Use of Keiki Paste

[Floridan by Choice]

Just a couple of weeks ago I purchased some Keiki paste and on 5 Feb smeared it on two or three nodes of several Phals as kind of an experiment – had never used it before. I used several Phals that were budding and several that were through with blooming and the tops had been trimmed off. I grow outside in Central Florida and the Phals come inside if it gets below 60 degrees at night. It stays at or above 50% moisture all the time where I keep them and I use moisture trays when the plants are indoors.

I removed the protective sheath from several nodes and left some nodes like they were but made sure the sheath was fully covered with paste. I have growth on all of the experiment Phals but whether they are keiki or bloom spikes I’m not too sure of yet. Some of the new growth has the little mittens so am pretty sure that those are bloom spikes. Have no roots showing up on any of the new growth yet.

I read somewhere that keiki paste should be reapplied after several days but I think that would only apply to nodes that have not started growing yet but don’t know for sure.

My question is: Should I add a new layer of keiki paste to the base of the new growth in order to keep supplying the growth hormones or just let the new growth live off of whatever the mother plant provides?

Any comments would be appreciated. Here are a couple of pics of two of the Phals. I used the paste on the left spike – of the dual spike Phal – just last week and am already getting some reaction. I think growing outside and the level of moisture that is usually available has something to do with the rapid growth of the “keiki”.

[Ryan.Walsh]

I don't think re-application would do anything at this point. From the pictures you posted they all look like flower spikes. Keiki's will not elongate and will send out leaves instead. The leaves are followed by roots, but usually not for 3-4 weeks later.

Here's a link to information on Keiki paste application and growing from Western Orchid Labs in Australia.

[Floridan by Choice]

Ryan, thanks for the call back. Being a newbie with orchids I’m continually surprised at what can be done with these things.

So, according to the info on the link you sent me, I can expect all those new growths to be flower spikes (except for maybe the bottom ones). That will make for spectacular plants if all the new growths don’t die and finish as flower spikes and have as many buds as the mother plant – and they all bloom about the same time of course. But any idea what kind of stress will that put on the mother plant? As far as you know, is using keiki paste for additional bloom spikes something that is done frequently by growers? Or are us hobbyists the only crazy ones that will try something different just to see what we will get?

Let me run this by you to make sure I am reading correctly. If I have a flower spike going from keiki paste, I trim off the top 1/3 of that growth and reapply keiki paste over the whole thing. After awhile I should be seeing several leaf shoots from that cropped growth and if I wait long enough, those shoots should develop roots and become full blown keikis. And even if I smear more keiki paste on an un-cropped flower spike it will stay a flower spike.

I think I will try for both more flower spikes and keikis - on some of the plants I’ll let the flower spikes go to see what I’ll get and on the ones that are finished blooming, I’ll try for keikis.

Found note 4 at the bottom of the link very interesting. I have several Dendrobiums that have a bunch of viable pseudobulbs on them so will try for some keikis on those too.

Thanks again for you help and advice.

[Andre]

I have used it with success. It made my Cattleya walkeriana's and nobilior plants are getting big... But they did not flower this time around.