Orchid Babies or KeikisBy Phillip Estenson  Some types of orchids produce small plantlets which can be removed from the adult plant to produce a new plant. These small plants are called keikis from the Hawaiian word meaning “child” or “baby.” They will be exact replicas of the mother plant. The most common types of orchids to produce keikis are Dendrobiums, Epidendrums, and Phalaenopsis.  On a Phalaenopsis, the small vegetative growths will resemble a new inflorescence or a branching of an inflorescence on a spent stem, but then suddenly roots will appear at the bottom. If you want to produce another plant from the growth, you will need to wait until the roots are about one and one half inches, or four or five centimeters, long. Clip the whole growth off the supporting stem. Carefully plant the keiki in a small pot with orchid mix and place in a shadier location than the mother plant was growing. You will need to provide some kind of prop to hold the little plant up because it will not have enough roots to do so by itself. The base should be placed just at the top of the medium with the roots carefully covered. Mist daily until you see the plant growing well and then move into a sunnier location and water as you do the mother plant. Sometimes the plants will produce a keiki at the side of the main growth stem if something has happened to the growing tip. Often this is the only way to save a plant which has lost the growing tip through crown rot. Since the plant has virtually all the roots of the parent plant, blooming should not be affected. Dendrobiums and Epidendrums will often produce keikis rather than flowers along the stem if they are given too much fertilizer with Nitrogen in it and warm temperatures in the winter. The plantlets will grow fairly quickly and you can put sphagnum moss around the roots to give them a head start before you cut them off. Nobile Dendrobiums will produce keikis instead of flowers if watered too much during winter months and not allowed to have a cool enough rest period. Another way to produce baby Dendrobiums is to cut off the complete pseudobulb and lay it horizontally on sand and keep in a shady spot. Sometimes new plants will grow from the leaf nodules.  Keikis will bloom much faster than comparable size seedlings since they have been able to do most of their growing using strength from the mother plant. Many will bloom in just one or two years, depending upon the type of orchid. This is a wonderful way to

expand your collection, or give a piece of a favorite to a friend. You can also leave the keikis on your plant and they will continue to grow and flower. Some species will produce spectacular specimen plants when they are left to grow this way.