Xref: kermit rec.gardens.orchids:53088

I wish to begin by thanking several of you for answering dozens of questions
someone else asked for me.


I have been keeping orchids for a few years. Whenever I have a question I
subscribe to this group and read it for several months learn a great deal;
get my question answered and get busy forget to read this group.



This time I returned a couple of months ago with several questions and most
have been answered. But I still have a couple.



I have three cats I purchased at an orchid show in St. Louis a couple years
ago and a variety of Home Depot plants.



I have several that need repotting; one of them has me puzzled. Last year I
bought several orchids at Home Depot between Thanksgiving and Christmas at
75% off as they were "through blooming" One of them was a white Phal with
three spikes that were divided and two of them divided again. There were
several layers of roots covering the planting mix. I left the spikes on the
plant and gave it tender loving care and it soon had 15 blooms on it. All
the roots above the potting mix died. It continued to bloom until I went on
vacation in June. Ten days without water and it was through blooming.



It produced two keikis 14 inches up the spikes. One of which has been
potted and is doing good.



The planting medium is pretty rotten and it is staying wet two long.



Now, here is the problem. The remaining keikie [SP?] is located on an
extension of the main stem. It is 12 inches between the last leaf and the
keikie It has one leaf 11 inches long and two shorter ones. It has three
roots 7 to 10 inches long and one shorter one. If the plant is to survive,
the main stem must branch or put out a side shoot. My experience is small
but I have never seen a Phal with a forked stem.



Does the mother plant have any chance?



If I remove this keikie how do I deal with it? I certainly do not want to
put it in a pot 10 inches deep. Do I break off the roots and pray for new
ones?? Should I break them off now and let them heal and let it start new
ones, before I remove it from the mother plant??



Thanks again for help in the past and thank you for any advise you can give
not.

Ben

Ben,
Two pieces of advice (to be confirmed or denied by others more expert than
me):

1) I would think that if by removing the keiki you fear that you might
endanger the mother plant, why not leave the keiki with the mother plant,
sort of like Siamese Twins? I would think that as long as you observe both
plants and they appear to be healthy, what is the harm of leaving them
together?

2) You write "If I remove this keikie how do I deal with it? I certainly do
not want to
put it in a pot 10 inches deep. Do I break off the roots and pray for new
ones?? Should I break them off now and let them heal and let it start new
ones, before I remove it from the mother plant??" I think if you soak the
roots well in water for a while, they should become flexible enough so that
you should be able to bend the root instead of breaking it, and then you
could coil it in the pot perhaps.

Best,
Joanna

"Ben Lurkin" wrote in message
ink.net...
I wish to begin by thanking several of you for answering dozens of
questions
someone else asked for me.


I have been keeping orchids for a few years. Whenever I have a question I
subscribe to this group and read it for several months learn a great deal;
get my question answered and get busy forget to read this group.



This time I returned a couple of months ago with several questions and
most
have been answered. But I still have a couple.



I have three cats I purchased at an orchid show in St. Louis a couple
years
ago and a variety of Home Depot plants.



I have several that need repotting; one of them has me puzzled. Last year
I
bought several orchids at Home Depot between Thanksgiving and Christmas at
75% off as they were "through blooming" One of them was a white Phal with
three spikes that were divided and two of them divided again. There were
several layers of roots covering the planting mix. I left the spikes on
the
plant and gave it tender loving care and it soon had 15 blooms on it. All
the roots above the potting mix died. It continued to bloom until I went
on
vacation in June. Ten days without water and it was through blooming.



It produced two keikis 14 inches up the spikes. One of which has been
potted and is doing good.



The planting medium is pretty rotten and it is staying wet two long.



Now, here is the problem. The remaining keikie [SP?] is located on an
extension of the main stem. It is 12 inches between the last leaf and the
keikie It has one leaf 11 inches long and two shorter ones. It has
three
roots 7 to 10 inches long and one shorter one. If the plant is to
survive,
the main stem must branch or put out a side shoot. My experience is small
but I have never seen a Phal with a forked stem.



Does the mother plant have any chance?



If I remove this keikie how do I deal with it? I certainly do not want to
put it in a pot 10 inches deep. Do I break off the roots and pray for new
ones?? Should I break them off now and let them heal and let it start new
ones, before I remove it from the mother plant??



Thanks again for help in the past and thank you for any advise you can
give
not.

Ben

In essence you are letting the mother plant die while you are worrying about
a what to do with a keiki

Ben, cut the damn thing off and toss it out. You already have another keiki
that you say is doing well.

Repot the mother plant. It won't have *any* chance without action on your
part.

K Barrett

"Ben Lurkin" wrote in message
ink.net...
I wish to begin by thanking several of you for answering dozens of
questions
someone else asked for me.


I have been keeping orchids for a few years. Whenever I have a question I
subscribe to this group and read it for several months learn a great deal;
get my question answered and get busy forget to read this group.



This time I returned a couple of months ago with several questions and
most
have been answered. But I still have a couple.



I have three cats I purchased at an orchid show in St. Louis a couple
years
ago and a variety of Home Depot plants.



I have several that need repotting; one of them has me puzzled. Last year
I
bought several orchids at Home Depot between Thanksgiving and Christmas at
75% off as they were "through blooming" One of them was a white Phal with
three spikes that were divided and two of them divided again. There were
several layers of roots covering the planting mix. I left the spikes on
the
plant and gave it tender loving care and it soon had 15 blooms on it. All
the roots above the potting mix died. It continued to bloom until I went
on
vacation in June. Ten days without water and it was through blooming.



It produced two keikis 14 inches up the spikes. One of which has been
potted and is doing good.



The planting medium is pretty rotten and it is staying wet two long.



Now, here is the problem. The remaining keikie [SP?] is located on an
extension of the main stem. It is 12 inches between the last leaf and the
keikie It has one leaf 11 inches long and two shorter ones. It has
three
roots 7 to 10 inches long and one shorter one. If the plant is to
survive,
the main stem must branch or put out a side shoot. My experience is small
but I have never seen a Phal with a forked stem.



Does the mother plant have any chance?



If I remove this keikie how do I deal with it? I certainly do not want to
put it in a pot 10 inches deep. Do I break off the roots and pray for new
ones?? Should I break them off now and let them heal and let it start new
ones, before I remove it from the mother plant??



Thanks again for help in the past and thank you for any advise you can
give
not.

Ben

I guess I try to put in too much detail; and lose what I am trying to
explain. If I cut off the keiki, the plant will have no apical meristem.



My question concerns the fact that, the main stem extended into a spike on
which formed the keiki formed. Will a new stem come from a leaf axil??
When a century plants blooms it dies because the bloom spike comes from the
apical meristem. It then lives from new plants forming around the base.



Will a Phal branch at the leaf axils or will cutting off the top kill it??
As of now the keiki is the top center of the plant.

Ben

"K Barrett" wrote in message
news:A61Cb.502152$HS4.3875277@attbi_s01...
In essence you are letting the mother plant die while you are worrying
about
a what to do with a keiki

Ben, cut the damn thing off and toss it out. You already have another
keiki
that you say is doing well.

Repot the mother plant. It won't have *any* chance without action on your
part.

K Barrett

"Ben Lurkin" wrote in message
ink.net...
I wish to begin by thanking several of you for answering dozens of
questions
someone else asked for me.


I have been keeping orchids for a few years. Whenever I have a question
I
subscribe to this group and read it for several months learn a great
deal;
get my question answered and get busy forget to read this group.



This time I returned a couple of months ago with several questions and
most
have been answered. But I still have a couple.



I have three cats I purchased at an orchid show in St. Louis a couple
years
ago and a variety of Home Depot plants.



I have several that need repotting; one of them has me puzzled. Last
year
I
bought several orchids at Home Depot between Thanksgiving and Christmas
at
75% off as they were "through blooming" One of them was a white Phal
with
three spikes that were divided and two of them divided again. There
were
several layers of roots covering the planting mix. I left the spikes on
the
plant and gave it tender loving care and it soon had 15 blooms on it.
All
the roots above the potting mix died. It continued to bloom until I
went
on
vacation in June. Ten days without water and it was through blooming.



It produced two keikis 14 inches up the spikes. One of which has been
potted and is doing good.



The planting medium is pretty rotten and it is staying wet two long.



Now, here is the problem. The remaining keikie [SP?] is located on an
extension of the main stem. It is 12 inches between the last leaf and
the
keikie It has one leaf 11 inches long and two shorter ones. It has
three
roots 7 to 10 inches long and one shorter one. If the plant is to
survive,
the main stem must branch or put out a side shoot. My experience is
small
but I have never seen a Phal with a forked stem.



Does the mother plant have any chance?



If I remove this keikie how do I deal with it? I certainly do not want
to
put it in a pot 10 inches deep. Do I break off the roots and pray for
new
ones?? Should I break them off now and let them heal and let it start
new
ones, before I remove it from the mother plant??



Thanks again for help in the past and thank you for any advise you can
give
not.

Ben

Phals that grow inflorescences from the crown are more often than not
goners. If the keiki had a decent root system, I'd pot it up and be happy I
still had that plant. The "mother' goes in the compost heap.

--

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

.. . . . . . . . . . .
"Ben Lurkin" wrote in message
link.net...
I guess I try to put in too much detail; and lose what I am trying to
explain. If I cut off the keiki, the plant will have no apical meristem.



My question concerns the fact that, the main stem extended into a spike on
which formed the keiki formed. Will a new stem come from a leaf axil??
When a century plants blooms it dies because the bloom spike comes from
the
apical meristem. It then lives from new plants forming around the base.



Will a Phal branch at the leaf axils or will cutting off the top kill it??
As of now the keiki is the top center of the plant.

Ben

"K Barrett" wrote in message
news:A61Cb.502152$HS4.3875277@attbi_s01...
In essence you are letting the mother plant die while you are worrying
about
a what to do with a keiki

Ben, cut the damn thing off and toss it out. You already have another
keiki
that you say is doing well.

Repot the mother plant. It won't have *any* chance without action on
your
part.

K Barrett

"Ben Lurkin" wrote in message
ink.net...
I wish to begin by thanking several of you for answering dozens of
questions
someone else asked for me.


I have been keeping orchids for a few years. Whenever I have a
question
I
subscribe to this group and read it for several months learn a great
deal;
get my question answered and get busy forget to read this group.



This time I returned a couple of months ago with several questions and
most
have been answered. But I still have a couple.



I have three cats I purchased at an orchid show in St. Louis a couple
years
ago and a variety of Home Depot plants.



I have several that need repotting; one of them has me puzzled. Last
year
I
bought several orchids at Home Depot between Thanksgiving and
Christmas
at
75% off as they were "through blooming" One of them was a white Phal
with
three spikes that were divided and two of them divided again. There
were
several layers of roots covering the planting mix. I left the spikes
on
the
plant and gave it tender loving care and it soon had 15 blooms on it.
All
the roots above the potting mix died. It continued to bloom until I
went
on
vacation in June. Ten days without water and it was through blooming.



It produced two keikis 14 inches up the spikes. One of which has been
potted and is doing good.



The planting medium is pretty rotten and it is staying wet two long.



Now, here is the problem. The remaining keikie [SP?] is located on an
extension of the main stem. It is 12 inches between the last leaf and
the
keikie It has one leaf 11 inches long and two shorter ones. It has
three
roots 7 to 10 inches long and one shorter one. If the plant is to
survive,
the main stem must branch or put out a side shoot. My experience is
small
but I have never seen a Phal with a forked stem.



Does the mother plant have any chance?



If I remove this keikie how do I deal with it? I certainly do not
want
to
put it in a pot 10 inches deep. Do I break off the roots and pray for
new
ones?? Should I break them off now and let them heal and let it start
new
ones, before I remove it from the mother plant??



Thanks again for help in the past and thank you for any advise you can
give
not.

Ben

Ben,

Could you post a photo of this on alt.binaries.pictures.orchids (or on a Web
site, and provide us a link here). I would very much like to know what this
looks like. Unless of course you have cut it off by now.

Thanks,
Joanna

"Ben Lurkin" wrote in message
link.net...
I guess I try to put in too much detail; and lose what I am trying to
explain. If I cut off the keiki, the plant will have no apical meristem.



My question concerns the fact that, the main stem extended into a spike on
which formed the keiki formed. Will a new stem come from a leaf axil??
When a century plants blooms it dies because the bloom spike comes from
the
apical meristem. It then lives from new plants forming around the base.



Will a Phal branch at the leaf axils or will cutting off the top kill it??
As of now the keiki is the top center of the plant.

Ben

"K Barrett" wrote in message
news:A61Cb.502152$HS4.3875277@attbi_s01...
In essence you are letting the mother plant die while you are worrying
about
a what to do with a keiki

Ben, cut the damn thing off and toss it out. You already have another
keiki
that you say is doing well.

Repot the mother plant. It won't have *any* chance without action on
your
part.

K Barrett

"Ben Lurkin" wrote in message
ink.net...
I wish to begin by thanking several of you for answering dozens of
questions
someone else asked for me.


I have been keeping orchids for a few years. Whenever I have a
question
I
subscribe to this group and read it for several months learn a great
deal;
get my question answered and get busy forget to read this group.



This time I returned a couple of months ago with several questions and
most
have been answered. But I still have a couple.



I have three cats I purchased at an orchid show in St. Louis a couple
years
ago and a variety of Home Depot plants.



I have several that need repotting; one of them has me puzzled. Last
year
I
bought several orchids at Home Depot between Thanksgiving and
Christmas
at
75% off as they were "through blooming" One of them was a white Phal
with
three spikes that were divided and two of them divided again. There
were
several layers of roots covering the planting mix. I left the spikes
on
the
plant and gave it tender loving care and it soon had 15 blooms on it.
All
the roots above the potting mix died. It continued to bloom until I
went
on
vacation in June. Ten days without water and it was through blooming.



It produced two keikis 14 inches up the spikes. One of which has been
potted and is doing good.



The planting medium is pretty rotten and it is staying wet two long.



Now, here is the problem. The remaining keikie [SP?] is located on an
extension of the main stem. It is 12 inches between the last leaf and
the
keikie It has one leaf 11 inches long and two shorter ones. It has
three
roots 7 to 10 inches long and one shorter one. If the plant is to
survive,
the main stem must branch or put out a side shoot. My experience is
small
but I have never seen a Phal with a forked stem.



Does the mother plant have any chance?



If I remove this keikie how do I deal with it? I certainly do not
want
to
put it in a pot 10 inches deep. Do I break off the roots and pray for
new
ones?? Should I break them off now and let them heal and let it start
new
ones, before I remove it from the mother plant??



Thanks again for help in the past and thank you for any advise you can
give
not.

Ben

As Ray noted the plant that spikes from the crown usually is a goner.
Sometimes it will pup from the side, from a leaf axil. Usually , in my
experience, that depends greatly on the health and vitality of the root
system. A vigorous root system and the plant may pup. If its flagging, then
no pup.

K Barrett

"Ben Lurkin" wrote in message
link.net...
I guess I try to put in too much detail; and lose what I am trying to
explain. If I cut off the keiki, the plant will have no apical meristem.



My question concerns the fact that, the main stem extended into a spike on
which formed the keiki formed. Will a new stem come from a leaf axil??
When a century plants blooms it dies because the bloom spike comes from
the
apical meristem. It then lives from new plants forming around the base.



Will a Phal branch at the leaf axils or will cutting off the top kill it??
As of now the keiki is the top center of the plant.

Ben

"K Barrett" wrote in message
news:A61Cb.502152$HS4.3875277@attbi_s01...
In essence you are letting the mother plant die while you are worrying
about
a what to do with a keiki

Ben, cut the damn thing off and toss it out. You already have another
keiki
that you say is doing well.

Repot the mother plant. It won't have *any* chance without action on
your
part.

K Barrett

"Ben Lurkin" wrote in message
ink.net...
I wish to begin by thanking several of you for answering dozens of
questions
someone else asked for me.


I have been keeping orchids for a few years. Whenever I have a
question
I
subscribe to this group and read it for several months learn a great
deal;
get my question answered and get busy forget to read this group.



This time I returned a couple of months ago with several questions and
most
have been answered. But I still have a couple.



I have three cats I purchased at an orchid show in St. Louis a couple
years
ago and a variety of Home Depot plants.



I have several that need repotting; one of them has me puzzled. Last
year
I
bought several orchids at Home Depot between Thanksgiving and
Christmas
at
75% off as they were "through blooming" One of them was a white Phal
with
three spikes that were divided and two of them divided again. There
were
several layers of roots covering the planting mix. I left the spikes
on
the
plant and gave it tender loving care and it soon had 15 blooms on it.
All
the roots above the potting mix died. It continued to bloom until I
went
on
vacation in June. Ten days without water and it was through blooming.



It produced two keikis 14 inches up the spikes. One of which has been
potted and is doing good.



The planting medium is pretty rotten and it is staying wet two long.



Now, here is the problem. The remaining keikie [SP?] is located on an
extension of the main stem. It is 12 inches between the last leaf and
the
keikie It has one leaf 11 inches long and two shorter ones. It has
three
roots 7 to 10 inches long and one shorter one. If the plant is to
survive,
the main stem must branch or put out a side shoot. My experience is
small
but I have never seen a Phal with a forked stem.



Does the mother plant have any chance?



If I remove this keikie how do I deal with it? I certainly do not
want
to
put it in a pot 10 inches deep. Do I break off the roots and pray for
new
ones?? Should I break them off now and let them heal and let it start
new
ones, before I remove it from the mother plant??



Thanks again for help in the past and thank you for any advise you can
give
not.

Ben

"J Fortuna" wrote in message
news

Ben,

Could you post a photo of this on alt.binaries.pictures.orchids (or on a
Web
site, and provide us a link here). I would very much like to know what
this
looks like. Unless of course you have cut it off by now.

Thanks,
Joanna


Unfortunately my camera is on the fritz. I do think I can draw a word
picture if you are willing to read carefully.



The pot is 6 1//2 inches in diameter. The first 6 leaves are typical Phal.
The base of each leaf wrapping the stem and the base of the leaf above.
There was an inch of stem between the sixth and seventh leaves. The leaves
are about a foot long.



The main stem then grew into a spike with two small leaves below the point
of branch where the keiki formed. There are 14 inches of stem between the
seventh leaf and the branch/keiki.



There were two more spikes each of which branched twice. A total of 5 stems
at the top. The plant had 18 to 25 flowers on it all last winter.



For most of you a white Phal all winter is probably kind of boring. But for
me this is far more flowers than I have ever had on an orchid and my wife
enjoys the corsages.

"J Fortuna" wrote in message
news

Ben,

Could you post a photo of this on alt.binaries.pictures.orchids (or on a
Web
site, and provide us a link here). I would very much like to know what
this
looks like. Unless of course you have cut it off by now.

Thanks,
Joanna


Unfortunately my camera is on the fritz. I do think I can draw a word
picture if you are willing to read carefully.



The pot is 6 1//2 inches in diameter. The first 6 leaves are typical Phal.
The base of each leaf wrapping the stem and the base of the leaf above.
There was an inch of stem between the sixth and seventh leaves. The leaves
are about a foot long.



The main stem then grew into a spike with two small leaves below the point
of branch where the keiki formed. There are 14 inches of stem between the
seventh leaf and the branch/keiki.



There were two more spikes each of which branched twice. A total of 5 stems
at the top. The plant had 18 to 25 flowers on it all last winter.



For most of you a white Phal all winter is probably kind of boring. But for
me this is far more flowers than I have ever had on an orchid and my wife
enjoys the corsages.

Thanks to both of you for the information. I removed the keiki today and
potted it and repotted the mother plant. One more question about this.



If the mother plant forms pups, will it be best to try and remove them and
compost the mother or should I plan on a larger pot????



Ben





"K Barrett" wrote in message
news:y8mCb.318478$Dw6.1089751@attbi_s02...
As Ray noted the plant that spikes from the crown usually is a goner.
Sometimes it will pup from the side, from a leaf axil. Usually , in my
experience, that depends greatly on the health and vitality of the root
system. A vigorous root system and the plant may pup. If its flagging,
then
no pup.

K Barrett

Thanks to both of you for the information. I removed the keiki today and
potted it and repotted the mother plant. One more question about this.



If the mother plant forms pups, will it be best to try and remove them and
compost the mother or should I plan on a larger pot????



Ben





"K Barrett" wrote in message
news:y8mCb.318478$Dw6.1089751@attbi_s02...
As Ray noted the plant that spikes from the crown usually is a goner.
Sometimes it will pup from the side, from a leaf axil. Usually , in my
experience, that depends greatly on the health and vitality of the root
system. A vigorous root system and the plant may pup. If its flagging,
then
no pup.

K Barrett

On Mon, 15 Dec 2003 03:02:58 GMT, "Ben Lurkin"
wrote:

Thanks to both of you for the information. I removed the keiki today and
potted it and repotted the mother plant. One more question about this.



If the mother plant forms pups, will it be best to try and remove them and
compost the mother or should I plan on a larger pot????



Ben

Generally, if Mom Pups it is a dying breath kind of thing. You
will try to keep Mom's roots going until the pup has a system of
its own and Mom will gradually fade away. When you repot Mom
will just be a small pike of roots and a dead stump. So talk
kindly to Mom and maybe she will pull thru.


SuE
http://orchids.legolas.org/gallery/albums.php

On Mon, 15 Dec 2003 03:02:58 GMT, "Ben Lurkin"
wrote:

Thanks to both of you for the information. I removed the keiki today and
potted it and repotted the mother plant. One more question about this.



If the mother plant forms pups, will it be best to try and remove them and
compost the mother or should I plan on a larger pot????



Ben

Generally, if Mom Pups it is a dying breath kind of thing. You
will try to keep Mom's roots going until the pup has a system of
its own and Mom will gradually fade away. When you repot Mom
will just be a small pike of roots and a dead stump. So talk
kindly to Mom and maybe she will pull thru.


SuE
http://orchids.legolas.org/gallery/albums.php

"J Fortuna" wrote in message
news

Ben,

Could you post a photo of this on alt.binaries.pictures.orchids (or on a
Web
site, and provide us a link here). I would very much like to know what
this
looks like. Unless of course you have cut it off by now.

Thanks,
Joanna


Unfortunately my camera is on the fritz. I do think I can draw a word
picture if you are willing to read carefully.



The pot is 6 1//2 inches in diameter. The first 6 leaves are typical Phal.
The base of each leaf wrapping the stem and the base of the leaf above.
There was an inch of stem between the sixth and seventh leaves. The leaves
are about a foot long.



The main stem then grew into a spike with two small leaves below the point
of branch where the keiki formed. There are 14 inches of stem between the
seventh leaf and the branch/keiki.



There were two more spikes each of which branched twice. A total of 5 stems
at the top. The plant had 18 to 25 flowers on it all last winter.



For most of you a white Phal all winter is probably kind of boring. But for
me this is far more flowers than I have ever had on an orchid and my wife
enjoys the corsages.

Thanks to both of you for the information. I removed the keiki today and
potted it and repotted the mother plant. One more question about this.



If the mother plant forms pups, will it be best to try and remove them and
compost the mother or should I plan on a larger pot????



Ben





"K Barrett" wrote in message
news:y8mCb.318478$Dw6.1089751@attbi_s02...
As Ray noted the plant that spikes from the crown usually is a goner.
Sometimes it will pup from the side, from a leaf axil. Usually , in my
experience, that depends greatly on the health and vitality of the root
system. A vigorous root system and the plant may pup. If its flagging,
then
no pup.

K Barrett