Re pot blooming keiki?
Hi, I'm new here and a newbie with orchids. I need some advice.
One year ago I rescued a dying phal and this year she put out 2 small keikis.
I read online about what to do with baby orchids and the main idea was to wait for the roots to grow, so I waited. Now that the roots are fully grown I want to re pot it next to her mother, but the small keiki is growing now a flower spike.
What do I do? Wait for it to flower and shed then re pot? I'm afraid that the mother orchid will die soon, her leaves are really soft and I'm not sure how long it will last or if she can still grow the keikis and flowers.
I attached photos of the mother (when I rescued her the main growing node was already rotted), the blooming keiki and small other keiki.
Comments (15)
Florina Parvu
7 years agoRelated Discussions
Keiki blooming??
Comments (4)Be happy! Your orchid shouldn't be watered every day and my guess is that the original plant is in trouble. Many times orchids will make keiki's when they are declining. An east window is good, but you need to cut back on your watering or you could lose them all. My guess is that the babies are growing above the media, thus saving their roots from over-watering. If the keiki's have roots, you can separate them and put them in small pots. You might want to check the condition of the original plant....See MoreA Keiki On A Keiki?
Comments (2)That is normal for the Epidendrum radicans and all the other reed stem epidendrums. You should see some of the unkempt old growth reed stem epidendrums all over Southern California. You might find more than 10 generations of keikis, on top of each other - not a very beautiful sight. Is it normal? Yes. Is it desirable? It depends. I find that new growths produced from the base of the plant produce more robust foliage and flowers compared to what the keikis can produce in their first blooming season. So I cull the keikis to allow the new basal growths to get all the nutrients. I would keep one keiki or two for sharing and trading, but other than that I find the keiki more of a nuisance - for this particular type of plant anyway....See MoreI ordered too much! What sizes pots to re-pot in?
Comments (18)70 miles away is far. If it must be pots, your plants can be OK in pots. Most gardeners have a more or less permanent pot ghetto in any case! I would keep the pots in part shade whenever that is possible. If they have to be in full sun for awhile, do check them every morning - as you head off for work, for example, or when you get home, if you usually get home before dark. Plant in a mix of potting soil and bagged topsoil. This would be my personal preference for water conservation, even though potted plants generally don't want heavy topsoil. I think any pots that give your plants some room to grow without being the size of Kansas should be fine. Trays or water-catcher things under the pots may help save you some watering work. In zone 5, if you can't get everything into a permanent planting spot by October, use the holding bed idea but just drop the plants (in their pots), into the soil. Plants in pots are vulnerable to freezing. Some people are able to overwinter stuff in pots in an unheated garage but from back when I lived in z5 I know for a fact that, when it was -12 outside, it was -12 in my garage. That's too cold for most potted plants, even if they're hardy in the ground....See MoreKeiki with its own bloom spike...still attached to mother plant.
Comments (2)No ID, there are a zillion Phals. Looks like a basal keiki. It should be fine, you can leave it. Some Phals do that and create a beautiful pot full of leaves and spikes. I have a few like that and I like the look. Its up to you. Jane...See MoreFlorina Parvu
7 years agolast modified: 7 years agoI got a new idea on this keiki situation: I just planted the blooming one next to Mom but keeping it still attached for now. I suppose that in time the baby will start using the roots and the "cord" will just dry out and it will still bloom. I hope it works!
stanofh 10a Hayward,Ca S.F. bay area
7 years agoFlorina Parvu
7 years agoFlorina Parvu
7 years agolast modified: 7 years agoThank you all for your advice and sharing good information.
Update: looks like the keiki is doing well, it's growing new roots and the flower spike, it's not fully fixated into the pot but i'm not worried.
I'm also looking out for the little one, it has just one root, hope it manages to grow more but it's growing also a flower spike which is very exciting :)
I'll post more when the flowers come out!
Florina Parvu
7 years agoHelp!
I noticed these days that the flower buds looked a bit dry so I checked the keiki's condition, it had one new root growing in the air but when I pulled it out of the soil all the other roots were rotted.
Why did this happen? All the forums said to pot the keiki next to mother but in this case, it didn't work. If I had cut the keiki for sure it would have been dead by now but having it still attacked it has still a change to grow new roots.
Any advice is welcome here!Florina Parvu
7 years agoFlorina Parvu
7 years ago
Danielle Rose