Best time to cut the spike?

[mimigirl]

My question is when to cut a keiki. My dendrobium has one & I don't know how long to leave it attached to original plant. No that it matters since it will probably not bloom either!

[BikerDoc5968]

Mimigirl, while this is somewhat of a departure from the original thread and I don't know about Dendrobiums, I would think they aren't any different from Phal keikis. The rule of thumb is 3 roots 3 inches... at least tht is what I use... and that's because I use my thumb....

[LKint]

I'm a beginner so take this advice as such. If you do a search on this site for "supermarket" you'll find my post "Type of pot for phal..." and by following the thread you'll see some comments and pictures about cutting the spike. I cut above a green bud, placed the plant in a south window behind a lacy curtain, and watered weekly with a few drops of miracle gro per cup. At the end of the thread I posted my wonderful results [7/22/09] and I hope yours does as well.

[RosieC]

Originally Posted by LKint

I'm a beginner so take this advice as such. If you do a search on this site for "supermarket" you'll find my post "Type of pot for phal..." and by following the thread you'll see some comments and pictures about cutting the spike. I cut above a green bud, placed the plant in a south window behind a lacy curtain, and watered weekly with a few drops of miracle gro per cup. At the end of the thread I posted my wonderful results [7/22/09] and I hope yours does as well.

Again Ray's link above has good advise on this. It's a method of forcing a side spike in many Phals, BUT it can weeken the plant as a whole, forcing it to flower when it may not have enough energy to do so.

I like Ray's advise to let the plant do what it thinks is best, rather than forcing it.