All For Gardening
What’s going on here? Phal leaf(?) is an odd shape. Any thoughts?
In Orchids

What’s going on here? Phal leaf(?) is an odd shape. Any thoughts?


It almost looks like the leaf has a stem. It also looks like a new leaf is already appearing out of the stemmed leaf. I use an orchid fertilizer every week when I water (this phal had just been watered in the pic, I let it dry out completely before watering). My other phals are about to bloom but this one is doing its own, odd thing. Any thoughts are welcome. Thanks in advance.

by mi_ba

6 Comments

  1. Submerged_Flight

    I’m going way out in a limb, but it looks like a terminal spike that started a keiki. If it is a keiki, it will start growing roots and eventually should be separated from the host plant and potted up. That could take a year or so. Thanks for sharing a pic, very unique. Please keep us posted. Happy growing!

  3. Anon-567890

    Looks like the parent plant grew a crown keiki, then (and I’ve never seen this before) the crown keiki is growing a terminal spike that has a huge bract (leaf) on it. Whether that terminal spike will bloom or not remains to be seen. Please keep us updated!

  4. Palimpsest0

    It’s a terminal spike. On normal flower spikes you’ll see little tiny very, very reduced modified leaves, bracts, that look like scales periodically along the spike. When a terminal spike happens, since it’s a hormonal “oops!” That converts the apical meristem, which is busy producing leaves, into a spike, you often get this sort of giant bract, which is partway between a normal leaf and the tiny scale that typically occurs on flower spikes. Not all terminal spikes will do this, but it’s not uncommon on them.

Pin