What is a Kiki orchid?
The word keiki is Hawaiian for “baby.” A keiki is essentially a baby orchid produced from your original “mother” plant. A keiki will be the same genre as the mother and will have similar color and likeness. There are two types of keikis: basal keiki and apical/ariel keiki. Basal means it is located at/or near the base of an orchid.
What is a keiki plant?
The keiki is an exact copy of the original plant that grows from a node on the stalk or cane of an orchid plant. They occur most typically among the Dendrobium, Epidendrum, and Phalaenopsis genera of orchids.
What happens when a keiki forms on an orchid?
Once a keiki forms on an orchid, it can be left on the mother plant and will usually grow into another flowering plant, while still attached. Or, the plant can be removed and propagated into an individual plant. Starting a new plant can be an easy way to add to your collection or share a loved orchid with a friend.
Can you plant orchid keikis in pots?
Now you are ready to pot your keiki. You will want to use a pot that will be large enough to allow for one year of growth. A four inch pot should be as big as you need. Sphagnum moss is one option for a potting medium for orchid keikis. Other options include a special commercial potting mix specifically for orchids, bark, cork, and peat moss.
What orchids make keiki?
Phalaenopsis, Dendrobium, and Epidendrum are just some of the types of orchids that are known to generate keikis naturally. In some cases, when an orchid starts to put out a keiki it is trying to tell you that it is not doing well, and it’s making an effort to clone itself to keep its “bloodline” going in case it dies.
What does it mean when an orchid grows a keiki?
You shouldn’t panic if one of your orchids begins to grow a keiki—this doesn’t mean it’s about to kick the bucket. However, keiki growth can be an indication that your orchid is damaged or unhappy in some way, so you should reevaluate the way you’re caring for it and try to make adjustments to improve its health.
How to tell if orchid is a keiki?
How can you tell if what’s developing on your orchid is a keiki or just a new growth? A keiki will develop off of the plant’s stem—meaning either the spike or base on monopodial orchids, or the cane on sympodial orchids. Keikis are easier to distinguish on monopodial orchids like Phalaenopsis because they will look just like a couple of tiny new leaves coming out of a spot where they wouldn’t normally grow. Orchids with a sympodial growth habit (meaning they develop new growth laterally rather than growing upward) put out new leads from existing ones. Such new growth is not a keiki—a keiki on a sympodial orchid will shoot off of an already-mature growth. This may be better explained with photo examples…
Why are Keikis easier to distinguish on monopodial orchids like Phalaenopsis?
Keikis are easier to distinguish on monopodial orchids like Phalaenopsis because they will look just like a couple of tiny new leaves coming out of a spot where they wouldn’t normally grow.
How to care for Phal Keiki?
Care for the keiki the same way you care for its mother. Make sure to water and fertilize regularly and keep it away from direct sunlight so you don’t burn those little leaves. After awhile you may see it spike and bloom!
What is a baby orchid called?
The growth I described above is a baby orchid or plantlet, known to orchid lovers as a “keiki” (the Hawaiian term for “the little one”). Keikis are clones of the “mother” plant and can either be left attached to the mother or removed and potted individually once they have grown large enough. Keikis can grow off of the spike or stem ...
How to remove a keiki plant?
Removing a keiki isn’t difficult; just follow these steps: 1. Grab a sterilized cutting implement (A razor blade or gardening shears are best. Household scissors are a little awkward for a job like this). 2. Very carefully slice through the tissue at the base of the keiki to sever it from the original plant. 3.
What is the best potting medium for keiki orchids?
You will want to use a pot that will be large enough to allow for one year of growth. A four inch pot should be as big as you need. Sphagnum moss is one option for a potting medium for orchid keikis.
How is a Keiki plant formed?
There is no way to know for sure if or where your orchid plant will produce a keiki. It happens when there is a build up of growth hormones at the node. The nodes are the small bumps along the spikes. In order to encourage a keiki to grow you can apply keiki paste or liquid to the nodes.
How to keep keiki from dying?
Sterilize your cutting tools and apply fungicide to keep mother and keiki free from disease.
What genra do keikis form on?
They occur most typically among the Dendrobium, Epidendrum, and Phalaenopsis genera of orchids. Keikis form on other genra of orchids as well, but it is less common. Once a keiki forms on an orchid, it can be left on the mother plant and will usually grow into another flowering plant, while still attached.
How to grow keiki?
With patience and care you can have a copy of your favorite Phalaenopsis, Dendrobium, or Epidendrum. Just keep a few, very important things in mind: 1 Allow the Keiki to grow at least two, 2 or 3 three inch roots and a few leaves before removing from the mother plant. It must have both! 2 Sterilize your cutting tools and apply fungicide to keep mother and keiki free from disease. 3 Pot the Keiki in a small pot that will allow for one year of growth. 4 Use a pot and potting media that will allow appropriate drainage. 5 Fertilize only slowly at first, until the keiki shows signs of being well established. 6 Alway monitor moisture carefully. Don’t let the orchid get too soggy or too dry.
How to encourage keiki to grow?
In order to encourage a keiki to grow you can apply keiki paste or liquid to the nodes. These products typically have synthetic cytokinins that encourage cell division and growth of new tissue, and some contain synthetic auxins to stimulate growth.
How many roots does a Keiki plant have?
Just keep a few, very important things in mind: Allow the Keiki to grow at least two, 2 or 3 three inch roots and a few leaves before removing from the mother plant. It must have both!
What is a keiki in botany?
Eventually, someone hit upon "keiki," a Hawaiian word meaning "child." In botany, keiki is also the term for an orchid sprout. The name was perfect: a technical term that maintains Orchid's floral motifs, and whose resonance was similar to ETH's "wei." The choice was obvious.
What is oxt on orchid?
OXT drives activity on Orchid. Providers stake it in order to advertise their services, and they in turn can be paid by customers in the currency. Even when users buy a pre-filled account using an ordinary credit card, OXT is what's driving the network.
What is orchid internet?
Orchid is designed to let people use the Internet in privacy with as seamless a user experience as possible. For many, OXT operates fully "under the hood," with no need to ever install a web 3 browser or pay gas fees. But behind the scenes, Orchid's digital asset -- comprising all those billions of keikis -- is what allows the network to operate so effectively.
What is a keiki orchid?
We refer to these babies as keikis (pronounced kay-kees) which is the Hawaiian word for child. A keiki is the product of asexual propagation by a mature plant resulting in an exact clone of its parent.
Why do orchids put off keiki?
Sometimes an orchid will put off a keiki as a way of continuing its legacy if it fears that death is in the future.
How do orchids produce keikis?
Orchid keikis occur naturally when growth hormones accumulate at a node on the flower spike. The production of keikis can also be induced through the use of keiki paste. This paste consists of concentrated growth hormones and is applied directly to the node.
How long does it take for a Keiki to grow?
With the proper care, your keiki should flower between 2 to 3 years of age. You may, however, get lucky and experience flowering after just a year.
Why do you cut back a phalaenopsis flower?
Your Phalaenopsis finished blooming and you cut back the flower spike in an attempt to induce the development of a fresh spike. You begin to notice new growth and you are undoubtedly happy. As you monitor your new growth, you are surprised to see what appears to be leaves forming.
Can a keiki plant be planted in a pot?
During its first year, a keiki can benefit from being potted with its mother as the mature plant will help regulate soil conditions for the sensitive baby. Be careful not to expose your new plant to too much direct sunlight immediately after transplant.
Can you use cinnamon on orchids?
Any time there is an open wound on your orchid, it should be treated to prevent fungal infections. You can apply cinnamon, a natural fungicide, to the cuts on both the mother plant and keiki to ward off future problems. Once removed, you have two options.
What is a keiki orchid?
An orchid keiki is a baby replica of the mother plant, a clone with the exact same DNA, reproduced asexually—not by pollination. This new baby plant will display the same flower pattern, shape, colors, and texture as the mother plant. Keiki means “the little one, child, or baby” in Hawaiian, which is where the term originated.
Where do keikis come from in orchids?
Each orchid will have its own natural preference but generally, Phalaenopsis produce keikis along the middle to end nodes on the flower spike. Occasionally, Phals might develop a keiki at the base of the orchid. Dendrobiums produce keikis along the cane.
How Do I Get Rid of Orchid Keikis?
If you don’t want to keep the keiki on the Phalaenopsis, you can remove it. The elegance of the Phal orchid with it’s one slender spike is maintained by removing keikis after they are mature enough to live on their own.
What is Keiki Paste and How Does it Work?
This phenomenon was studied by orchid enthusiasts, and they replicated these hormones into a paste. Keiki paste is a stimulant that is rich in growth hormones. Not all pastes are keiki paste, so read carefully what you buy. Most pastes are for root growth. Orchid growers discovered that if you apply a paste that is rich in growth hormones (cytokinin hormone) to specific places—nodes—on the orchid, keikis will be induced.
How Do You Repot a Keiki?
There are 2 ways to remove a keiki. One is to twist it off at the base of the flower flower, where it is attached. The other way is to leave part of the old spike on. Once the 4 roots are healthy and firm, cut the flower spike about two fingers from the keiki. Let’s say you cut it too near the keiki. If an infection sets in, there will be no way to remove it without damaging the keiki.
What happens if you leave keikis on the mother plant?
If you leave the keikis on the mother plant, they will eventually grow into their own plant, changing the overall appearance of the Phal. The two connected plants become bushier and wider. Eventually the flower spike will not be able to support the weight of the keiki and it will bow down, searching for bark.
Why do orchids have keikis?
Don’t be extremely overjoyed at the first keiki that develops. Sometimes, keikis might be a sign that the orchid is under extreme stress and is trying to save its species before it dies. In attempts to not go extinct, it will use all its energy to produce a keiki.
What is a Keiki orchid?
What is a Keiki? Occasionally an orchid plant will bear a little plantlet off of its flower stem or pseudobulb. These little baby plants are often called a Keiki (Hawaiian for "baby"). Frequently we are asked what should be done when this happens.
How to repot a Keiki plant?
Once a Keiki has roots of 1-3 inches, it is time to repot both the mother and the baby. We recommend planting both together in the same pot in fresh mix. When Keikis are very small they seem to do best in the same pot with the mother for the first year because the mother plant helps regulate moisture conditions in the pot. We snip off the Keiki about an inch or two down the spike (or stalk) and gently set the little plant next to the mother and encourage the roots to go downward and establish themselves in the pot. It's ok to bury a bit of the cut off flower spike with the keiki, usually we bend it straight down in an attempt to anchor the little one.
Why is KeikiGrow Plus used?
Keikis, a Hawaiian word for baby plants, are frequently produced by Phalaenopsis in the wild (in situ) because of the natural hormones present in the plant itself The application of KeikiGrow Plus (a mixture of the cytokinin BAP and vitamins in a lanoline paste) can merely assist the plant's natural inclination to produce cytokinins and perpetuate itself by prompting dormant reserve buds into growth.
How many bloom spikes does a Keiki have?
Each keiki has one bloom spike and the mother plant has two new bloom spikes.The orchid above, from our private collection, has since been repotted with the two keikis together in a pot and the mother plant in another pot.
What is the function of auxins in a plant?
This action gives a plant its shape by only allowing the top buds to grow. Apical dominance controlled by a constant flow of auxins allows plants to have an important survival mechanism when a plant is damaged.
How many keikis are on Phal Amabilis?
Shown here is our species Phal amabilis which has two Keikis on each of two old bloom spike. These keikis formed on the mother plant after it bloomed the previous year. We chose to leave them on the mother plant and they bloomed along with the mother the next year.
Do Keikis have flowers?
Keikis are seen more frequently on Phalaenopsis, Epidendrum, and Dendrobium than on other orchids. Keikis are genetically identical to their mother and will bear flowers that look like the mother's too!
How to use Keiki paste on orchids?
HOW TO USE KEIKI PASTE. The paste is applied on the orchid’s flower spike once the blooming is done. Trim the spike by cutting it below the withering flowers. You can seal the cut wound with ground cinnamon. ( Avoid getting it on the leaves and roots)
How many Keikis per orchid?
I’d recommend you to do this on only 1 node per orchid. If you do it on several nodes in one plant if successful, keikis might start to grow from all of them. It’s very energy-consumin g for the orchid to grow a keiki, let alone 3 or 4 of them, so one is more than enough for one plant!
How to grow Keiki?
Once you have selected the node you would like a keiki to grow from, take keiki paste out of the container. Use a Q-tip or a long stick of some kind. Little paste goes a long way! Now gently apply it on the node. And that’s it, you’re done.
Why are keikis born?
In nature, keikis are also born so the orchid can attach itself further around the surface it’s living on. The keikis grow their own roots which give the plant more “hands” to hold on to the surface with. They also absorb more nutrients and hydration, so the plant as a whole becomes bigger and stronger.
What is keiki paste?
Keiki paste is a thick substance containing growth hormones. When applied on a Phalaenopsis orchid, it creates a biological response that makes the plant grow a keiki or flower spike.
Why does a keiki not die?
By creating a keiki, it has a chance to survive even if the mother plant dies. The keiki doesn’t die with the mother plant, because it is a functioning individual plant with its own leaves and roots.
How to keep keiki moist?
After this, place the keiki on the moist medium, gently pushing the roots deeper in. And that’s it, you’re done. From here on, keep an eye on the medium – it must stay slightly moist at all times. This is a delicate time for the keiki. Keep it in daylight, but always make sure it’s out of reach of heat.
What is a keiki?
The word keiki is Hawaiian for “baby.”. A keiki is essentially a baby orchid produced from your original “mother” plant. A keiki will be the same genre as the mother and will have similar color and likeness. There are two types of keikis: basal keiki and apical/ariel keiki. Basal means it is located at/or near the base of an orchid.
What happens if a keiki is at the base?
If the Keiki is located at the base, then it is sharing the roots with the mother and the mother will die back and the Keiki will take over. So in this case you will do NOTHING. The Keiki will take over and the root system will be transferred over. If the Keiki is way up high on the stem we can talk about what to do.
Why do keikis grow so quickly?
These keikis tend to grow quickly because they are sharing the existing established root system of the mother. In the case of a basal keiki growing because the mother plant is dying, you would still do nothing. The mother plant will die back/fade away and the basal keiki will replace it.
Why does a basal keiki grow side by side?
In the case of a basal keiki growing because there was a build up of growth hormones on a healthy orchid, again do nothing. The mother and baby will grow side by side and create an even bigger orchid.
What is a basal keiki?
Basal keiki – Along side the existing orchid, growing from its base and SHARING the same root system (shown above).
How far down do you cut keiki?
Snip it off about 1 or 2 inches down the bloom stalk, being careful to not clip the small keiki roots.
Can you keep keiki on a mother plant?
Note: you can keep the keiki on the existing mother plant and it will bloom, but it may look a bit sloppy because it’s dangling in the air. I would only suggest doing this if the mother plant is healthy and you don’t mind the look.
