*What shall we do with the basal keiki?*etc.

[Roberta]

Originally Posted by 6ByAccident

Just read about your basal keiki blooming - wow! I had no idea they could bloom while on there! I have a 4 month old (stem) reiki with no roots at all. I'm thinking this one just might settle and get comfortable, and bloom right there someday, too! =D

Orchids can have several ways to propagate themselves. The most obvious, of course, is for flowers to get pollinated, and make seeds. But especially in a "home" environment that doesn't happen much... you don't have pollinators buzzing around, In the case of orchids with "sympodial" growth habit (like Cattleyas, Oncidiums, and a bunch of others, those that make new growths along a rhizome) there are usually two or even more potential growth points ("Eyes") so if one is lost there is a backup. But in general, they make new growths from these multiple growth points routinely anyway. For monopodial plants (like Phals and Vandas) with only one growth point (the crown) they have other strategies. One is the basal growth (not really a keiki) that is a new plant at the base of the old one, from the same root system. Some of these form clumps of multiple basal growths. Another is a keiki (Hawaiian for "baby") that forms on an old flower spike, These eventually produce roots, at which point they can become independent plants, as the old spike dies. You can get flowers from either type of new growth.