What to do with Phal. keiki

[moniluhum]

My brother gave his ailing Phal. to me. It's leaves were wrinkled but it had several roots that seemed to give it a chance. Now I see two keikis growing from the stem. As they grow bigger what do I do with them. I'm pretty sure the plant itself is destined to fail. Any ideas?

[78Terp]

The keiki's need to develop their own root system before you can consider removing them from the plant.

I don't see any roots yet, so you are in no hurry to make any changes.

---------- Post Merged at 05:33 PM ----------

I would remove that dead leaf below the keiki. It looks like it would just pull off easily if you give it a try.

[chingjervis]

Harvey you ROCK!!!

[Carolla]

I wouldn't give up yet on the mother plant too. I got one in worse shape that survived. Give it a good soak when it dries out and see if it will grow a new leaf and keep on going. Mine was very sad and eventually lost all the leaves it had when I got it (over time), but its a happy plant today.

Here are pictures of the plant when I got it from my neighbor. It was not rotted though, just very under watered. BTW, it had a flower stem that I did not cut off, which gave me a keiki too, which is also surviving today.

[Catt Mandu]

The main plant has at least one good root (green one - are there more?)

The keiki is good news, but basal keikis take much longer to grow to a point where they can be separated from the main plant (years). Focus on taking really good care of the main plant: (1) Check the roots; do you have good ones down in the medium? (2) The bark medium is a good choice as long as it is not broken down. Replace the bark if it is decomposing. (3) Water heavily each time you water, meaning water should be flowing through the pot and thoroughly wet the roots and medium (but not the leaves and crown). Water in the sink. (4) Don't water too often; the bark should be nearly dry (but not quite) an inch or two down in the pot before you water again. If you have a clear pot, you can also look for condensation on the sides to judge when to water (do so when the condensation is decreasing on the sides of the pot & not visible in the top inch of bark).

For now, you just want to focus on getting the plant hydrated again, which will start roots growing again. I wouldn't fool with fertilizers, etc. until the plant is more hydrated. Suggestions (3) and (4) above will take care on 90% of all problems with Phalaenopsis that are not growing well.

[Carolla]

I agree with the water heavily. I'm soaking Phals in the sink as I type. I seem to have gotten behind on my watering schedule, so they are getting a good long soak (1/2 an hour or more) to really get the bark hydrated. Although severely dehydrated leaves may not get full and plump again, if you keep the plant alive it will grow new leaves that are normal.