Mmmmm, I don't think you will get a keiki from the spike. But like you mentioned, the flower spike of a phal. does last a good long time. Shave about 1/16 of an inch off the bottom every two or three days to keep it open to the water.
Keikis are produced on phal spikes. Generally at the first or second node on the spike nearest the plant itself. If your main plant crown rots, don't toss it, keep it around with just enough water to keep it alive. The roots will be healthy and it will generally start new plants either around the base of the plant itself, or on the freshest spike that was on the plant. Cut the spike between the 2nd and 3rd node on the flower spike, let dry and wait. By the time it's ready to cut off with a few roots you will have "waited" a couple of years.
You will find this hard to believe, but way back in time, because sowing seed meant scattering seed around the plant in the mossy areas to see if some would germinate, some gardeners used this method to induce more plants of phals. Using a large screwdriver, they would place it down in the center of the plant crown and twist, thereby killing the crown. Within a couple of month several new plants would start around the bottom of the plant. I never had the courage to try this, lol.
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