Is this a keiki on my Phal?

[OrchidAddict]

I have a beautiful noid phal which is going absolutely crazy right now...it's spiking and blooming with more shoots and branches than I've ever had on a single orchid! I was inspecting it today to see what new growth was happening, and I noticed something strange going on with one of the nodes. It appears to have a leaf growing out of it. Is this a keiki? None of my orchids have ever done this before. I'd be pretty excited if it was a baby plant! I'm attaching pics of the node in question and the pretty flowers this phal makes (because I know I'd want to see!). Thanks!

[sand_tiger86]

Oh wow, what a beautiful form and color on that one! (and Phals. aren't my thing, so that's saying a lot!) Beautiful flower. I'm not sure about leaf! I suppose it could be a keiki, but they don't normally look like that...that looks like the node leaf just took off for some reason! I feel like I've had one do that before, but I've had and thrown out so many phals over the years that it's hard to recall. (It took me a long time to get their culture down right, believe it or not)

I'll be curious to see what comes of it! Keep us updated - and again, GORGEOUS flower!

Edit:



You see how the keikis emerge from the leaf node on the spike, but are not the actual leaf node itself? I'll be curious to see what's going on with yours. Perhaps it very well is! Different strokes :P

[Paph]

Jenn, I don't think this is a keiki: sometimes a small leaf appears at the bottom of the flower stem, it happens to me quite often.

[OrchidAddict]

Ahh...okay. Thanks guys. And here I was getting all excited. Of course, this has now got me thinking about cloning this little beauty (thanks for the kind words, Sand Tiger...I'm pretty fond of this one)! S.T., in your pic it looks like the keikis appear when the bloom cycle is over, after the spike has been cut. Would I need to get keiki paste to get it to make keikis instead of another spike, or do these things just happen naturally when the plant is ready?

[tucker85]

I agree, it looks like just a small extra leaf. I've had that happen also.

[espranch]

Kelly, your phal. is producing babies. Jenn...not at all sure with yours...only time will tell. Betty

[sand_tiger86]

That's actually not my Phal, I just googled a picture! haha but I do believe that the spikes on a phal. can produce keikis whenever they feel like it...though, it's more common when flowering is done/near done, much the same as a node will break into another inflorescence when the initial flowering is complete or near its end. You can either get another spike from a node (more common), a keiki (less common), or nothing at all and the spike just dies away (most common...in my experience, anyway). There are things you can do to help promote additional spikes and keikis from nodes, but I usually don't bother.

[coeruleo]

i've never actually gotten a phal to produce a keiki that survived. i have had some start, but then dry up with the stem after a while. i think certain species impart the habit on their hybrids more than others do. wild species types are supposed to do it more often than the more colorful hybrids. i think yours is just an odd leafy node, but time will tell, if it produces another leaf or something. usually the keikis come out after the flowers have died back, and i have read that it can depend on light quality. more light = more branches of flowers, less light sometimes can produce a keiki. i have also read that fertilizer can make a difference.

[OrchidAddict]

That's actually not my Phal, I just googled a picture! haha but I do believe that the spikes on a phal. can produce keikis whenever they feel like it...though, it's more common when flowering is done/near done, much the same as a node will break into another inflorescence when the initial flowering is complete or near its end. You can either get another spike from a node (more common), a keiki (less common), or nothing at all and the spike just dies away (most common...in my experience, anyway). There are things you can do to help promote additional spikes and keikis from nodes, but I usually don't bother.

It's a bummer that you don't have success getting the Phals to spike again. I can get mine to go along for a couple of years with new spikes coming out of the different nodes on the same inflorescence. Often these new spikes will branch on their own and I'll get quite a few new blooms before I need to cut again. I finally had some spikes give out on me after going steady for about three years...and then I just gave the plant a rest for a while and then moved it closer to the light and upped the fertilizer, and it shot out a brand new spike after a couple of months. Now it's branching all over the place with tons of flowers. I would love to know how to coax it to make a keiki though. I read something about using keiki paste on a node to induce it to make a baby...but apparently the node has to be "undifferentiated" for that to work, and I have no idea how one tells if the node has already been designated as a spike node by the plant.

I wish I could send you some of my luck with Phals. They can be tremendously satisfying to grow! Although I have to admit...I'm very envious of your bright light! I got a free Vanda as a gift and I'm struggling to figure out what to do with it here in Pennsylvania! LOL I guess we all have an albatross... ;-)

[sand_tiger86]

The good news is, I have no problem getting them to start new spikes. As far as branching is concerned, it depends on the hybrid. Some hybrids just don't branch much or often, or ever. I find that the yellow varieties branch like crazy, as well those with smaller purple flowers.