Inducing Keiki growth using natural substance
 

I have rescently acquired a rare and expensive phal that i want to propagate. Cloning requires alot of advance technique and equipment, so I figure keiki is the best way to go.

My question is what natural substance can i use to induce keiki growth in phal. I have hear people using coconut water to induce root growth and as growth hormone in-vitro, but have anyone tried using coconut water to induce keiki growth on spike or on the plant base? What technique should I use?

There are products on the market intended for making keikis. The huge amount of growth hormones can cause issues with mutations.

You could always try just removing a bract on the inflorescence. Exposing the dormant bud is sometimes enough to get something going.

Are you still following up your question of keiki on Phal, earlier this year? As I have some info on this task.

Yep, still working on it. My first priority is still trying not to get my expensive phal to die duing winter. One of my phal keiki at the base on its own, but the others did not keiki. What info do you have?

I bought keiki paste and followed directions on how to peel back a node on a flower stem and apply the paste with a toothpick. Reapplying more paste 10 days. It was a tutorial site, I think I downloaded it, could try and post to you, if you want. Otherwise the instructions came with the Keiki Paste.

I have used coconut milk mixed with water (couldn't find just coconut water here) and used it on an ailing cattleya orchid. I now have 7 small new growths all over the rhizome in between old dead pseudobulbs. I watered the plant with this whenever it needed water for a month or two making sure to wet the rhizome all over. It seems to have worked. They are only about 1/2 inch tall and are slow to grow larger but are a nice healthy looking green. I would try it as I don't think the coconut water can hurt the plant and is supposed to have many nutrients that plants need. Good luck.

Interesting, Thanks for sharing

Here are a couple pictures of my new growths. There actually at least 8 of them and maybe 1 or 2 more but they are very tiny and hard to see and count. There are about 4 in 1 area near the foreground and 4 or more in the centre right. There are no leaves on the old pseudobulbs. There is a rhizome clip running thru the centre, since there are no roots to hold it in place!

:bowing Great, thanks for sharing this with us.