Den Keiki care (attached) - Orchid Board

judith_arquette · #1 01-24-2016, 03:05 PM

Scored this tagged Den Red Emperor 'Prince' at the grocery store yesterday. Not only did it come with a tag (unheard of before now) but it also came with a keiki! I'm planning on waiting to try to separate it until after its done blooming but am unsure of how to care for it until then. Should I be misting the roots? Thanks in advance for any advice

Zabeta · #2 01-24-2016, 05:03 PM

Last year I bought a similar (maybe the same) plant at Trader Joe's, because it had a few keikis that I wanted to save. Only one survived, and I'm unable to brag about how that one's doing because it clearly has needed more water than it's gotten. So take my advice with a grain of salt. BUT it is still alive after all this time and has survived me leaving several times for a week or more.

Anyway, I cut it off the original plant (I tried twisting another one and it broke in half). Then I gradually incorporated the existing roots into moist sphagnum, because they had never been potted and I didn't want them to rot. Eventually I potted it in the sphagnum so the roots were buried. My plan was to keep it constantly moist but not wet, but it's been seesawing between too wet and too dry. Now I just keep a tiny bit of water at the bottom of the pot so the sphagnum can soak it up. That seems to work better than letting it get too dry. Two leaves have grown since potting, and they're both really curly, which is why I would recommend erring on the side of too moist rather than too dry, and keeping the humidity up.

Hopefully someone with more experience will reply so you don't have to rely only on what I've learned from my mistakes. :-)

---------- Post added at 01:03 PM ---------- Previous post was at 01:00 PM ----------

Oh, and I did mist the roots while it was still attached. :-)

To be honest, I'm pretty sure the roots rotted anyway when it was potted in the sphagnum, but it grew new ones adapted to the moss. I think I wouldn't really worry about the roots while the keiki is still attached.

estación seca · #3 01-24-2016, 06:40 PM

Yes, I would mist the roots. That may encourage the plant to leave home when it's 18 rather than expecting Mom to support it for the rest of its life.

They establish better when they're bigger.

When it's springtime and it warms up, separate it with a razor blade or X-Acto knife. Pot into bark, or mount, like any other Dendrobium. Water and feed like any other Dendrobium.

It occurred to me a keiki exchange might be a good idea. What do people think? They're small enough to fit into a well-padded envelope, and even if they get a little squashed that should be no problem.

Zabeta · #4 01-24-2016, 06:45 PM

I should have clarified that mine was pretty tiny, and the mother plant was dying. Now that I'm looking at your picture, I see it's a LOT bigger and more mature than mine was. Mine was only an inch tall or something.

judith_arquette · #5 01-24-2016, 07:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zabeta

I should have clarified that mine was pretty tiny, and the mother plant was dying. Now that I'm looking at your picture, I see it's a LOT bigger and more mature than mine was. Mine was only an inch tall or something.

This one is about 6-7 inches long with 6 fully developed leaves and another one starting. It has 10+ 3-6 inch long roots but I'm def going to wait until it's done blooming. I have a chronic case of fumble fingers and will more likely than not break off a bunch of buds no matter how carefully I try...

Quote:

Originally Posted by estación seca

Yes, I would mist the roots. That may encourage the plant to leave home when it's 18 rather than expecting Mom to support it for the rest of its life.

They establish better when they're bigger.

When it's springtime and it warms up, separate it with a razor blade or X-Acto knife. Pot into bark, or mount, like any other Dendrobium. Water and feed like any other Dendrobium.

It occurred to me a keiki exchange might be a good idea. What do people think? They're small enough to fit into a well-padded envelope, and even if they get a little squashed that should be no problem.

Thanks for the advice! I was thinking I should probably mist them but 9 times out of 10 I am wrong lol Didn't want to risk rotting the mother cane or something without input from those more experienced than I (experience level zero here).

I think a keiki exchange is an excellent idea! I've traded different chids with a couple members here and scored some amazing new additions!

gngrhill · #6 01-24-2016, 07:26 PM

I planted the keikis I had last year into LECA in a well draining pot, and watered every day or 2. They grew well. I don't remember if I misted the roots while still attached, but I removed them as soon as the roots were 1-2 inches long.

Roberta · #7 01-24-2016, 08:14 PM

I tend to wait until the roots are fairly long, 3-4 inches (7-10 cm) in late spring to early or even mid-summer. Then, unless the keiki roots are tangled around the mother plant, I just twist. If entangled, I'll use a razor blade (or just leave it on the plant.. a way to get more flowers...) I don't mist or do anything special to the keiki - it is getting its nutrients from the mother plant. Those roots will get some water because I water from above, but I don't make any special point of it. Once separated, the keiki will go into small or medium bark.(Stake it so that it does not wobble - vital for any new roots to establish) When late fall arrives, I treat it like the mature plants, cutting back the water to once a week or so, protecting from rain, until buds appear in the spring. All of the keikis don't make it, but the better developed before separating, the better the odds.

mexicowpants · #8 01-31-2016, 03:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by estación seca

Yes, I would mist the roots. That may encourage the plant to leave home when it's 18 rather than expecting Mom to support it for the rest of its life.

They establish better when they're bigger.

When it's springtime and it warms up, separate it with a razor blade or X-Acto knife. Pot into bark, or mount, like any other Dendrobium. Water and feed like any other Dendrobium.

It occurred to me a keiki exchange might be a good idea. What do people think? They're small enough to fit into a well-padded envelope, and even if they get a little squashed that should be no problem.

I'd definitely be up for a keiki exchange program... Got a bit of a keiki-machine at the moment (currently 10 keikis over 2 canes, and a few more as yet undeveloped nubs) which I've been wondering what to do with... Den Love Memory 'Fizz', if you're interested

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