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.

Sorry but it's me again, the orchid newbie!!...so what you are saying is now that it has produced a spike from the centre and not a new leaf, it will not grow any more leaves?? If this is so, I also take this to mean it will not get any bigger (but may produce a keiki)and therefore not produce any more flowering spikes...assuming that spikes have formed from above all its other leaves and once a leaf has formed a spike above it wont ever do that again? Correct?....or am I really missing something important here folks? Just need to know! Thanks, Gill.

Never, ever put your Phals outside comments i've made in the past apply to here, not necessarily NE USA. As far as getting flowers, if you read the first post plus the in depth FAQ on the subject it all begins to make sense . There are the two groups of Phals. those that need a cool down and those that need a warm up to flower. (though perhaps day length might apply to some species) Some that need a warm up (here) are Phal.violacea and Doritis pulcherrima Phal.equestris blooming seems to be triggered by a cooling down. Cheating. (Phal.equestris x Dor. pulcherrima) x Kingiella philippense bloomed late summer for years in my conditions. After reading various posts i though i would try to make it bloom in the spring so i moved it to my warmer growing conditions in Autumn. Worked like a charm. I agree with the comments about increased light but of course it all depends where you are. No Phal will survive summer or winter outside here, Too hot (sometimes) Too cold (sometimes) and low humidity when the wind blows from the interior of the Continent. Leaf Burn is a function of light plus high temperatures.

I have two 18W (cool and warm) and on the side two 15W (cool and warm). I know it is not much of the light probably, but commercial lights will be too heavy for this stand. I am not sure about my zone...I live in Montreal, Canada. During a day for a few hours the plant is under the full sun ( when we have sun). It is very warm in my house, the highest temperature could be 32 C. I use humidifier at all times, and during a night I put a plastic cover over the stand with plants as it helps to creat humidity up to 100% (according to the humidity tester). http://i038.radikal.ru/0712/fb/c1b8ad6a8e5a.jpg [IMG]http://i037.radikal.ru/0712/6d/6a212c7813be.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://i026.radikal.ru/0712/ff/26a3524aec2b.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://i010.radikal.ru/0712/9c/3ca940037947.jpg[/IMG]