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#1
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i sincerely hope this is my last question for a while (keikis)
hello,
REALLY appreciate the wealth of information and the generosity of all of you experts in sharing information...-- VERY much............ i have 1 last question:: in regards to my mother's white flowered lableLess phalaenopsis (given to her Dec, 2000 in bloom -- inclined to believe from a *good* nursery) briefly: flowers lasted for months however, she did not cut off the stems (btw -- today i learned that the stem is the part that is directly connected to the crown whereas the spike grows off of the stem? -- sorry) she waters the orchid with schultz FOR HOUSEPLANTS (NOT FOR ORCHIDS) whenever -- but is EXTREMELY disappointed that she has no flowers............................... instead are 3 keikiss (2 "mature" -- i.e. H.U.G.E. rootSpans) and the other day i noted another more proximal to the mother (the orchid mother) but with no roots. my job is to get her orchid to flower: SOS or LOL or........................... problems: 1. the keikis with the exs'vely long roots. these should be manipulated to that the root is within the pot and the moss? or what 2. does the stem (part of it need to accompany the keiki in its new pot? 3. the rootless keiki:: i read that the stem should be bent so that the base of rootless is in contact with potting mix.??? what about i wrap moist sphagnum around its base? and seal w/ saran wrap? or simply cut off, put in tiny pot, (with rooting hormone powder / gel) and bag it?) the mother: (mine) is not clear how often and with what food she uses. (DEFINATELY NOT SCHULTZ EXPERT FEED) do the keikis figure into the mother's (their mother's) water requirement? i realize that without her offSpring, she would require less water but just out of curiiousity do mother orchids transpire through keikis' leaves? i genuinely thank you very much and am truly grateful fir the excellant help i receive from all in this group! |
#2
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i sincerely hope this is my last question for a while (keikis)
Tanya, you cheated. That was at least three questions, not one last one
insert grin here 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! .. . . . . . . . . . . "Tanya" wrote in message ... hello, REALLY appreciate the wealth of information and the generosity of all of you experts in sharing information...-- VERY much............ i have 1 last question:: in regards to my mother's white flowered lableLess phalaenopsis (given to her Dec, 2000 in bloom -- inclined to believe from a *good* nursery) briefly: flowers lasted for months however, she did not cut off the stems (btw -- today i learned that the stem is the part that is directly connected to the crown whereas the spike grows off of the stem? -- sorry) she waters the orchid with schultz FOR HOUSEPLANTS (NOT FOR ORCHIDS) whenever -- but is EXTREMELY disappointed that she has no flowers............................... instead are 3 keikiss (2 "mature" -- i.e. H.U.G.E. rootSpans) and the other day i noted another more proximal to the mother (the orchid mother) but with no roots. my job is to get her orchid to flower: SOS or LOL or........................... problems: 1. the keikis with the exs'vely long roots. these should be manipulated to that the root is within the pot and the moss? or what 2. does the stem (part of it need to accompany the keiki in its new pot? 3. the rootless keiki:: i read that the stem should be bent so that the base of rootless is in contact with potting mix.??? what about i wrap moist sphagnum around its base? and seal w/ saran wrap? or simply cut off, put in tiny pot, (with rooting hormone powder / gel) and bag it?) the mother: (mine) is not clear how often and with what food she uses. (DEFINATELY NOT SCHULTZ EXPERT FEED) do the keikis figure into the mother's (their mother's) water requirement? i realize that without her offSpring, she would require less water but just out of curiiousity do mother orchids transpire through keikis' leaves? i genuinely thank you very much and am truly grateful fir the excellant help i receive from all in this group! |
#3
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i sincerely hope this is my last question for a while (keikis)
Tanya, Tanya, Tanya! Ask all the questions you like, this is what we do,
this is what we are here for. *g* You have received excellent from our very own FirstRays & I learnt something as well. So ask away, it helps to keep the group going & the minds active. -- Cheers Wendy Remove PETERPAN for email reply "Tanya" wrote in message ... hello, REALLY appreciate the wealth of information and the generosity of all of you experts in sharing information...-- VERY much............ i have 1 last question:: in regards to my mother's white flowered lableLess phalaenopsis (given to her Dec, 2000 in bloom -- inclined to believe from a *good* nursery) briefly: flowers lasted for months however, she did not cut off the stems (btw -- today i learned that the stem is the part that is directly connected to the crown whereas the spike grows off of the stem? -- sorry) she waters the orchid with schultz FOR HOUSEPLANTS (NOT FOR ORCHIDS) whenever -- but is EXTREMELY disappointed that she has no flowers............................... instead are 3 keikiss (2 "mature" -- i.e. H.U.G.E. rootSpans) and the other day i noted another more proximal to the mother (the orchid mother) but with no roots. my job is to get her orchid to flower: SOS or LOL or........................... problems: 1. the keikis with the exs'vely long roots. these should be manipulated to that the root is within the pot and the moss? or what 2. does the stem (part of it need to accompany the keiki in its new pot? 3. the rootless keiki:: i read that the stem should be bent so that the base of rootless is in contact with potting mix.??? what about i wrap moist sphagnum around its base? and seal w/ saran wrap? or simply cut off, put in tiny pot, (with rooting hormone powder / gel) and bag it?) the mother: (mine) is not clear how often and with what food she uses. (DEFINATELY NOT SCHULTZ EXPERT FEED) do the keikis figure into the mother's (their mother's) water requirement? i realize that without her offSpring, she would require less water but just out of curiiousity do mother orchids transpire through keikis' leaves? i genuinely thank you very much and am truly grateful fir the excellant help i receive from all in this group! |
#4
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i sincerely hope this is my last question for a while (keikis)
Tanya, Tanya, Tanya! Ask all the questions you like, this is what we do,
this is what we are here for. *g* You have received excellent from our very own FirstRays & I learnt something as well. So ask away, it helps to keep the group going & the minds active. -- Cheers Wendy Remove PETERPAN for email reply "Tanya" wrote in message ... hello, REALLY appreciate the wealth of information and the generosity of all of you experts in sharing information...-- VERY much............ i have 1 last question:: in regards to my mother's white flowered lableLess phalaenopsis (given to her Dec, 2000 in bloom -- inclined to believe from a *good* nursery) briefly: flowers lasted for months however, she did not cut off the stems (btw -- today i learned that the stem is the part that is directly connected to the crown whereas the spike grows off of the stem? -- sorry) she waters the orchid with schultz FOR HOUSEPLANTS (NOT FOR ORCHIDS) whenever -- but is EXTREMELY disappointed that she has no flowers............................... instead are 3 keikiss (2 "mature" -- i.e. H.U.G.E. rootSpans) and the other day i noted another more proximal to the mother (the orchid mother) but with no roots. my job is to get her orchid to flower: SOS or LOL or........................... problems: 1. the keikis with the exs'vely long roots. these should be manipulated to that the root is within the pot and the moss? or what 2. does the stem (part of it need to accompany the keiki in its new pot? 3. the rootless keiki:: i read that the stem should be bent so that the base of rootless is in contact with potting mix.??? what about i wrap moist sphagnum around its base? and seal w/ saran wrap? or simply cut off, put in tiny pot, (with rooting hormone powder / gel) and bag it?) the mother: (mine) is not clear how often and with what food she uses. (DEFINATELY NOT SCHULTZ EXPERT FEED) do the keikis figure into the mother's (their mother's) water requirement? i realize that without her offSpring, she would require less water but just out of curiiousity do mother orchids transpire through keikis' leaves? i genuinely thank you very much and am truly grateful fir the excellant help i receive from all in this group! |
#5
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i sincerely hope this is my last question for a while (keikis)
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! snip |
#6
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i sincerely hope this is my last question for a while (keikis)
thanks, Wendy for the encouragement
sincerely Tanya wendy7 wrote: Tanya, Tanya, Tanya! Ask all the questions you like, this is what we do, this is what we are here for. *g* You have received excellent from our very own FirstRays & I learnt something as well. So ask away, it helps to keep the group going & the minds active. -- Cheers Wendy Remove PETERPAN for email reply |
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