Difficulty in vegetative propagation of Phalaenopsis
 

I have Phalaenopsis orchids which are over two and half year old. They are very healthy and have been flowering very well. But I am disappointed that there has not been any keikis growing.
Can anyone please suggest what to do to ensure vegetative propagation of my Phals

Some phals are not very prone to keikis, it can be just something genetic. I've never had one on any of mine.

One thing you can try is some sort of keiki paste. One of them is called keiki-pro. I've never used it myself but some folks here have had good results with it.

Keiki pro really works well with phals. I'm sure there are many posts that are one search away that will answer all your questions on how to use keiki pro, just know this - it takes a LONG time to have a viable keiki! So be prepared to wait.

http://184.72.239.143/mu/9273a48e-3518-5b8d.jpg

Keep water standing in the crown - that'll lead to keikies, unless the plant dies first.

Keiki formation - in plants not genetically programmed to produce them - usually results from poor culture.

I was going to suggest jamming a screwdriver into the crown, but I guess water should do it. :rofl:

Keiki production in Phals are actually very rare. It is not their first choice in the mode of reproduction.

They are usually the results of poor culture.

On the OB, there is a concentrated number of cases, but it is not representative of what actually occurs out there with many other people. You cannot do a search and look at how many cases of Phals producing keikis there are on the web, of course there'll be hundreds of them!

You gotta dig deeper in your research. I'm sure that when you dig up the posts that talk about Phal keikis, you'll also find in some of those posts, some people who also mention that it's usually a result of inappropriate cultivation.

On that note...

I have never got any keikis from any of my Phals at all.

In regards to Keiki Pro.

Keiki Pro is a paste with phytohormones to induce keikis, but I don't suggest making this practice a habit as it can tax your plant to death if over done.

Just be happy with what you've got.

If you want more, then you can try cross pollination and learn about micropropagation.

Do not try and grow your Phal in less than adequate conditions just to get keikis! You'll most likely find that to be a very disappointing venture (in other words, the Phal may die and leave you with no keikis at all)!

The only Phals I have that ever make keikis are the Phal equestris and equestris hybrids. It's a species which is pretty much genetically programmed to make keikis after blooming.

If you use the paste, it's not 100% guaranteed that you'll get keikis, it can happen that new spikes grow. And use it preferable on strong healthy plants, as being forced to grow keikis takes a lot of energy.

http://www.orchidej.estranky.cz/archiv/ifile/137.jpg
You can try to cut the spike,put it into the glass and wait. Sometimes it is successfull.

Another method that was mentioned several years ago is to cut off the top part of the crown and stick that into the medium to root it. The remaining part of the crown should throw off keikis. It's kind of drastic, and you would need the right conditions to pull it off.

I've never heard of cutting the spike and waiting to try and grow a keiki before. Amazing! It looks from the picture that the whole keiki is under water. Is that right? How long did it take for that little guy to grow? Do you have to break the bottle to free the keiki when it's time to pot up? At what point in the blooming cycle did you cut the spike?

Fascinating thread you guys.

-J