TheMondayGarden.com, Eco-gardening at its best
July 23, 2006, Issue 213 (part 2)
Exclusive TheMondayGarden.com interview with Molly Dugger Brennan , of Brennan's Orchids, LLC
PICTURE: tubular Phalaenopsis. Note how the flower stem comes out of the center of the leaves, rather than from between the leaves, like the roots. Note also the baby orchid growing to the lower right. It's called a "basal keiki"; 'basal" meaning "at the base of", and "keiki" being Hawaiian for "baby". Photograph courtesy of Brennan's Orchids, LLC.
TheMondayGarden.com: Molly, how can we tell if a Phalaenopsis has "gone tubular"?
MOLLY: "Tubular is when the plant puts up a bloom spike from the center growth point on the crown instead of sending out a new leaf. When the plant has done this, it cannot send out any more new leaves. This is not always a bad thing. Some species put out new keikis (baby plants) and spread that way, so it doesn't matter that the plant is not going to be able to put out more leaves on any specific crown. Mostly, though, the plant will put out pretty flowers but its growth is terminated."
TheMondayGarden.com: Molly, how should a tubular Phalaenopsis be handled after flowering? Should the flower stalk be cut back?
MOLLY: "Tubular Phalaenopsis spikes needn't be cut at any certain point. Phalaenopsis that have gone tubular are finished. In order for them to bloom again they have to grow a whole new plant, usually a basal keiki, get that keiki to a mature point and then that keiki will bloom. If you own a tubular Phalaenopsis and it is not putting out any keikis, you now own a foliage plant."
TheMondayGarden.com: What's the best way to handle the keikis?
MOLLY: If a Phalaenopsis puts a keiki out on the bloom spike, you can leave it on the mother plant for up to 2 - 3 years. You must remember to feed the mother plant regularly because she's eating for two, just like pregnant women. The keiki will also put up a bloom spike and bloom while still on the mother plant so you need to support its weight by staking it. If the mother plant starts to "wean" the keiki by not sending nutrients up the spike to it anymore, the stem starts turning brown and drying. Then you must twist the keiki off and pot it up independently. If you want to pot the keiki up prior to that you certainly can, just wait for it to have three roots that are at least three inches long (3 x 3) so it has enough of a root system to feed itself.
TheMondayGarden.com: Why do we call this condition "going tubular"?
"We call the condition we have been discussing "going tubular" because when the spike first appears it looks like the leaf is rolled into a tube. The actual scientific term for it is: "the apical meristem of the stem is consumed in the production of an inflorescence that initially bears large, basal, subfoliaceous bracts toward the base." This scientific definition is from Phalaenopsis: A Monograph, by Eric A. Christenson."
CLICK HERE for more about Phalaenopsis
CLICK HERE for more about orchids generally
Photo credits: Brennan's Orchids, LLC © Sue Sweeney 2006