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Once the baby orchid (“keiki”) has roots a few inches long, it can be cut from the mother plant and grown as a whole new plant. Because it grows vegetatively from the mother, the new plant is a genetic clone.
Once the paste is ready, apply a small amount to the desired nodes or aerial roots of the orchid plant using a clean brush or cotton swab. Here is another article to learn more about the differences beween keiki paste and rooting hormone. Technically speaking, this is correct, but it won’t work the same way as pruning a Peperomia or Fittonia plant, for example. But what is it? This is a question that gets asked more often than not, so I decided to write a blog post dedicated solely to ‘ keiki paste’ – I hope it answers your questions! This can happen sooner or later in 2-8 weeks, depending on the time of the year, the health of your orchid and the growth conditions your orchid plant is growing, and many more.Directions: When crown rot has damaged the plant, apply a thin layer of KeikiGrow Plus to the base of the plant where the bottom leaves fell off as the plant was growing. At the base of every leaf is an adventitious bud-ready to replace the crown. Do not water the plant, but keep it warm (70 degrees F) and in high humidity (80-90%). Use a plastic bag if necessary. A new growth and perhaps three or four growths will establish on the old roots and then grow their own roots so that they can be removed and potted up safely. The new "clone" should bloom within one or two years. You Can 'Meristem' with Hormones," Bulletin of the American Orchid Society, Vol 49, No. 10, October 1980, pp. 1123-1132. (with Ivan Kocsis) The science of plant signaling and growth hormones is complex. An over-dosage of cytokinin can stall growth, cause deformed growth such as dwarfism, and inhibit root growth. Effects may linger for days or even decades for the plant to recover.
Put it to stand or lay on moist moss, in a container of some kind. Then cover the whole container with Clingfilm, and puncture some air holes in it.
Once the plant has finished flowering, select a stem that’s between 10 and 12 inches long. Cut it off at the base by using clean scissors or a sharp knife. Then divide the stem into sections between two and three inches long. Make sure each section has a new growth area or a node somewhere along its length. While the specific formulation of these products is not always listed, we know the primary active ingredient is a synthetic form of cytokinin. The bud-wakening power of keiki paste isn’t just about propagation. Add some to buds on bonsai trees to encourage growth in a particular direction, to the lateral buds on the stems of leggy plants to make them bushier, even on the unfurling buds of new orchid stems prior to flowering to encourage these to branch out into sprays, thus giving you loads more flowers. The easiest way to tell them apart is to look very closely. If it looks very smooth, it is most likely a flower spike. If it is rather bumpy, chances are high that it might be a new plant.
If you prefer, you can also make it at home. To make it, mix one milligram of cytokinin, sold as BAP or Benzylaminopurine, with one gram of warmed lanolin. Be sure to wear protective gloves and safety glasses and work in a well-ventilated area, as BAP is an eye and skin irritant. You’ve most likely read that pruning a pothos will make it bushier (read our complete guide to making pothos bushier here). According to a study on the effects of BAP on banana shoots (Pereira et al., 2018), different concentrations of the hormone will produce a different number of shoots. The number of shoots increases from 1 to 3 shoots per plant when the concentration goes from 1mg/L to 2.5mg/L. The newer growth point, however, started to grow almost instantly and has produced a new leaf and is growing further.Place a tiny amount of the paste on the central whorl of a rare begonia leaf and a baby will pop up right there, without the risk of removing leaves to make cuttings or damaging plant health. Do you have one of those crazy-expensive variegated aroids like monstera or philodendron, or carnivorous plants like nepenthes that you want to make a perfect copy of? Add some keiki paste to one of the dormant nodes – as close as possible to growth level – and watch it come to life. BAP is not easily accessible in all countries. If you cannot find the chemical locally, chances are the chemical is not allowed in your country. This can happen as some of the synthetic hormone chemicals can be used to make other substances detrimental to the environment. When you have finished making some keiki paste, you should not clean any used containers by flushing them under the tap to prevent any BAP from being washed into the drains. This is because the chemical is harmful to aquatic organisms and may cause long-term adverse effects in the aquatic environment. To properly clean the containers, add a few drops of 99% alcohol and wipe them off with tissue paper.
Used on epiphytic (air plant) orchids like Phalaenopsis, Dendrobium, and Neofinetias, this synthetic hormone has the potential to trigger the growth of a baby orchid complete with shoots and roots—a rare but exciting event for any avid grower.If it is a keiki, within a few weeks you should see the bud swell, then leaves and roots gradually develop. The purpose of the application is to bolster the natural hormones of the plant and these naturally occurring substances will not be produced until the plant enters its growth cycle after blooming has occurred. Waiting several weeks on a younger plant would raise the probability of success. If a plant develops a new peduncle, fertilizers are used containing phosphorus and potassium and a minimum of nitrogen. On the other hand, when offspring appear, nitrogen is more important. There is no need to increase the watering of the orchid. Keep a close eye on the condition of the soil in the pot, not allowing it to dry out or turn into a swamp. This technique has been used to rescue crown-damaged Phalaenopsis and other monopodial orchids. The KeikiGrow Plus is applied to buds around the base of the plant (not to the inflorescence). There is a dormant bud at the base of every leaf. Some will be dry, but others will be green and ready for extra encouragement to send them into growth. A healthy root system can support these dormant buds to grow even when the primary growth is damaged.
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