Question
I have a keiki hormone,so I decided to use it on the flower stems of my phalaenopsis orchids.I cut the stems after flowering , prepared the nodes,spread the paste on the nodes and I put the stems in an orchid mix.After 1 week ,the nodes started to produce keikis.These keikis are growing but very slowly(about 1.5 cm).I want them to produce roots in order to keep them alive.I am not using yet any rooting hormone.What do you think I should do?I don't like to produce keikis with the stems still on their mother because my orchids are most of the time in bloom  with many flowers on each one ,and I don't want to make them  weak.Do you advise me to spray any liquid fertilizer or hormone on them to give them a boost.Although I am an experienced grower, but I don't have any experience in growing orchids this way.

Answer
Shad, thank you for your question.  Let me describe the ideal process for keiki initiation to enable you to compare these steps with the ones that you took.  First, cut the old flower spike just above the second or third node; second, on that part of the flower spike remaining attached to the plant, gently remove the sheath covering the node to expose the green tissue beneath; third, place the node paste on the green, newly exposed tissue; fourth, place the plant in reduced light until the keiki appears. If you deviate from the ideal process, you may still produce keikis but they may be slow growing.  For example, if you applied the node paste at the node without removing the sheath covering the node, the meristemmatic tissue beneath the node sheath may be exposed to some of the hormones in the paste but not the full dose and hence may be slow in forming and growth.

Let's asssume you did everything right.  Keikis can remain on the plant and continue to grow indefinitely.  Keikis remaining on the mother plant's flowering spike may develop into mature flowering plants while still attached to the mother plant.  It would not harm the plant to apply rooting paste to the keiki at its base. Rooting, however, is only needed once you have a mature keiki ready to separate from the mother plant. For now, much patience is required to grow leaves on the keiki.  If you don't have roots by the time the keiki's leaves are 7-8 cm, I would then apply the rooting paste.  Most keikis, at that size, should have begun root development on their own.

If there is an additional node on the flower spike that does not have a keiki, the plant may branch at the node and that branch could flower.  It is also possible that the plant could send up a new flower spike while the keiki is developing.  It is not unusual to have both flowers and keikis on the same plant.  Whether or not this is a problem depends upon the health of the plant. If the plant has three or fewer small leaves (under 10 cm), I would remove any new flower spikes.  This is because the flowering hormone that is present may inhibit keiki growth.  If you have a strong plant (ie more than three leaves of 10 cm or more),  the plant's health probably will remain unaffected.  Keiki growth, however, during flowering may be slowed.  It isn't unusual for a keiki to take a year or more for developmment prior to removal for potting on its own.