I purchased a slc circle of life / slc bright angel at a show last Fall. It had three bright red flowers on a compact plant. After the blooms it grew two keikis and I set it aside to grow not expecting any more flowers until next fall. Well one of the new growing keiki's just produced another flower. Is this normal or is the plant just confused?
Bob
Keiki, no pseudobulb. This is my first blooming cat, I had no idea they would bloom without a pseudobulb.
Bob
Bob, can you post a photo of this somewhere?
Diana
No, but I could email you a pic later.
Bob
Well Bob, I'm confused. A keiki is a vegetative growth where you would expect flowers. For a Cattleya hybrid (including your slc) to do this, it would have to grow something other than flowers from the top of an existing pseudobulb. On the other hand, a new growth from the base of an existing pseudobulb isn't a keiki because that is the normal place for a new growth to start. I have a few small Catt hybrids that push up buds and flowers from a new growth before the new leaf has even opened flat and before the new pseudobulb becomes obvious.
Now, let me know how your plant fits (or doesn't fit) into the above comments. Of course, if you e-mail a picture to Diana and have her post it on the picture newsgroup where most of us can see it, that would be worth at least a thousand words. ;-)
Steve
I just posted Bob's photo at abpo. Since he doesn't get that forum, I suggest that discussion take place in this thread.
Diana
Diana could this be called a basil keiki?
Bob
Bob, it's not a keiki at all. It's simply a new, immature pseudobulb. You've got two of them. A basal keiki might be found, for example, on a Phalaenopsis, which does not grow on a rhizome. The plant is doing just what it ought to do. Be happy!
Diana
I will look for it. I have read about a dozen books from the liberry but learning the big word orchid language is a challenge for my elderly brain.
Bob
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