One Phalaenopsis has decent aerial roots and a single mature leaf.
The centre looks dead, though.

Do they ever come back from this (growing centre damaged) or is it the
great compost heap in the sky?

Cheers

Dave R



--
Windows 8.1 on PCSpecialist box

"David" wrote

One Phalaenopsis has decent aerial roots and a single mature leaf.
The centre looks dead, though.

Do they ever come back from this (growing centre damaged) or is it the
great compost heap in the sky?


Not normally once the growing centre is damaged.
Did water lay in the growing centre during the night?
--
Regards. Bob Hobden.
Posted to this Newsgroup from the W of London, UK

On Mon, 09 Feb 2015 15:50:45 +0000, Bob Hobden wrote:

"David" wrote

One Phalaenopsis has decent aerial roots and a single mature leaf. The
centre looks dead, though.

Do they ever come back from this (growing centre damaged) or is it the
great compost heap in the sky?


Not normally once the growing centre is damaged.
Did water lay in the growing centre during the night?

No idea how it happened.

Just turned black and crunchy.

At some point in the indeterminate past.

--
Windows 8.1 on PCSpecialist box

On 11/02/2015 12:59, David wrote:
On Mon, 09 Feb 2015 15:50:45 +0000, Bob Hobden wrote:

"David" wrote

One Phalaenopsis has decent aerial roots and a single mature leaf. The
centre looks dead, though.

Do they ever come back from this (growing centre damaged) or is it the
great compost heap in the sky?


Not normally once the growing centre is damaged.
Did water lay in the growing centre during the night?

No idea how it happened.

Just turned black and crunchy.

At some point in the indeterminate past.


If you'd overwatered it or wet the crown of the plant, I would have
expected it to be black and soft/slimy, rather than crispy. Could it be
underwatered/ too close to a radiator? Since you haven't much to lose,
why not tip it out of its pot and see if there's any living root and
crown worth saving?
--
Spider.
On high ground in SE London
gardening on heavy clay

On 12/02/2015 13:45, Spider wrote:
On 11/02/2015 12:59, David wrote:
On Mon, 09 Feb 2015 15:50:45 +0000, Bob Hobden wrote:

"David" wrote

One Phalaenopsis has decent aerial roots and a single mature leaf. The
centre looks dead, though.

Do they ever come back from this (growing centre damaged) or is it the
great compost heap in the sky?


Not normally once the growing centre is damaged.
Did water lay in the growing centre during the night?

No idea how it happened.

Just turned black and crunchy.

At some point in the indeterminate past.


If you'd overwatered it or wet the crown of the plant, I would have
expected it to be black and soft/slimy, rather than crispy. Could it be
underwatered/ too close to a radiator? Since you haven't much to lose,
why not tip it out of its pot and see if there's any living root and
crown worth saving?


Just wondering, do they bulk up with age and become multi crowned, if so
it must be from the sides not just from the crown.
David @ a sunny side of Swansea bay

On 12/02/2015 14:27, David Hill wrote:
On 12/02/2015 13:45, Spider wrote:
On 11/02/2015 12:59, David wrote:
On Mon, 09 Feb 2015 15:50:45 +0000, Bob Hobden wrote:

"David" wrote

One Phalaenopsis has decent aerial roots and a single mature leaf. The
centre looks dead, though.

Do they ever come back from this (growing centre damaged) or is it the
great compost heap in the sky?


Not normally once the growing centre is damaged.
Did water lay in the growing centre during the night?

No idea how it happened.

Just turned black and crunchy.

At some point in the indeterminate past.


If you'd overwatered it or wet the crown of the plant, I would have
expected it to be black and soft/slimy, rather than crispy. Could it be
underwatered/ too close to a radiator? Since you haven't much to lose,
why not tip it out of its pot and see if there's any living root and
crown worth saving?


Just wondering, do they bulk up with age and become multi crowned, if so
it must be from the sides not just from the crown.
David @ a sunny side of Swansea bay


In this case, with a Phalaenopsis, the plant is monopodial (having one
foot), so it adds leaves and grows upwards, but doesn't increase its
crown. Young plantlets (keikis) occasionally develop on old flowering
stems; just a tiny leaf at first, then aerial roots and more leaves.
When big enough to support itself, it can be removed and potted up.
--
Spider.
On high ground in SE London
gardening on heavy clay

On 12/02/15 15:13, Spider wrote:
Young plantlets (keikis) occasionally develop on old flowering
stems; just a tiny leaf at first, then aerial roots and more leaves.
When big enough to support itself, it can be removed and potted up.

One of my Phals has just started forming a keiki. It has a couple of
leaves about 15 mm or so long. Any idea how many months it will be
before roots appear?

--

Jeff

"Jeff Layman" wrote

On 12/02/15 15:13, Spider wrote:
Young plantlets (keikis) occasionally develop on old flowering
stems; just a tiny leaf at first, then aerial roots and more leaves.
When big enough to support itself, it can be removed and potted up.

One of my Phals has just started forming a keiki. It has a couple of leaves
about 15 mm or so long. Any idea how many months it will be before roots
appear?


My experience is that they grow at the same time as the leaves. I have one
on a plant at the moment, leaves, roots and two flowers with another small
spike growing. I want to cut it off and pot it up but it's doing so well
where it is.
--
Regards. Bob Hobden.
Posted to this Newsgroup from the W of London, UK

On 12/02/2015 15:33, Jeff Layman wrote:
On 12/02/15 15:13, Spider wrote:
Young plantlets (keikis) occasionally develop on old flowering
stems; just a tiny leaf at first, then aerial roots and more leaves.
When big enough to support itself, it can be removed and potted up.

One of my Phals has just started forming a keiki. It has a couple of
leaves about 15 mm or so long. Any idea how many months it will be
before roots appear?



With me, it seems to vary and probably has to do with the vigour of the
plant, plus your cultivation of it. It's very difficult to put a time
on it; I would say months rather than weeks, but growth should increase
with the advent of warmer weather. Also, you'll be so busy outside in
the garden that you won't even notice how slow it is;~).

If you're in the habit of using a bloom-inducing feed, try a
growth-inducing feed instead, though still only feeding weakly 3 weeks
out of 4, so that salts don't build up in the growth medium. You may
also find it's worth spraying the keiki periodically with tepid water to
encourage root growth, but be careful not to let collected water run
down the stem and rot the crown. If you see this happen, use a clean
tissue immediately to wick up the moisture.

Don't be tempted to pot up your keikie until it has sufficient roots,
that is, some to bury as anchors and some to keep as aerial roots.
--
Spider.
On high ground in SE London
gardening on heavy clay

"Jeff Layman" wrote ..

Spider wrote:
Young plantlets (keikis) occasionally develop on old flowering
stems; just a tiny leaf at first, then aerial roots and more leaves.
When big enough to support itself, it can be removed and potted up.

One of my Phals has just started forming a keiki. It has a couple of
leaves about 15 mm or so long. Any idea how many months it will be
before roots appear?


You Phal growers be interested in this...
http://www.orchidspecies.co.uk/KEIKI...g-orchids.html

--
Regards. Bob Hobden.
Posted to this Newsgroup from the W of London, UK

On 12/02/15 16:49, Spider wrote:
On 12/02/2015 15:33, Jeff Layman wrote:
On 12/02/15 15:13, Spider wrote:
Young plantlets (keikis) occasionally develop on old flowering
stems; just a tiny leaf at first, then aerial roots and more leaves.
When big enough to support itself, it can be removed and potted up.

One of my Phals has just started forming a keiki. It has a couple of
leaves about 15 mm or so long. Any idea how many months it will be
before roots appear?

With me, it seems to vary and probably has to do with the vigour of the
plant, plus your cultivation of it. It's very difficult to put a time
on it; I would say months rather than weeks, but growth should increase
with the advent of warmer weather. Also, you'll be so busy outside in
the garden that you won't even notice how slow it is;~).

If you're in the habit of using a bloom-inducing feed, try a
growth-inducing feed instead, though still only feeding weakly 3 weeks
out of 4, so that salts don't build up in the growth medium. You may
also find it's worth spraying the keiki periodically with tepid water to
encourage root growth, but be careful not to let collected water run
down the stem and rot the crown. If you see this happen, use a clean
tissue immediately to wick up the moisture.

Don't be tempted to pot up your keikie until it has sufficient roots,
that is, some to bury as anchors and some to keep as aerial roots.

Thanks for the suggestions. I actually use a single fertiliser (I was
given a 400g jar of this:
http://www.akerne-orchids.com/shop/i...tegory&path=40
about 3 years ago. Quite a few orchids for sale there if you are
interested!).

I am content to leave the keiki on the original plant for as long as it
is happy.

--

Jeff

On Mon, 09 Feb 2015 13:48:50 +0000, David wrote:

One Phalaenopsis has decent aerial roots and a single mature leaf. The
centre looks dead, though.

Do they ever come back from this (growing centre damaged) or is it the
great compost heap in the sky?

Update - just as I was about to sling it I noticed a green shoot to one
side of the base.

I first thought it might be another aerial root, but then it looked more
like another flower shoot.

Now it is looking like new leaves.

Still very small but growing a little each day.

So never say die (or dead).

Cheers

Dave R


--
Windows 8.1 on PCSpecialist box

On 30/03/2015 13:33, David wrote:
On Mon, 09 Feb 2015 13:48:50 +0000, David wrote:

One Phalaenopsis has decent aerial roots and a single mature leaf. The
centre looks dead, though.

Do they ever come back from this (growing centre damaged) or is it the
great compost heap in the sky?

Update - just as I was about to sling it I noticed a green shoot to one
side of the base.

I first thought it might be another aerial root, but then it looked more
like another flower shoot.

Now it is looking like new leaves.

Still very small but growing a little each day.

So never say die (or dead).

Cheers

Dave R


That's good to hear. Well worth the patience.
--
Spider.
On high ground in SE London
gardening on heavy clay