How long should I wait to remove this keiki? Is this one ...
This beautiful orchid offshoot has been growing in the crown of my orchid for over a year; it even bloomed earlier this year (though I’m not sure if it was the keiki or the mother orchid) #orchidlovers #orchidproblems
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@TimelessDaisy79 How do you think this is a keiki? These pictures make it hard for me to determine, I can’t tell if keiki or just regular growth 🤔
Well, for what Google told me , orchids have two types of keikies. The keikis that grow along the flowering spikes and a keiki sprouting from the crown or base (basal keiki) means it is emerging from the main stem. I repoted this orchid not too long ago and she has a strong root system underneath her so I know she is not suffering from crown or root rot.
IF that is a basal Keiki, the leaf looks poor and it doesn’t look like it can be separated without damaging the parent plant.
That said, this also looks to me like the flower spike and roots grew in just the right places to partially tear a regular leaf and push it off to the side (you can see something similar with the small leaf above it being warped and pushed to the side). If a regular leaf’s connection to the base of the plant is partially severed, you will see that kind of sickly discoloration and wilting. So I think there is a good chance that when that super thick spike and nearby roots grew, it tore some of the leaf’s connections to the base of the plant and it’s having trouble getting sufficient water and nutrients to that leaf.
That said, this also looks to me like the flower spike and roots grew in just the right places to partially tear a regular leaf and push it off to the side (you can see something similar with the small leaf above it being warped and pushed to the side). If a regular leaf’s connection to the base of the plant is partially severed, you will see that kind of sickly discoloration and wilting. So I think there is a good chance that when that super thick spike and nearby roots grew, it tore some of the leaf’s connections to the base of the plant and it’s having trouble getting sufficient water and nutrients to that leaf.