Need some answers......
 

I'm new here and know I can use all the help/guidance/suggestions I can get so I'm not having to bury another Orchid.

I have 4, all different colors and all purchased at WM so none are expensive or exotic but I've grown fond of them and worry if something just doesn't look right.

First, I recently repotted them because there were roots everywhere, shooting out of the pot. I consulted a Orchid friend and she said it would be OK to repot them, cutting off all dead roots and using new potting soil (for Orchids). After I did, all of them starting producing lots of new leaves and everything seemed to be going well. Since it's wintertime here in south TX, I was not expecting any new blooms but one of them started looking like it was. I was excited until I noticed the 'bloom' was really new leaves. This has never happened before.

I originally posted this question to another forum and was advised I might have better luck if I came here instead and another reply said it's not unusual for a plant that's dying to do this. :( The mother plant looks fine so I'm not sure what it's doing or what I should do. Any suggestions/ideas?

LIB

Pictures are worth a thousand words. Sending roots out all over the pot are completely normal for orchids, and new leaves are always welcome, so I'm having a hard time picturing how these guys are "close to dying".

HI LIB and welcome to the board!

There are many, many different types or orchids out there, and the care they need varies depending on type. Do you happen to know what you have? Phalaenopsis and cattley hybrids are probably the most common ones I see at the local groceries and big box stores around here, but that may be different in Texas.

Orchids bloom at many different times of the year--and some will bloom more often than annually, so don't be surprised with mid-winter flowers if you have healthy plants. Up here in Ohio I consider wintertime flowers a bonus (grin)....

Some orchids will produce what are known as "keikis" (Hawaiian for child if I remember right). Phalaenopsis will send up what looks like a flower spike, but instead it will grow leaves at the nodes instead of flowers. Dendrobiums will do this sort of thing too.....It doesn't necessarily mean that the plant is dying (and if you have healthy roots and leaves on the parent then your plant is probably OK)--it's just another way of the plant reproducing.

Once you get five posts on this board you will be able to post pictures. I'd recommend you post some of your plants so the experienced members (I'm still mostly a newb) can take a look at what's going on and hopefully give you more help.

Again, welcome to the wild and crazy world of orchids!

Catherine

If the new leaves are forming on an old flower spike, that is known as a "keiki" (Pronounced Kay-Kee - which is Hawaiian for "baby") - it isa a baby plant genetically identical to the mother plant. When the thing gets a total of about 4" of roots (4 @ 1", 1 @ 4", etc) it can be removed and potted up independently.

Thank you all sooooo much.
 

I wish I had kept all the little name sticks that come with each plant but I didn't so I have no clue what I have. A newbie trait, I guess.

And, I'll have to see if I can get some pictures, as suggested, and the idea of getting a new plant is wonderful :) It has two leaves so far so when it gets 5 or more, do I just cut the stalk and poke into a pot?

LIB

Assuming you have Phalaenopsis plants....


You're thinking of topping the plant already?

I would wait until it had way more leaves and a bunch of aerial roots before I'd even begin thinking about doing that. Remember the new plant will need roots! But if done correctly the top of one plant should grow fine in a new pot and the rest of the plant left over (with plenty of leaves for itself) will branch off and grow a new crown.

OK. Will wait for the new plant to grow roots. See? Learned something new.....again.

LIB

The people on this board are a great resource and I learn constantly from them.

If you do have phals, you might find the thread "the phal abuse stops here" (stickied at the top of the beginners section) useful as well--it's long but you should be able to get a lot of really useful information just by reading the first 10 or 12 pages.

One important thing to remember is that there are many different approaches to growing these plants, and that you may have to adjust what other people recommend to your growing conditions. Learn to listen to your plants--they will tell you when they are happy.

Catherine

It's just the keieki he/she is referring to. So long as it has good roots (as Ray suggested) and a few leaves, it can be removed from the bloom spike and potted. Pictures would really help to be certain of what we are all discussing.

I second a picture.