holding the flower spike that I recently cut off.

[Roberta]

New thread.

[SteveM]

Thanks for creating a new thread and sorry about that. As far as medium goes, I repotted this plant around March. It is planted in fir bark and sphagnum moss with a little vermiculite. My conditions right now I have them in house cause temps got around 100 F. We have about 80 percent humidity at daybreak dropping to about 40ish during the afternoon.

In House usually around 77 degrees right now and humidity probably around 30 percent. I have no gauges but it's a rough estimate. They get afternoon sun in the evening. which I close my blinds to prevent sunburn. They get a good amount of indirect light in this location. Only had them back in house for 2 weeks.

[Roberta]

If you just repotted it, time to just let it grow. (Orchids do everything slowly, 3 months it is just getting established) Indoor temperature sounds fine. The humidity is low, but hybrid Phals are pretty forgiving if you keep them well-watered. To get a feel for how often it needs watering, consider this approach: After watering thoroughly (running through the pot) weigh it on a kitchen scale or postal scale. And do the same the next day, etc. Once the rate of weight loss slows down (not much water to evaporate) it's time to water. Again, water thoroughly - when it runs through the pot it flushes out "crud" and also pulls air into the roots zone. You can't water by the calendar, do it "when the plant needs it".

The most important factors now are patience and observation.

[SteveM]

Thanks Roberta I never thought or heard anyone else weighing it, it's probably the best advice on watering I have heard. Been using toothpicks to determine when dry but I really hate constantly sticking sharp things in the pot repeatedly. I do it on the sides of the pots with the slits about halfway down. It woud be a lot of weighing to do with 15 orchids but if I have a problem plant, this seems like a great way.

Tell the truth I really hate unpotting and potting them, no one disturbs them in nature. Thats why I liked the inorganic medium idea.

[Roberta]

You don't have to do the weighing on every plant, if you have several with the same medium, having the info on one will likely give you the correct watering interval on the others. If you have some in a different mix, then you can see if they are any different. And after you do this a few times, you'll have a pretty good idea of "how often", don't have to go through exercise forever. But if conditions change (like temperature, light... as fall approaches) you might want to check again. But this way, you have the right watering interval that works for you under your conditions, as opposed to trying to follow "generic advice". This is also where observation of your plants is really important... if you start to see signs of dehydration (like limp leaves) for instance you know to kick it up a notch. If you look at your plants frequently, you'll catch adverse changes before they become a serious problem. With fresh medium and low humidity, I suspect that you'll find that you need to water more often than you thought.

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Where do you live? How humid is it outside? What are night temperatures like? Do you need to worry about outdoor predators? If it's quite humid, they might be perfectly happy outside in the shade.