how to encourage keiki roots...

[amersault]

as i've come across a lot of 'please help' threads on how to encourage keiki roots, i'm going to post my experience, as i've shelled out advice based on it.

below is part of my collection, Dtps Taida Salu. flower is a veined orange on faint yellow background - exceedingly pretty.

after blooming last year, it threw a keiki.

i waited months - 3, actually - for roots to appear and nothing.

i then moved it to a brighter location and began dabbing the base w/ a wet QTip or tissue twice a week. w/in a month i saw the telltale nub of a root.

i then wrapped the end lightly w/ sphag, continuing the twice-a-week moisture regimen. i haven't really checked for nearly 4 weeks until now: success

i'm going to wait until the roots are about 2" - 3" long on this before i assign it its own pot.

so to recap -

01 - 02: front and back view of this plant
03: the new root structure after i took off the bit of sphag to soak
04: a better view of the new roots

here's to Dtps Taida Salu, Jr.

[BillC]

Hi amersault, that appears to me to be a good system for encouraging a keiki that is reluctant to produce roots, but it could be specific to this plant and you may have had other plants that grew keikis complete with roots without any aid. It would be interesting to hear from other members with keiki experience.

Bill

[amersault]

hi, Bill!

to be honest, it's my first ever keiki and a stubborn one at that. the wait and root took ages (like watching paint dry)...

perhaps other members can share their experiences. this just happened to be what worked for me

[exasperatus2002]

Ive only had one Den thats keiki'd and I didnt have to do anything to it for roots to start. I just let it go on its own. I have a Phal now with a basal kieki thats 1st leaf is 3/4" long so its to small for roots yet.

[amersault]

sorry - i meant 1st Phal keiki. my Dens throw keikis all the time it's a regular occurence.

but this one just took forever to sprout!

[FLBob]

I've had Phals keiki and others that send out side shoots. I don't have a clue what causes the a phal to keiki. The side shoots I attribute to genetics and good health. Since the keikis start from the flower spike I would guess that plants that tend to hold their spikes for a long time would provide a better opportunity to keiki. Though I have some phals that will be blooming for their third year on the same spike but have never keikied. My Phal. Nobby Amy has keikied multiple times. While Phal. Brother yellowboy never, both keep heathy bloom spikes for extended periods of time.
I think the key for the keiki throwing off roots is just time. The keiki is nourished by the parent through the spike. I do like the idea of the moist sphagnum at the keiki base.

[amersault]

keikis can be any combination of 1) good health or 2) stress on the plant, all tied in closely to the plants genetics. some just keiki more easily than others.

a plant getting the proper nourishment and light can sport a keiki as part of the natural process of propagation. whereas others throw it as a measure of last resort when under stress. it all depends on condition and genetics.

but as this is my first DTPS/PHAL keiki, i'm just pleased

[PhalPal]

Originally Posted by FLBob

Since the keikis start from the flower spike I would guess that plants that tend to hold their spikes for a long time would provide a better opportunity to keiki.

I think you hit the nail on the head with this observation! I have a phal keiki growing right now and it is my first. It is growing at the end of a very long phal spike and has great roots growing. I usually cut my spikes after the flowers have faded but did not cut this one because it threw four buds at the very end of the spike, like a little ball of flowers. It looked very odd with a long naked spike punctuated by this clump of flowers. I went away for a month and came back to a beautiful keiki, three little leaves and two large in diameter but short roots.

This phal has had flowers on it forever and certainly supports your above theory.

[lmartiny]

Amersault. Very healthy looking plant. I had one phal keiki a few years ago. Well before I gave much consideration to orchid care. I stuck it in a pot with another phal and only just separated them. (They were fairly ignored up to then) I recently repotted them into separate pots. The bigger phal is looking really sad and likely to die. The keiki looks OK. But it only has three leaves and quite small. I've got a den keiki started on a very sorry looking straggler that has managed two new growths at the base as well. It's still "under observation."
someone recently posted about a keiki boost.
I left a green spike on a recent rescue and its getting two new growths. But it may just be new spikes. I spy another new spike coming from below. We'll see.

[amersault]

hey, folks -

just wanted to show you what the Taida Salu, Jr. looks like now.

i'm telling you, rainwater and nearly full sun = happy plant.

i was just about to cut the keiki bc the roots were developed enough to support it when i stopped in my tracks: see last pict? there's a little green claw forming at the base.

do i spy a spike?? but this keiki is under a year old!

[PhalPal]

WOW - How cool is that!?! Those roots are awesome!

It will really neat to see a blooming keiki on the end of a spike like that. Orchids never stop amazing me.

Anna my keiki threw more roots than leaves, just the opposite of yours. I just mounted it this weekend.

[amersault]

hey, Connie!

how's it going??? it's been ages!

yes, isn't it exciting? do you really think it could be a spike?? it's a it young, but i can't see why else not.

from the looks of the root direction, this is a great candidate for mounting, however, as it's got a reserve on it, the future owner might not approve. we'll let them decide on the medium of their choice

[Plucky Purcell]

That's super sweet.

I've read that I keikis are genetically the same age as it's parent and what determines whether it flowers or not is it's energy reserves. But that little guy isn't relying on it's own reserve, it's got mom to support the growth. I love it!

[amersault]

in that case, i'm not cutting the cord until it's done blooming! thanks for the encouragement, guys

[lissie0113]

i wish some of mine would keiki! i would love to have 2 of some of these beauties!

[Sassy Sal]

I think it is so exciting when a phal puts out a keiki . It takes a long time sometimes for them to grow so you can separate them from mom. I have had three keikis grow so far developing on the flower spike . I have also had some grow from the base of the phal , I guess you would call that a basil keiki? One of the keikis that developed on the spike had a lot of roots on it but I do have one other one growing from another spike and it has not developed any roots yet what so ever . It's been like that for months . I think I will try the spagnum moss to see if I can incourage them to grow . The plant is very healthy , no signs of stress what so ever , so I am sure it will be fine for awhile .

[amersault]

thanks for the kudos, guys

Originally Posted by Sassy Sal

It's been like that for months . I think I will try the spagnum moss to see if I can incourage them to grow . The plant is very healthy , no signs of stress what so ever , so I am sure it will be fine for awhile .

you know, mine was like that as well. nothing for a loooong time, until i moved it to this bright growing area. it gets almost full sun daily. after that, the keiki development sped up and now - in under a year - the keiki may have a spike! i say sun + sphagnum seems to have helped it along.

just care for both parent and child equally and you'll get surprising results

[tansyflower]

Is what Purcell said right?- that keikis are the same age as their parent (sort of like when you graft fruit trees).

I have seen on ebay a one cane keiki, on a larger cooktown mother dendrobium orchid, that had flowers.

I am a big keiki fan, so am very interested in the answer.

[benetay]

Let me share my experience with keiki, i only have one species phal that throws nothing else except keiki. It has 6 spikes with 4 keiki on it. All with long and healthy roots. I have already cut one down and another is forming on another node.

For mounted plants like mine, encouraging faster growth can be done by moving the spike with the keiki and mount it on a new slab just beside the mother. This will mean that the keiki has it's own mount coupled with the nutrients fed by the mother. By the time it's big enough to be seperated, just cut off the base of the keiki and you got yourself a new plant on an old mount.

This increases the chance of it's survival.

I like the idea of wrapping moss around the keiki to encourage new growth & with the idea of bending the spike to a new mount means an integration of ideas!

Thanks for sharing! Certainly informative.

Cheers!

[amersault]

Originally Posted by tansyflower

Is what Purcell said right?- that keikis are the same age as their parent (sort of like when you graft fruit trees).

I have seen on ebay a one cane keiki, on a larger cooktown mother dendrobium orchid, that had flowers.

I am a big keiki fan, so am very interested in the answer.

i think the age would be off - the keiki is obviously younger than the parent. however, he is right that it is a genetic clone of the parent and if it's predisposed to bloom at an earlier rate than usual maturity to other orchids, so be it.

[amersault]

i've gone ahead and taken it off the parent this morning, so we'll have to see if the spike keeps, stalls, or blasts.

the roots by their length almost touched the bottom of this 3" deep pot.

i'm getting the little guy acclimated before i send it off to its new owner