keikeis instead of flowers? How to?

[missann]

I bought some Dtps. ( a cross with phalenopsis) yesterday at Lowes and their roots looked great throught the plastic pots, but when I went to repot them out of the wet sphagnum moss, I found that the roots were almost all rotted in the middle, and only the tips were green...
I would like to make the plants grow keikis in case they die from root rot.

HAS ANYONE USED KEIKI PRO???
I have seen this product online and I don't know if it is a unique product, or if it just fertilizer with a fancy label.

What does Dtps. stand for? What are the crosses used in this mix?

[kmarch]

Originally Posted by missann

I would like to change these buds into keikeis if at all possible, just in case the plants die on me. I know that increasing water during flowering can turn the buds into keikeis,....

It's not possible. Buds and keikis are completely different structures and one can not turn into the other no more than a leaf could turn into a flower or a finger turn into an ear.

Increasing watering during flowering will not turn buds into keikis. I don't know where you heard that but unfortunately it was incorrect.

Several members here have had experience with keikis and will be able to advise on how to induce your Phal to keiki (note spelling of keiki).

[digitalgate]

1)to induce keiki, you can drive a nail through the crown. (i dont think that what you want)

2)let it bloom, and let it finish the bloom. Then treat the plant real nice with good sunshine
and good food. The node will develop into Keiki.

[jerrymeola]

Leaving the flower stem on the plant after the flowers are finished can result in a keiki growing lower on the stem.

With Phals they develop keiki when they like and it is also controlled by the genetics of the plant. Some produce keiki easier than others. There are pastes advertised to help induce keiki but I have my doubts on how well they work.

The Dtps was correct it is a Doritis Phalaenopsis cross. Doritis are a closely related group to Phalaenopsis. For the hobbyist, you can consider and treat them the same.

[jay]

I can't respond from experience, but I have heard that this product is pretty good. You apply it to a node on the spike after the flowering is over. I think there are full directions on this site.

KeikiPro

Good luck

[missann]

Weird...I read somewhere the other day that if you water too much before the flower buds are very big, that they will make KEIKIS instead of flowers. Maybe they just meant that if you water too much during the time when the plant is suppossed to bloom, that it will not bloom, but make KEIKIS instad.
Note, I fixed the spelling of KEIKIS. hehe.

Jay, I have seen this keiki pro website before, but didn't know if someone had actually used it and had success or not. There are a lot of products out there that aren't worth the box they come in.

[kid a]

There is another that used it to grow a keiki an a plant that we thought had crown rot. It grew a nice keiki and then later new growth popped out of the crown! I think the original thread was called keiki ready for coworker.
http://www.orchidgeeks.com/forum/gen...ady-to-go.html
http://www.orchidgeeks.com/forum/gen...f-despair.html

[kmarch]

Originally Posted by missann

Weird...I read somewhere the other day that if you water too much before the flower buds are very big, that they will make KEIKIS instead of flowers. Maybe they just meant that if you water too much during the time when the plant is suppossed to bloom, that it will not bloom, but make KEIKIS instad.

If the source of this info was speaking about phals, I would stop going to that source for information. They're not reliable. Your later interpretation is the case with some dendrobium, more specifically the species and hybrids that expect a dry winter rest. If watered during the dry rest period they will sprout keikis and will not flower, but flower buds will never turn into keikis.