One of the phals that I ordered from Hausermann's a while back came with a keiki that also had it's own spike. It looks like it was actually the second time the keiki had produced a flower spike, even though it didn't have a single root.
Soon after it got here the buds on the spike blasted but the plant seemed OK. Then about a month later I noticed that the mother plant was deteriorating quickly and I felt that I needed to take the keiki off even though it didn't even have the slightest indication that it was about to produce roots. I decided to cut the spike the keiki was on but leave it long, and stick it in a glass of water as if it were a cut flower. See picture:
I honestly expected it to die but I wanted to see what would happen. Well, within a week it started to grow a new root which is now about an inch long, and now another new root is popping out.
I don't know if I had left it on the mother plant it would have produced these roots at this time anyway, or if it was the act of cutting it off that made it initiate the roots. Either way looks like there's hope for this baby and I wanted to share the experience with you all.
Keiki on a stick
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