what ray said. i have a blooming golden peoker daughter which i thought
was growing a basal keiki; turns out it's another spike. one of my big
NOIDs is blooming off a branch of an old spike, and grew another. (pics
to ABPO when all the flowers open.

as for the styrofoam, that's fine; many growers throw a handful of
packing peanuts in the bottoms of pots when re-potting; it's light, it
won't degrade, it's waterproof, and will allow more air to circulate
around the bottom of the root ball, prevent packing of wet medium and
possible rot.

--j_a