terminal inflorescence and keiki on my phalaenopsis

[akhenenra]

I have a couple phalaenopsis plants that have grown several terminal inflorescences, which this forum helped me identify, thank you. My question is- is there anything I need to do for these plants? Do I just let them grow or is there some sort of pruning, etc required?

Also, curious when the right time is to separate this keiki from the mother. thank you everyone!

[camille1585]

The name keiki for basal growths is misleading, as these are difficult if not impossible to separate from the mother plant. I would not attempt to separate them. When a plant grows a terminal spike it changes the balance of plant hormones, leading to the production of basal growths to take over the role of the main growth later on.

I don't know if you've been told this before, but your plant shows signs of severe dehydration. If the roots are ok, a couple good soakings and then increased watering would probably be a good idea.

[akhenenra]

Originally Posted by camille1585

The name keiki for basal growths is misleading, as these are difficult if not impossible to separate from the mother plant. I would not attempt to separate them. When a plant grows a terminal spike it changes the balance of plant hormones, leading to the production of basal growths to take over the role of the main growth later on.

I don't know if you've been told this before, but your plant shows signs of severe dehydration. If the roots are ok, a couple good soakings and then increased watering would probably be a good idea.

I wasn't meaning to separate the inflorescences from the plant- I meant the keiki (at least I think it's a keiki) in the last photo I posted. I was asking two questions, sorry if I wasn't clear. Is the last photo not a keiki and I'm misunderstanding?

oh wow on the dehydration, I had no idea can I ask what you're basing it on so I understand for the future? I water almost every day at this point. It is rather hot in my tent, an issue I am working on by changing light systems.

[estación seca]

Phal leaves should be smooth without wrinkles, very shiny and green. They are low light plants. Those leaves are severely wrinkled, dull and reddish. As Camille writes they are severely dehydrated. When you say you're watering once a day, how are you watering them?

They also appear to be getting far too much light. They grow and flower best with a 10-12 hour long day and 1,000 foot candles of light.

[akhenenra]

ah I see. I will say that the reddish color is from the light, pictures I take in there have a very yellowish red tint. But I see what you're saying. This light is indeed too much for them, I have ordered some milder LED lights which should be here in the next couple of weeks. The light setup has always confused me, with so many ways to measure it so I am adjusting as I go. One thing that has always confused me though is that everywhere I read it says that Phals should have light olive green leaves and that leaves that are too dark means not enough light. I would say about 1/3 of my roughly 25 plants have pretty dark green leaves, and have ever since I got them. Are these varietal differences? They all have healthy roots and flower regularly.

I water with a hose I hooked up by the tent, I give them a decent soaking pretty much every day. But they are in plastic pots with lots of holes, and it's rather hot in there. So maybe it's still not enough. I repotted most of them around 6 months ago so I don't know for sure what's going on under the medium, but the pots are clear plastic and I can see healthy roots on most of them, a lot have roots growing out of the pot holes.

I do hear you on the light situation though, I hope to have it resolved in a few week's time. I appreciate the help.

[estación seca]

Do you have a thermometer in there? My experience has been they like being up to about 95 degrees F / 35C but not a lot hotter.

If it's hot with or without low humidity pots with drain holes could dry out too fast. In my hot growing area I can't use well-aerated plastic nor clay pots or I'd need to water at least once a day.

Phals when mounted or in large chunks of medium can stay moist, and they much prefer that over drying out between waterings. The advice to let them dry between waterings is more for people growing them in houses that are cooler than ideal and in media that are less aerated than ideal.

If you switch to LEDs the temperature in there will go down, but it will still be important to know what it is. I suggest a waterproof thermometer or a computer temperature monitoring system.

[akhenenra]

it around 84 in there, but the light itself provides a lot of sun like heat, I always feel like the plants probably feel hotter than the temperature says. I am planning to switch to LEDs but I am slightly concerned it will be too cold for them then? I have to figure that out, being in PA and the tent is in my basement where it isn't freezing but might be as low as in the high 50s in the winter.

Very interesting about the watering advice re: the typical advice to let them dry out. I had wondered about that and had thought maybe the advice always errs on the side of less watering since they can be so easy to kill if treated like typical houseplants.

[estación seca]

I don't know your growing arrangement, but seedling heat mats under your plants would keep them warmer in the basement. Surrounding them with some kind of enclosure would also keep temperatures and humidity up. It's best to use lights for lighting and heaters for heating.