keiki pro works really well

One woman wrote in that she cut the whole top off a phal and put it in medium to root. The rest of the plant that was left started to shoot off keikis. This was a method of propagation in the tropics. Don't know how hard it would be to do here unless one had ideal conditions.

DO NOT cut the whole plant off at the base!! It will die!!

Thanks all... anyone else have any ideas or input?

Since I don't have any keiki paste, but I do have rooting hormone, I put some of that this morning inside one of the spike nodes. I guess I'll do a bit of experimentation. :-)

Smwboxer, please note that I did not say to cut the plant off at the base. I said the woman said they cut the TOP of the plant off, and then babies grow from the base. I also clarified that this method was used in the tropics and would probably be difficult unless one had ideal conditions.

I have grown keikis from cut spikes that have finished flowering. It is very hit and miss but still worth a go. Once the spike has finished or is near to finished flowering cut off the spike and put in a vase/bottle and place somewhere warm. I kept mine in a large propagator so humidity was high. Some spikes just die back other swill produce a keiki.

The keiki paste also works in a hit and miss way. Sometimes I get keikis but mainly it is a new flower spike that forms.

Twice in the past I've cut off old spikes and put them in a vase with water and all that has resulted is a rotten spike. LOL So, I figured I'd give the good ol' rooting hormone a whirl. I'll let you know if I get anywhere!

I've done the keiki paste on cut stems of phals, and also (once) on a stem still attached to the mother plant.

Stem still attached-- keiki formed, but the mother plant went downhill and the keiki followed. I wasn't sure whether trying to get a keiki caused this, but never tried again with an attached stem.

Cut off stems in a vase of water. You get the best results with

1. Do it in spring. Keikis started under plant lights in winter did start, but never seemed to have as much strength and eventually died off under a barrage of experiments to stimulate growth.

2. Big thick strong spikes off a strong plant form bigger stronger keikis better. Thin mewling spikes off a small plant don't take.

3. Do the uppermost two undeveloped nodes on a stem, max. The bottom ones develop slower, weaker, and are lost to rot as the stem goes. Trying for more than two per stem probably robbed the top nodes of needed strength.

4. I covered the paste-node in a baggie, blew in it, and put the stem in a glass in a sunny west window. Every so often, I would blow in the baggie again to keep air in it. The top node forms the keiki first, even in a basement under lights, why I decided they need light. In the sunny window, strong little keikis formed pretty readily-- maybe six weeks. Even in a window with sun hitting the whole stem, the top node forms a keiki first.

I took the baggie off when the keiki looked "strong"-- what can I say, the leaves are either turgid and tuff looking, or they're pathetic, or you're not sure yet.

5. You have to keep cutting the stem at the bottom as it starts to rot, just as you would a flower stem in water.

Full disclosure: The keiikis made this way were strong and beautiful, and wonderful to see them form and grow. BUT I never got roots because...

I had made up to four nodes per stem, leaving only a couple of inches untreated at the bottom. As I said, the bottom nodes had the weakest keikis. As the stem rotted up, and the bottom keikis formed, the growth of the top ones seemed to slow and turn glacial when the keikiswere about 1/2 to 3/4". There were no roots or root nubs.

I began to trealize one sut stem, however thick and healthy has only so much nourishment in it, and can't get more. I decided the bottom keikis on the stem were inhibiting the growth of the others. I think I was right about that, but I made a fatal error trying to correct it-- I cut the stem into pieces, each piece with one keiki on it. I (wrongly) thought this would help the stronger ones along. Instead, the cut pieces were too small once the rot began at the bottom, and I had to throw out the whole experiment a few weeks later as the two-inch pieces rotted away. Putting the small pieces on a bed of damp sphag instead of in water didn't help either.

If you try it, do it in a sunny window in spring, and do no more than two keikis per stem on a thick, strong spike.

PS I also tried a technique I read about, cutting the stem into two inch pieces and laying flat on damp sphag. This did not work for me-- got only rot and mold, and that in a short while. Probably kept the sphag too wet, but not sure.

I am thinking of trying again this March, with thick stems of a favorite, and one treated node per stem.

If I get all the way to roots with it, I'll definitely post about it.

About 6 months or so ago I cut the top off a plant which had made a lot of aerial roots, making sure there were some roots on both the new plant and the old stub. The "cutting" was potted up in usual compost and suspended in semi shade at about 65F. It has done well and currently has twin spikes about a foot long. The old mother plant is also showing new growths. This looks a good way to propagate plants with plenty of aerial roots.

I have taken old bloom spikes and stuck them down in good potting soil and they did produce keikis from the nodes.
I kept the potting soil moist at all times, not soaking wet.
I never had any success with putting the spikes in water.
If you have the space anything is worth a try.

re: David in Liverpool
When you potted up the top of plant, did you bury the aerial roots? I would like to try this method.

Kathy,
I covered most of the small aerial roots and left the longer ones. There are some photos below of before and after (it was in fact nearly a year ago I did this).
"Mother" plant showing scissors where the cut was made:
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Mother plant after cut:
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New plant cut off the mother plant:
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New plant after potting up - I weighed down the potting compost a bit to keep the aerial roots in the compost
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The old mother plant now has 2 new growths and there are twin spikes on the offcut.

David,
Thanks so much. I'm going to do it. I have a white Phal that just keeps growing up and up and I can't plant it deep enough into a pot, so I will just start over. Your instructions were great, thanks again.
Kathy

Thanks all! I'm going to try some of these suggested methods.