Leaves sprouting from phalaenopsis stem
 

Hi everyone and good morning from Wales. I have a phalaenopsis which , after flowering , I cut the stem to approximately 10 inches. After a while leaves started sprouting at the top of the stem and then a few aerial roots also started to grow. I have never had this happen before on any of the phalaenopsis that I have. What can I do with the stem ? If I cut below the leaves and plant it in soil will it grow ? The orchid also now has another stem growing from the bottom of the plant. Hope you can help. Cheers.

It's a keiki. That is a "baby" grown as an offshoot (non-sexual reproduction). I have 2 on one phal at the moment. It looks like some phals have this occur often. It can be taken off and planted in seedling bark (maybe a bit finer than the big chunky bark). Since they are used to growing in the air, it is also a good candidate to put on a mount. (What I am planning for mine) I think that you might wait a bit for it to get a bit chunkier and grow a few new roots. Just in case. But I feel it is okay if you really want to plant it now. The standard is 3 roots.

Hi Optomist, thanks for your reply. If and when I plant it do I put the aerial roots in the soil aswell or leave them out of the pot ?

Congratulations this is a new plant, often called Keiki.
When it is grown strong enough it can be separated from the mother plant to grow independently.
It takes about a year for the Keiki to form roots sufficient to sustain growth.
I can see two well-developed roots, but it is perhaps still a little early to separate the plant.
The new spike will be probably less vigorous but in return you'll soon have a new plant.
Ciao Nicola

---------- Post added at 06:35 PM ---------- Previous post was at 06:14 PM ----------

Phalaenopsis are epiphytic plants and do not like to be planted in soil.
What kind of medium has the mother plant?
Bark, expanded clay, coal, peat moss or a mixture of these are commonly used I personally prefer coco chips.
Sometimes it is possible to pot the keiki (with roots in the medium) without cutting it from the mother plant to make it grow a little more .
Ciao Nicola

Welcome to the Orchid Board!

Hi Nicola , sorry but soil is my default setting , I meant bark. When the time comes for the keiki to fend for itself will it be ok to put a few of the aerial roots into the bark ?

I have a different question. I have several kiekies that started forming on some cut stems. They each have 1-2 leaves and roots about 1/3" to 1/2" long, one root per plant. I have been keeping them in baby food jars with a little water. Should I plant them in something else? Should I try some of the keiki paste that I have read about?

Keiki paste contains hormones that stimulate a plant to start keikis, so not necessary in your case ;) When you have some more roots going (general rule of thumb - minimum of 3" of roots - that can be one 3" root, three 1" roots, etc) they can be removed and potted. But, I'm not clear on whether yours have been removed? Regardless, I'd probably keep doing what you have been, and when there are more roots, pot them.

They were growing on some cut spikes, I cut them all on to their own little piece of stem thinking they might do better alone, I probably should have left them on the main stem. I have one little phal that was producing 4-5 flower spikes at a time. I think she has been genetically modified to be part rabbit. lh

Here is a 'trick' I use to get keikis established faster.

I wrap a bit of spaghnum moss around the base of the keiki and the emerging roots. I wet the moss whenever I water the parent plant. When I separate the keiki, I plant the whole thing and fill up the pot with additional medium.

I typically use a spaghnum/bark mix for all young plants & seedlings. As they mature and get into 4" pots (or larger), I switch to bark/charcoal/perlite mix.

In this case, wait for the plantlet to grow a second leaf before you separate it from the parent plant.

They grew on a flower spike that I had cut and put in water, otherwise, I could do what you suggested. I trimmed a lot of old, leggy flower spikes and since they still had a couple of flowers, I stuck them in water, and guess what, babies all over the place. I have some in baby food jars with a little bit of water and put a little moss in the bottom of each, keeps them from tipping over. I was thinking about dropping a granule or two of magnesium in there, Epsom salts. A master gardener friend of mine says magnesium helps root formation.