Keiki, Hawaiian for “baby”, refers to a new plantlet growing on a mother orchid. These plantlets can grow naturally or be encouraged using plant hormones. Phalaenopsis and Dendrobium orchids are particularly prone to producing keikis. To propagate orchids from keikis, tissue culture methods involve taking a small section of tissue from the keiki and placing it in a nutrient-rich medium to stimulate growth.
Propagating orchids from keikis is simpler than it might sound, as it involves keeping the planting medium moist but not soggy while the cuttings root. Misting occasionally and re-covering with plastic can help ensure that new leaves and roots emerge from the cuttings within 2-4 months. If the stems resist pulling, they have rooted.
Orchid varieties like Phalaenopsis, Vanda, Dendrobium, and Catasetum can be propagated through keikis with great success. To propagate orchids with keikis, one of the easiest methods is to encourage the plant to produce a keiki, which can be removed and planted in its own pot. To produce another plant, leave the keiki attached to the mother plant until it sprouts new leaves and shoots.
To propagate orchids with keiki paste, use a sterile blade to slice into a node on the orchid flower stalk and apply the paste. Leave the keiki on the mother plant until its roots are 1 to 3 inches long, with a small shoot and a couple of leaves. Once the keiki has grown, gently set the little plant next to the mother and encourage the roots to go downward.
📹 How to grow Baby Orchid Plants (Keikis) – Keiki Paste for Phalaenopsis – Orchid Care for Beginners
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📹 How To Plant BABY ORCHIDS | When to Separate Phalaenopsis Babies
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I have an orchid that spontaneously made 2 keikis which I haven’t cut off. No orchid of mine ever produced kakis before on their own. Now a Keiki has 2 flower stems and the mother plant has 3. I will be having a lot of gorgeous flowers soon and this orchid produces a lot of small flowers on one stem. I will be quite a show.
I am just examining my orchids this morning + noticed several ‘keikis’. I am rather new to looking after orchids. Not knowing what exactly to do with ‘the babies’, I came here. You’re explanations are always so helpful! From a detailed educational standpoint, but also the careful way you present this information. The info on ‘prioritizing’ your orchid goals – is a good one + very important the way I see it. Like triaging medical cases. I always learn so much more than I expect. You’re AWESOME + I really appreciate you + the knowledge + respect you impart for these living things. I humbly thank you. 😌
Hi I have about 4 Keiki’s on one orchid. I’m so excited. I didn’t think I’d ever get one. My orchid is a little small one. Phaleonopsis excuse spelling, but it’s a miniature one. So very small babies. Oh I hope they make it. And this one plant actually bloomed twice on same spike. Wow. I was surprised at that too. I wish I could take a pic and show you. It’s so pretty
This was SO COOL!!! I didn’t know so many different orchid families had so many different types of keikis! I have my first set of keikis! That’s why I’m on this article. I only knew keikis to grow next to the mother plant, so when I saw saw mine from the flower spikes I thought it was a confused hybrid that forgot it had grown flowers there 3 months ago 😅 I didn’t know they were babies!!! I’m so excited! I have 4 growing very quickly! Thank you, also, for the timeline expectancy. I now know 3 months for roots and cutting, and about a year for flowers of their own. Very very helpful. Thank you for sharing your expertise. And I never knew about “repotme” I’ve been making my own pots. And I didn’t know about keiki paste! Your website just gets better and better for me! Thank you!!
I got my roommate a phal last year and when we moved out of state, she flew so I took her stuff in the a uhaul and I seen her orchid wasn’t doing so great and had a bare flower spike so I brought it to my new home and nursed it back to life. I’ve been busy and hadn’t bought new medium so I just watered it and left the spike and now it has a giant keiki :3 I’m excited to have a new plant and I plan on giving her one of them again once they bloom.
Thanks Danny. Great timing !! Just in process of removing keiki from Dendrobuim Nobile cane and starting them in a small pot with chips and moss. Wanted to say that the scaple from repotme is super sharp, much sharper than regular disposable box cutter. My finger bears witness 🤪, good that I’m a fast healer 😬. Also used a tree pruning sealer on both the cane and keiki. The bad is messy, good is instant seal to open wound for both sides of cut. But again is messy because of tar getting everywhere, live and learn. Enjoy break and we’ll all see you on next article.
I’ve got a few keikis but mostly ignored them in favour of brushing up my other orchid knowledge. Now I have a huge basal keiki I need to seperate but also an aerial keiki and mum in bloom at the same time. I hope it’s not too exhausting for the mum because I think it’s going to look spectacular. Last bloom together and then I’ll be a better orchid mum and give them a pot. perusal the flower buds like a hawk I’m so excited!
Thank you for your informative articles. Yesterday I bought a phal which had 2 beautiful flowers but the reason I bought the particular one was it has 3 keikis on the flower spike. I am a beginner at growing orchids so I am looking forward to seeing the progression of the plant. I have been buying phals that are being sold cheap for different reasons and thoroughly enjoying your articles. I live in Western Australia.
I got a phal for my birthday in October last year. It bloomed for a while and then lost all flowers. I ended up cutting off the previous flowering part of the stems and pretty much just left it be. Now in the spring I moved it a little closer to the window again and gave it a little bit of fertiliser, and was so exited to see little buds starting to grow on the old stems. I was expecting flowers, because I didn’t know they were keikis. Only realised when I saw leaves starting to form haha. So now I have three keikis growing on it, and looking forward to see them grow into new plants c:
I was in a grocery store reccently(1 hour ago) and i see a phalaenopsis with patterns on her leaves. And then I notticed a few more of them, they had pink flowers with darker pink and yellow spots and a white lip with also a few pink spots. By observing the pattern on the leaves i think that those phals are some new hybrids of phal. schilleriana on the market.
I really love keiki paste. I’ve been having fun on a nobile I was given as a rescue by a friend who didn’t take care of it too well. The canes were big and plump but was completely without a single leaf. I went crazy with the paste on her and got 6 keikis to grow. The one at the very top has even flowered. Are you supposed to water and/or fertilize the keiki aerial roots while it’s still attached to the mother plant? I don’t know if I should mist them once a week with water and apply a spray fertilizer every two weeks.
Thanks for this article, I was wondering how we can cut it off, it the first time I am hearing this thought this plant preduced seeds but instead it is like it gives birth instead! :3 It’s amazing! Also learning about this, I already feel like I am a mom by seeing this or imagining our ochid has a child. XD Really interesting feeling, never thought I have it just over a plant. I hope ours blooms it, it our first one. ^ ^
hi there, I by mistake “ripped” a new bud, I don’t know if it was a flower stem or a new keiki, it was way too small, but to me it looked like new leaves were growing in the flower stem; but really don’t know much about that. Do you think it would have a chance of surviving (it was a heartfelt mistake, cried a little inside of me). Is there any thing that I can do to help it survive? thanks for all your articles I learn a lot.
Hello – my first ever post. I am learning so much from you and for the first time ever have three orchid plants that I have managed not to kill over almost two years now. They are all phaleonopsis (sp) that has what appears to Be a keiki on it but the parent plant isn’t looking well (leathery leaves, looking dehydrated but I water weekly). The keiki is growing directly from the base of the parent plant with no clear place to cut it away. It seems it’s what you describe as what is a basal keiki yes? I’m worried it’s causing stress to the main plant. Not sure what to do but I don’t want to lose one or both of them. Help please 😔 I have taken some pics but not sure how to post those here
I have a question. Can a keiki have a keiki. I have a keiki that I took from the mother plant a about 2-3 months ago and now right at the base of the plant is a little tiny leaf coming out. I would love to be able to send you a picture and see if you can tell me what is going on. Thank you for all your hard work.
I by accident removed a basal keiki from the mother plant. It didn’t have a strong root system. It had one root and a small one starting. I potted it in a tiny pot and decided to look how it was doing, it started to show signs of making more roots, saw some tips poking through. I placed it in a bigger pot so it’s wasn’t so limited. Its been a month and a half. It doesn’t look shriveled but I’m not sure if it will survive.
I have a very healthy phalenopsys that bloomed months ago (definitely last year). I continued to water and fertilize it, it was in a warm light space and we were waiting for it to bloom. No such thing….now it seems to be producing a keiki. I guess no flowers now? Should i have given it some rest, in order to bloom?
Hello!! I tried using keiki paste onto a very healthy orchir aftet her blooms fell off.. its been a month and the flower spike where i applied keikei paste is starting to wilt and show black spots.. does that mean the experiment didnt work? I see another bud like structure near the crown.. how can i differentiate if it is another flower spike or a keikei? How long do i wait to find out? I see the bud growing really fast.. please advise!! Thank you.. ur articles are amazing btw😊
Quick question, if you want keikis you’re supposed to put the paste on during growing season aka summer, and not in flowering season, how is this possible if the flower spike from winter dies back before the growing season starts? Sometimes my orchids bloom in summer for some reason but some don’t. Should i just try anyway with whatever spike i can, winter or summer?
I have only recently started to try to grow an orchid. It did flower unexpectedly but it insists on growing sideways. It’s heavy on the one side with all of the leaves there. The other side are the above ground roots. I unsuccessfully repotted it but no good. It still is sideways and I don’t want to squish the above ground roots into the pot. What should I do?
Ok so for the first time ever I separated keiki plants. It’s so old it was hard to tell what was happening so I just tried my best. The first bit went ok I think but then the remaining bit was hard to tell if it was one plant or two…. So either I removed 2 keikis from a mother orrrr I removed 1 keikis and chopped the mother in half 😭 .. they all have ample roots. So that’s a good sign right. Right??
I have 2 keikis on the end spike of a phalaenopsis thats done blooming quite large both of them but for some reason wont produce roots..i cant find any info on how to get roots on them to replant..HELP..lol, one broke off from being dropped accidently (not by me) the other is still attached. Been going on 3 monthes n still no roots..what can i do to get roots??
I have a Dendrobium Kingianum. It has been producing keiki one after the other. My problem is that they separate on their own before the roots are mature enough to take up nutrients. The mother plant starts producing the next one as soon as it drops .It is also producing new canes, so I feel that it is healthy. Any suggestion on how to get the keiki to get to a point of having better roots before it separates? I will be reporting this one in the near future.
??? I rescued an Minnie Palanopsis orchids it had a keiki. Starting to form a single leaf on the flower spite. There were unopened buds at the top. It was extremely dried out and the leaves at the base were starting to yellow. Well I brought it home I watered fertilized and the leaves started to do better at the base. Well the flower buds are starting to look like they’re going to open will that affect the keiki?
My phalaenopsis orchid has sprouted keikis on the flower stems this Spring.. It is now August and they have grown larger at the tops of the cut flower stems, but still not roots. I am afraid to separate them without the roots. The leaves are getting quite large, (4-6″ in length) and I don’t know what to do. Any suggestions?
I am kind of new to orchids and recently one got really dry, turns out most of its roots rotted so I cut them and left the good ones on. It recently produced a keiki unfortunately one of my roommates knocked it off and one of its leafs tore off (it only had two) and now I’m worried because I don’t know what to do or whether my orchid will live, somebody help!!!
I watch your article on potting the keikis. How does the keiki get water if their aerial roots are only on the surface and not deep rooted in the medium? The small amount of water in the pot, how long will it remain there. Is it necessary to spray on the aerial root every now and then? Is Seramis (special subtrat) the only medium recommended for keiki or any other orchid soil or granules can be used?