Phal. equestris keiki paste? - Orchid Board

Fishkeeper · #1 10-12-2017, 02:33 AM

I have an equestris, about 5" across, that's starting to put up a spike. It was a keiki, just cut off the spike about two months ago, and is doing pretty well in its new home.

Would it be worth a shot to try keiki paste on the spike and see what happens? It's not a full-sized plant, but it's healthy, and the parent plant wasn't much larger. Plus, from what I've read, these guys like to make babies this way.

Would fertilizing it help the process at all? It's mounted on a deer skull, so I could spritz a highly diluted fert mix onto its roots and then maybe rinse them gently after giving it some time to soak everything up. The roots are pretty healthy, and most of them have growing tips.

WhiteRabbit · #2 10-12-2017, 10:18 PM

Equestris does seem to like to make keikis a lot, so I wouldn't bother with keiki paste, and since your plant is small, it might be best to let it use its energy towards getting bigger and / or blooming.

camille1585 · #3 10-13-2017, 02:50 AM

Agree with Sonya.

Phal equestris needs zero help producing keikis, it'll do it on its own when it's ready. I also would be hesitant about inducing keikis on a plant which itself is a recently potted/mounted keiki. The plant needs time to settle in fully.

Just curious, why would you want to rinse off fertilizer? You should be applying it anyway, there's no need to rinse it off, especially if it's a weak solution.

jkofferdahl · #4 10-13-2017, 01:45 PM

I'm going to somewhat disagree. Equestris is a madman, and when healthy it's also vigorous. I've seen these plants, where the mother is in full bloom, with a blooming keiki, and with the blooming keiki also having a blooming keiki. If your plant is healthy then I'd let it do its thing.

camille1585 · #5 10-13-2017, 02:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jkofferdahl

I'm going to somewhat disagree. Equestris is a madman, and when healthy it's also vigorous. I've seen these plants, where the mother is in full bloom, with a blooming keiki, and with the blooming keiki also having a blooming keiki. If your plant is healthy then I'd let it do its thing.

I agree, but there's a difference between letting a recently separated keiki do its thing, and forcing it to produce keikis with keiki paste.

jkofferdahl · #6 10-13-2017, 05:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by camille1585

I agree, but there's a difference between letting a recently separated keiki do its thing, and forcing it to produce keikis with keiki paste.

Absolutely. I don't use keiki paste at all on equestris, and they keiki like mad. I do occasionally use it on other plants if they're strong. My preference, again, is to allow my Phals to do their thing naturally, and this is a species that seems to almost insist on keikis.

Fishkeeper · #7 10-13-2017, 08:56 PM

OK, I'll leave it alone and let it do whatever it wants.

I referred to rinsing off the fertilizer because I don't know if, when applying ferts directly to exposed roots, you need to rinse them later to remove any excess. There isn't any moss over the roots, they're just dangling in midair.