Healthy keiki or plant dying?
 

Hi all,

I’ve been looking after Olivia, my Phal orchid, for about 2 years. She has bloomed twice, once when I got her and once in the summer of 2021.

She’s my first orchid so I am very much learning as I go. Most recently, she grew a new leaf, put out a new root and then started growing a keiki. This started around November/December I think.

She started growing another new leaf but then everything stopped. That new leaf is still barely visible, the previous new root has stopped growing, she lost one of her old leaves and another is turning yellow.

The keiki on the other hand is still growing away merrily. Is Olivia on the way out and focusing all her strength on making the keiki survive? Or is this fairly normal?

I’ll include photos of her and the keiki. FYI the leaf that is turning yellow had those brown marks on it ever since I got her. No other leaf has ever had any marks like that.

Welcome to the Orchid Board!

It looks healthy. They slow down in winter when it's cooler.

It is not uncommon for a spike which has been cut just above a growing node to send out a keiki. When the roots are about 1-2" long, gently remove the keiki and plant it in its own small pot. Then you will have two plants of phal 'Olivia'. You might consider repotting the large plant in fresh mix too if it has been in the pot longer than two to three years

Thank you both for the reassurance! I’m glad she’s not dying :)

I did have her earmarked for repotting once the cold weather ended. Should I get her a larger pot or just refresh the mixture?

Choose the pot size based on the root mass.

Pick a pot that the roots will fit into comfortably without being cramped and without having a ton of extra room. It's like buying shoes for children, bigger than they need right this second but only by a little. The pot should be sized with a little bit of growing space but not with so much extra space that it causes problems.

If your phal will fit back into the same pot, do that.
Size up only if the roots really need more room.
Size down if the pot ends up being too large.

Thank you! I’ll have to measure what size pot I have so and see what the smallest size up from it is. She’s not overly cramped right now (it’s a clear pot inside the decorative one) so I wouldn’t want to move up too much.

It would be fine, when ready to repot, to remove the plant from this pot, shake off the old medium, and see whether the roots system fits into the old pot. If it does you can reuse that. I would wash it first.

If it does not fit the plant will be completely fine bare-root for at least a week, probably much longer, while you find a new pot. Just get the roots wet once a day.

Wow I didn’t realise it could happily sit without a pot for that long! That’s a great tip, thank you.