Clone orchid from stem cuttings - it worked! HOW??

[karrolhk]

Hi, I was watching this video where the person talks about making orchid keiki by just wrapping orchid stem cuttings with moss and put in a tall vase with some water with the top covered to keep humidity. Let's not digress by focusing on some of the wrong things she said (e.g. moss is food fo the keiki). But many comments in the video say that this method did result in keiki for some people (it doesn't work for others)!

How to Make 100 Orchids From One Without Keiki Paste - YouTube

Then, I saw this guy who was skeptical at first but he used the same method and successfully grow a keiki from stem cutting (fast forward to 12 min 18 if you don't have time):

I Made 100 Orchids From One Without Keiki Paste In One Year (Not) - YouTube

Of course using this method to clone 100 orchids is a clickbait. But, this method DOES WORK in producing keiki! My question is HOW can a keiki grow from just a stem cutting??? There are very few resources saved in the stem cuttings!

[SouthPark]

The nice (positive) thing is that ------- the method can potentially get a keiki --- but the probability of achieving a keiki might not be anywhere has high as what she claimed ----- in terms of approximately 9 flower-spikes out of 10 will get a keiki. Hard to say what the actual chance is though. But at least there is a chance when enough flower spikes are used.

On the other hand ------ if one is in no hurry to produce a keiki, then one can always just use keiki paste - so that it's a win-win situation. That is ----- you either get a flower spike branch, or you get a keiki. Win-win.

Also - in order to stop this forum page from getting 'wide-statured' ------ can edit the original post page, and use http: for the video links instead of https. Not everyone knows about that ------- it's just what I noticed hehe.

[karrolhk]

Thank you. But, could you please explain WHY just a stem + moisture can give us a keiki?? I was highly skeptical when I watched the video. I thought it's bogus and clickbait. But when I saw some comments saying it worked for them and also another video saying it worked and showed the result, I was shocked! When you propagate plant cuttings, you need at least a leaf to have photosynthesis. But this flower cutting is just a stem of 4-5 inches long, with no leaves. How does it have photosynthesis to produce food? Where is the food sources to support the birth and growth of a keiki?

So, could you please explain why just a stem cutting can provide enough resources to grow a keiki which takes at least 6 months!

PS. I edited the video links. Thanks

[SouthPark]

Originally Posted by karrolhk

So, could you please explain why just a stem cutting can provide enough resources to grow a keiki which takes at least 6 months!

Hard to say what is going on in full detail. If the flower spike is kept in humid conditions without fungal attack etc - and is able to get water up the spike through capillary action (or whatever it needs) ------ then the cells could possibly still do their thing ----- as in use light energy (through photosynthesis) to get the job done ------ as in growing a keiki.

But ----- I'm thinking that if there is no rush to grow a keiki, then might as well just apply keiki paste on an uncut flower spike, and just wait around. So regardless of whether the off-growth turns out to be a bud extension, or a keiki ----- a win-win situation.

Also - nice work for amending the video weblink to make it http: instead of https: ------- that fixed the wide-stature effect. And I think you're the first person that actually did some amending after it was mentioned. Thumbs up!!!!!

[estación seca]

It only works if the stem cutting has a node which has not yet flowered. Such nodes are subtended by one bract, a modified leaf. There is a microscopic bundle of new tissue, called a meristem, under the bract. This can form a new stem, a flower or a new plant. There are no meristems except at nodes.

[james j]

The stems themselves are green so they contain some chlorophyll, they probably also contain some starches and sugars to produce growth.
It’s not unusual at all for a plant to produce a Keiki from a node. I think cutting it off might trigger something to push the dormant node to grow. I notice with back bulbs will do nothing but if you cut them off they start pushing out growth from a dormant eye.
I notice in the video they were using phals from a big box store. I believe the suppliers of the big box stores use salicylic acid to force them to bloom. Maybe this makes them more prone to produce keikis?

[karrolhk]

Thank you everybody. So, the idea is that the cut stem only functions as a means to get water and nutrients by capillary action. The food stored in those short cut stems can be seen as insignificant for the GROWTH and development of a KEIKI (which takes at least a few months!), right?

I am still shocked that just a CUT stem can grow a new plant.. the stem already is separated from the mother plant and can still produce a baby?... this has never happened to other plants (most of the plants I know) like rose, bougambilia, azalea, whatever... If I were lucky, the cut stem would grow some roots, let alone growing a baby!

Plus, the water put in vase (as seen in both videos) does not have fertilizers.. After a few months, I believe the water should smell pretty bad and the moss around it should have some parts decomposed..

So, in general, I am still shocked and in disbelief..

[Mr.Fakename]

I've read digitalised letters that some collection curators sent each other, back in the ol' days (~1850-1900), wayyy before aseptic culture was a thing.

They were talking about a ground-breaking way of obtaining several Phalaenopsis out of one: cutting spent inflorescences, and putting them in transparent glass bottles with lumps of charcoal, under the benches.

Sometimes it would work, sometimes not. But this technique has been around for a while now!

[aliceinwl]

I’ve produced a lot of keikis this way, but all of mine died before they formed roots. I put my cut stems in glasses of water. I’m wondering if I would have had more success with moss.

[karrolhk]

That's amazing! Just putting spent flower stalks will give you a baby orchid! Do you know WHY?