How to Propagate Orchids (Spoiler: It Involves Babies)
Orchid keiki (Creative Commons license)
Some plants are easy to propagate—just snip a vine or stem that includes at least one node, stick it in water or even directly in soil, and voila, you have a new plant. Orchids don’t work that way, however (of course they don’t). Nor are they easy to grow from seeds. That’s part of why they became highly prized back in the 1800s, prompting a kind of orchid-mania then referred to as “orchidelerium.”
In order to cultivate orchids as aesthetic showpieces or for practical purposes such as making vanilla, people would have to harvest and transport live plants—a process greatly assisted by the invention of the terrarium in the 1820s—and then wait for them to grow big enough to them to reproduce.
Pilea peperomioide pups (CC license)
Some houseplants, such as bromeliads, peperomia, and snake plants, reproduce asexually by growing pups, which sprout from the mother plant’s roots and pop up from the soil. Orchids reproduce similarly, but their babies are called “keikis,” which is a Hawaiian word for “baby.” Phalaenopsis, dendrobrium, oncidium, cattleya, and epidendrum orchids all reproduce this way.
Phalaenopsis keikis (CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons)
On phalaenopsis orchids, keikis grow on nodes on existing stems. On orchids with bulbs or pseudo-bulbs, keikis grow on the canes, particularly on the ends where the plants’ hormones are located. Keikis are pretty easily distinguished from new stems or shoots—they have their own root systems, which can be clearly seen. It also looks more like a “mini-me” version of the orchid, rather than a single shoot or stem that comes from new growth.
Cattleya Keiki (Attribution: Flicker, CC 2.0)
Sometimes, plants that aren’t doing so well produce pups or keikis as a way of trying to pass on their genes before they die. Keikis can be—but aren’t always—a sign of stress, so it’s always good to inspect the mother plant if you find a keiki growing on one. Keikis can also be induced using hormone paste like this one, which I’ve used successfully on two of my phalaenopsis orchids.
Like pups, keikis can be separated from the mother plant, but it’s best to wait until they’re a couple inches long, have their own root systems, and are growing leaves. These signs indicate that the babies are hearty enough to survive on their own. Sometimes, one can just carefully pull off a keiki to separate it from its mother. If not, use a sterilized blade to cut the stem of the orchid below the keiki. That section of stem can then be planted with the keiki itself.
Keiki
After separation, keikis require slightly more maintenance than adult orchids. In general, they like the same conditions, with a little bit less light and a little more humidity to encourage growth. It will likely take a couple of years for a keiki to develop enough to bloom, but it’s worth the wait. Raising a keiki is one of those plant-parenting journey that both requires and rewards patience.
