Keiki stayed on too long

[LJA]

Note the yellowing leaves on the mother plant. Too much of its energy is going into a new spike and the keiki on the old, (which loves all the attention and has put out two spikes of its own). If I leave this situation as is, once the mother plant is done blooming, it'll be in pretty sad shape. The keiki here needs to be cut off, as does the main plant's new spike. True, that means the main plant won't bloom this season, but I'd much rather have a more vigorous Phal that'll bloom better next time. (And anyway, I can enjoy the flowers that will develop on the potted-up keiki...)

[Heather]

Wow, that's pretty wild, Louis! I am not sure I've ever seen a keiki before, and didn't realize what it would look like exactly, especially such a large one. Thanks for the education.

You are finding some weird stuff around the greenhouse today, huh?

[LJA]

I think they might have started using the central US as a testing ground for some new bio-disfigurement weapons.

You should have seen what *I* looked like this morning.....

[Gilda]

I don't know if I would call that stressed or not....phals can lose their lower leaves naturally. Do I detect some yellowing ,even on the kiekie ,or is that the lighting in the photo ??? Mineral deficiency?

I have one that had a kiekie, lower leaves have yellowed, grew 2 new spikes..other leaves are healthy. I did remove the kiekie, just because it dangled in the way, and also a friend wanted it. My kiekie was at the tip of a previous bloom spike though...could that make a difference ?

[orchidaddict789]

That's interesting! I've heard of keikis blooming/spiking while attached to the spike, but never truly believed it until I saw that picture. A keiki with spikes on it...wow!

[RSJ]

What will you do to accommodate the two long roots on the keiki when you pot it up, or will you trim them? I would think trimming would stall the spikes, right?

[LJA]

The yellow-looking keiki leaf is just a trick of the light--it's actually the same color as the top leaves on the mother plant. I left the keiki on as a kind of experiment, and have watched the mother plant's leaves gradually yellow from the bottom up while the keiki's leaves stayed a nice healthy green. The other Phals growing alongside this one on the bench aren't behaving similarly, and I would expect a more blotchy yellowing of everything if mineral deficiency was the issue. However, that's still not ruled out, so mineral deficiency may still be contributing to the cause. Gilda, I wouldn't think the positioning of the keiki along the spike would make much of a difference.

RSJ, no, those roots definitely won't be trimmed. If you soak them for several hours they get pliable enough to be coiled and worked into an appropriately sized pot. Given that the keiki is still getting a lot of nutrients from the mother plant, trimming those roots would definitely stall the spikes, if not cause the plant to abandon them outright.

Heather, Lily, thanks!

[Tanya]

Awesome Phal! I wonder what would be the outcome if you just leave the keiki and attach the pot to a trunk of a living tree and let the plant do its own natural thing?

[Heather]

I wondered about that too, I mean, in nature, wouldn't it just keep growing, and I guess eventually, well, survival of the fittest?! I guess if you are experimenting w/ it anyway, could be interesting for us all to see how long they both survive? But heck, if you want to actually sell them or something, maybe not the best idea!

[LJA]

Sure, we can keep it as an experiment. I can't attach it to a tree outside because it gets too cold here, but I can just leave it as is, keep watering and fertilizing it, and see how things turn out. Or, I can mount the keiki but still leave it attached. I'm worried that its two aerial roots aren't in contact with nutrients long enough and it'll keep sapping strength from mom.

Should that be the experiment? Don't change anything; just leave it alone and see what happens?