hello Ray,
i would like to thank you very much for responding to the (THREE questions
and for providing answers and very valuable info!
GREATLY appreciated!
sincerely
Tanya


Ray wrote:

Tanya, you cheated. That was at least three questions, not one last one
insert grin here

unSnipped valuable info



It's not a stem and its not a spike, either. Technically, the entire
structure, from where it grows from the base of the plant up to and
including the buds and flowers, is a raceme. More info about inflorescence
structures at:
http://www.firstrays.com/inflorescences.htm

Also, the crown is the very top of the phalaenopsis, where the leaves grow.
If the plant has an inflorescence growing from there (it happens) it is
likely a goner.

The keikies with roots longer than about 3"-4" of total root length can be
removed from the inflorescence and potted up separately, giving you
additional plants to share. Grab the keiki at its base, just above the
roots, below the leaves, and give it a good, sharp, twisting, snap, and it
should come right off. If you prefer, it can be cut off, but if you do
that, it's better to cut the inflorescence, not the keiki. If a little
piece of it gets potted up with the keiki, it's no problem.

As long as the inflorescence and keiki is attached to the plant, it all
functions as a single unit. As the fertilization process may not wet the
roots of the keiki, it must get all of it's minerals and water from the
mother plant, but does add to the overall photosynthesis capacity.
Removing a keiki from the mother plant does reduce the nutrition load on the
mother.

I would remove the two keikies with roots, and leave the other one alone
until it grows its own. The moss idea might work - it's definitely better
than pressing it down to the medium - or you could try a rooting hormone.

The fact that your mother is using the general purpose Schultz fertilizer
probably has little bearing on the plant not flowering. It - if I remember
correctly - is a 20-30-20 blend, and if used about once every couple of
weeks should be applied at a rate of about 1/2 teaspoon per gallon. Their
Orchid blend is a 19-31-17, not much different.

I'd guess that there may be several factors to be considered in getting it
to rebloom:

1) Nutrition - the plant has been spending a lot of energy on it's babies.
remove them and the plant can spend that energy elsewhere. Also, if she
hasn't been feeding it enough (your original message said "whenever"), that
should be considered as well.

2) Light - food and water are the building blocks, but without sufficient
light to convert them into food, the plant won't have enough energy to
bloom. Incidentally, some times a plant will form a lot of keikies if grown
to dark, apparently in an effort to increase the leaf surface area, to
provide more photosynthesis. (On the other hand, some keiki more if grown
too bright...)

3) Delta-T - many phals need a 10-15°F temperature drop at night for
several weeks in order to initiate a new spike. In a home, that may
sometimes be dampened by the thermostatically-controlled heaters, but if
it's relatively close to a window, it may not be an issue.

--

Ray Barkalow - First Rays Orchids - www.firstrays.com
Plants, Supplies, Books, Artwork, and Lots of Free Info!

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