Okay, I have no idea what I am doing here, but something had to be done. D bought me an Phal orchid last year sometime. Might have even been longer than that. It came already flowering. I left the stem in tact after the flowers died. Time passed and new growth appeared on the stem. I thought it might be another flower stalk, but it wasn't. It was a baby orchid plant. After researching, they call it a keiki, the Hawaiian word for baby. A baby orchid growing on a stem of an adult orchid! How cute is that?
When I was in Florida, we went to a Bloom and Chalk Festival and I began talking to a man at an orchid booth about my little plant. By this time, the adult plant had died. Maybe because all of its energy went to feeding this little plant. Either way, he said that if it had some roots that were a good size it was ready to cut and plant it in its own pot. Keep your fingers crossed....
Here it is, still attached to the stem of the dead flower plant.
A close up. 
Newly potted in its new home. I used orchid bark and put one of two roots inside the bark. The other one positioned itself out of the bark because of the way its growing. The leaves are a little shriveled, but I'm hoping that it will regain some moisture after sitting on top a bed of rocks with water to increase the humidity. Also, I wet the bark before I put it inside the pot. I think I've done everything I was supposed to do. Now all I can do is sit back and wait and hope it survives. 
At least it has its own cheering section while I am at work. :) 
No comments:
Post a Comment