Not roots, not a spike, uh...?(Rhynchostylis gigantea)

[Oecophylla]

Long time listener, first time caller.

I've had a Rhynchostylis gigantea for about two years now. The first (repotted) year was a slow one, very minimal growth. This last year, she put out a leaf or two and some nice and fat branching roots.

Here's where I'm confused. Noticed some buds in the leaf margins this Autumn and hoped for flower spikes. The buds grew and grew...and grew and grew, and here two months later don't look anything like flower spikes.


This is the only Vandaceous orchid I've ever grown, so forgive me if this is an obvious answer. I'm pretty sure offshoots are rare if not impossible, though as the weeks go by these buds are looking more and more like miniature plants...so friends, what gives?

Here's a few pictures for reference:

[nikkik]

Welcome to orchidboard!

That is a keiki (baby plant). Mine is in spike right now and the spikes look very different. Congrats on your keiki!

[Oecophylla]

Thanks for the warm welcome. I've not one, but two keikis, evidently. Suppose I'm a bit disappointed that they aren't spikes, but I can't complain about a beefier plant. I know that keikis in other types of orchids can indicate that conditions were not quite for flowers. Is there any common reason for offshoots instead of flowers, or is it just something that happens? For reference, (Pittsburgh) summer outdoors, bright direct sun, hosed down daily.

[nikkik]

Do you fertilize? If so what type and dose?

[Oecophylla]

20-14-13 is what I usually use, half-strength every other watering?

11-35-15 is a BetterGro bloom-booster I picked up in the late summer and used sporadically, not wanting to fertilize too late in the season. Also half-strength and maybe twice or thrice Aug and Sept?

[Chatbud]

I'm wondering if it's trying to save itself by setting our babies.
The main plant looks kinda banged up, like it was dropped or crushed?
Is the crown still intact??

[Oecophylla]

Yeah, I know it looks kind of banged up...not my doing. There was the one big crease in the leaf when I bought it last year, as for all of the spots and bruises? They just sorta happened over time. I'm thinking those combined with the pale green/almost yellow color are a result of giving it too much direct sun this recent summer.

There's no damage to the crown, at least that I can see, anyways. No rot or breakage or anything, but now that I think of it, there hasn't been a new leaf in a very long time. Maybe the growing tip just kinda gave up and after all of this time sent out some new growth. *shrug*

Oh well, no flowers this year but I suppose I'm now a bit more edumacated on monopodials. Thanks for the replies, you two.

[nikkik]

Good news is you have two keikis. Chatbud, did bring up a great point about the crown, I have a plant that produced a keiki when the crown rotted because of too much water settling there without enough time to dry before the next watering came. If you haven't seen a new leaf from the center this could be the case.

[MattWoelfsen]

Your Rhyncostylis is a very slow growing plant! Having a couple of these plants myself to compare with your's; I think you have a healthy plant. It does look like it got plenty of light--mine are slightly greener. In regards to the keiki, you want a lot of those growths. That is my goal for my Vanda alliance plants. The more fans--that is what Vanda growers call it, the more spectacular your plant becomes when all the fans start to bloom.

These are not my pictures, but taken from the Internet. If the owner of these images see these photos, please comment! When a Vanda grows a fan, it is a sign of good growing and good health.

BTW, I hope you have a lot of grow space when your plant achieves its maximum growth.







And one more thought. The next time you re-pot, I would consider using a net pot or a basket of the same size. Instead of sphagnum moss I would consider a chunky bark mix. And I would consider hanging it. I have a plant in this configuration and another one in a net pot that I could hang up. I'm trying to figure out which way produces the best growth.