One of my Phals (Phal Brother Treasure x George Vasquez) started developing
something that I at first assumed was a spike. Today I discovered that it is
a basal keiki -- except it is not developing at the base, but in the middle
of the leaf growing area (2 leaves from the bottom). It's funny-looking. The
first two basal keikis (on two of my Doritaenopsis) started somewhere below
the medium and then poked their leaves out of the medium. This one is not
like that at all, I can clearly see where it comes out of the plant. This
phal has not flowered for me in 2005 -- last flowering in the spring of
2004. It had a couple of beginnings of spikes that stalled and never grew
up. It's a vigorous orchid with lots of leaves and lots of healthy aerial
roots. And now this not-quote-basal keiki.

Up until today I had assumed that Phal's basal keikis always start at the
base, at the bottom of the plant. I had assumed that non-basal keikis always
grow from a flower spike and not from the main stem where the leaves come
from. Also I had not expected any of my non-Doritaenopsis to have a basal
keiki, unless the plant itself was in danger of croaking, whereas this is a
very vigorous plant. Were my assumptions just wrong? Or is what is happening
here unusual?

Joanna