How many keikis can one plant support?
 

One of my noid phals rebloomed once on the spike, and is now sending out keikis on the same spike. There are for sure two keikis, and it looks like one or maybe even two more little nubs are appearing.

How much is too much for one plant to support? I bought the plant in the spring in bloom. It's a big plant, 4-5 leaves on each side. It was jam packed in sphagnum, but I repotted it after it finished blooming and it still had tons of roots in good condition, so I'm not concerned about it needing energy to grow roots.

Thanks!

I don't know about phals but some of my vandas have several keikis and there's no problem. If it were a young plant I might worry cause it might be stressing but not on a big plant. Just my 3 cents worth...extra penny

Wow! Have you got any pictures? :drool:

My house tends to have wild temperature changes during day/night so never had a Keiki, do you do anything special to get them?

Sounds like a very vigorous phal! I have no clue how many keikis a phal can support. But I'm guessing if a plant produces 4 keikis naturally (you didn't use any keiki paste did you?) it must have the energy to support them. I was worried about that too on one of my phals, and ended up removing 2 of the 3 keikis. The remaining keiki grew at a phenomonal rate! It was ready to be separated in less than 6 months.

So I would say that if you want that many keikis, keep them, but if you have no need for so many, remove some. In any case, keep on eye on moma plant for signs that she's under strain.

I think keiki-ing is mostly due to the genetics of the phal. Phals with equestris (or other species which make keikis easily) in their parentage tend to keiki more freely and more profusely than others. For example, my 6 phals are all grown the same way, yet only the one with Phal equestris in its background actually makes keikis. If you want keikis, i think you should use some sort of keiki paste.

Camille is right. It's most likely in your plant's genes to produce Keikis. I have a Phal. equestris that is growing 2 Keikis on 2 separate spikes, and blooming off a third, as well as growing new leaves and roots! Most plants with Phal. equestris in their lineage will throw lots of Keikis naturally. As long as the parent plant looks good and continues to grow you have nothing to worry about. :)

Here's my 2 cents worth! Keiki's have leaves and eventually roots that will contribute to the strength of the plant not take away from it. As they get larger and approach removal size, make sure that they are supported by a stake so as to lessen the chances of a spike snap off due to the additional weight. It's possible that you may lose the next bloom cycle because of the extra vegetative growth. Then again, maybe not.

Paul

Thanks for all the feedback everyone! Yes, it is for sure 3 keikis now. 2 are about 1/4 of an inch, the third is a little more than a nub. Still watching the possible 4th to see what's going on there. And nope, I didn't use any paste or anything.

One of my other phals, which has a keiki about 4-5 months old, is blooming from the keiki... how wild it would be if this one does the same thing :D