Hi, I am new to the forum and can see that this is an old thread, but I cannot see a more recent thread on this and I also have a keiki that has grown on an orchid about half a year after we bought it (I think it is a Phalaenopsis orchid, and it seemed to do well, it flowered twice during the first six months). I have only now understood that this is a keiki - we didn't realise we should separate it when the roots started growing - and now it's about to flower AND the stem with the flowers and new leaves on it is growing in the same direction as the 'air roots' are, and not in the direction of the leaves around which the new root system has developed, so it seems impossible to separate it. How can to make sure the plant will continue to grow? I would very much appreciate advice from someone more experienced with keikis - I hope the image is clear enough. Thank you! Branislava

No help? That is because you are asking an impossible question. If the orchid was say a vanda you would get a very different answer to that given if your orchid was a Cattleya. Does the orchid have few stems or lots and lots bulb like lumps? Perhaps google Orchid Blooms, select images and see if you can find a bloom that is similar in shape.

Murky, My figs are towering giants right now. I bet they are 12 or more feet tall. If you had asked me that same question in 2003 I would have jumped at it, as these root cups look like they cannot be improved upon. But I am just not airlayering anything these days. Back in 2003 I was using yogurt cups that I had first melted a hole in the center bottom, then cut with scissors down the side to that hole. Next I would fit it around the fig stem, and then duct tape the whole thing solid. After that I would fill the cup with some potting soil and keep it moist for a month or two. They rooted very nicely, best done in early June. The reason I even went to this extreme is because a friend from California had given me some potted figs that had severe nematode infestations, so this method was incorporated to give the clones disease free roots. Then junk the mother plants. Any more, my figs are so branch-prolific that I just take the more limber of the lower branches and weight them down with rocks of bricks to the ground, making superb fig-babies for whoever wants them. Right now I have plenty of Desert King and Negronne, if you know anyone that needs that sort.

If you have it near a window that gives it some bright light, you'll get some flowers again. Even if the temperature doesn't vary much (though my guess is that even indoors, when autumn comes, you'll have cooler evenings), the difference in the length of the day will often trigger a flower spike. You seem to have it in a really good pot situation right now, so just wait and see! As much as we talk about all the factors involved, at the end of the day, if the roots have humidity, and the leaves have lots of bright light, you're going to be rewarded. Don't think too hard about it. Just an aside: I know it's discouraged, but in my experience, phals CAN get direct sun, either early morning or late afternoon, so it's not too intense. I've 10 phals here that all get at least two hours of direct early morning sun, and 4 of them have just spiked for the second time this year (that's a first for me!!).