Keiki potting

[Waspdog]

Hi Orchid People,
I have been given a bunch of bare root Dendrobium keikis and have come up with a method to support them in pots. I hot glue a piece of bamboo to a stone, sterilise it in boiling water and then loosely tie the keiki to it, place it in a holey plastic pot, loosely pack with growing media and then top off with Leca. The stone gives stability to the whole thing.
I would love to hear your comments.
P.S. I originally posted this in Propagation, then realised it would be better here, sorry.

[Dalachin]

It looks good to me! Clever.

[estación seca]

I don't think you need to boil it. It will be exposed to the great outdoors and be recolonized in an hour.

[Roberta]

Great idea! I agree with ES, sterilizing is unnecessary (and waste of time)

[Dimples]

I use rocks in the bottom of my pots for weight, and I’ll wash and scrub them after I bring them inside, but I only bleach them if I’m bleaching other stuff.

Love the idea of securing the plant to the stake and anchoring the stake to the pot. I should (hopefully) have some phal keikis to pot up sometime in the next 6-24+ months (hah!) and I’ll keep this thread in mind.

[Fairorchids]

I think that your approach will provide insufficient moisture.

For small keikis with limited roots, I always start them in a plastic pot with spaghnum/bark (4:1 ratio), and make sure not to let the pot go dry till I see a healthy 2nd cane growing.

[Roberta]

Originally Posted by Fairorchids

I think that your approach will provide insufficient moisture.

For small keikis with limited roots, I always start them in a plastic pot with spaghnum/bark (4:1 ratio), and make sure not to let the pot go dry till I see a healthy 2nd cane growing.

I suspect that in the Philippines, with high humidity, warmth and lots of rain, keeping them wet enough will be a lot easier than indoors in the temperate zone. (note the location of the OP)

[Waspdog]

Hi Roberta,
I give them a light spritz with rainwater twice a week. Nothing more.