I bought this Phalaenopsis in November and put it in a very low light room. Most of the unopened buds didn't open, but some of them are still on the plant while others have shriveled up.
Last month I moved it out of the dark room to a sunny spot. I recently noticed this new growth on one of the flower stems. Is this the start of a keiki? Or is it going to put out more blooms?
This message was edited Mar 4, 2012 2:20 PM
Looks like it's branching to me. If it starts growing roots, it' a kiki, if not it will start budding. Phals do tend to sulk if you move them when they are in bud, so decide where you want it and leave it there until all the flowers are open.
Looks like a branching of the flower stem and a bud to me. When mine started a keiki, it looked like a little leaf right away, and had a tiny white root bud at the base of the leaf.
Do be a bit careful of how much light the plant gets, Phals generally don't want direct sunlight.
You might find this helpful http://www.repotme.com/orchid-care/Phalaenopsis-Care.html
Just a little more background, I didn't move the orchid after I bought it. The room I chose had a 7W CFL a few inches above the orchid so it was getting a decent amount of light.
I moved it back out to the kitchen after all the buds had fallen off (almost 2 months later). The kitchen is east-facing, so it only gets filtered sunlight until around noon. The Phals are on the lower deck of my garden window, so they get hardly any direct sunlight as the plants above shade them.
I just thought it was interesting that 3 month old spikes would start growing again and wondered if it might be a keiki. The shoot is now about an inch long and doesn't have any leaves or roots yet so I assume it's just a continuation of the bloom.
It's a branching spike. The question is do you want to bloom it with smaller and fewer flowers or do you want to see the plant bloom again next winter? In this case I'd cut the spike so the plant can gather energy for its next primary bloom season (which is winter). Just my opinion.
This message was edited Mar 14, 2012 8:56 PM
Makes sense, thanks for the advice.
:). The message here is if you know the parentage of your Phal you can more likely made a decision about whether to cut. If I see a lot of branching going on, and know that is the background of the parentage, I'll leave it but if you've had a good run of flowers on a single spike and then get a branch it's not worth it this late in the season. By cutting the spike, repotting in Spring and resting the plant during the warm months you should get quality flowers next winter. BTW, orchids don't like a "very dark room". Phals need bright, indirect light. When I grew them they were right up against an East facing window and got full morning sun.
It's a "black" (dark purple) mini phal with white around the edges of the flower. Apparently called a "harlequin" but I don't have the specific name of this one.
Looks similar to this: http://kalerorchids.com/store/images/harlequin%20phals.jpg
Tom Harper of Stones River Orchids harper_sro@bellsouth.net would be able to look at your flowers and know the parentage. Not necessarily the name but definitely what parentage makes your Phal look the way it does. He is an American Orchid Society judge and Phal breeder. I only know him as a speaker and through AOS judgings. I don't grow Phals anymore. They are generally easy houseplants but terrible outdoor plants and don't do well when tossed in with a variety of greenhouse orchids being that they are not tolerant of extremes in either water or temperature. I'm tempted by many beautiful Phals out there but know my limitations.
