Say Hello to KeikiPro

Say Hello to ‘KeikiPro’

As hobbyist’s, it seems we are always looking for new products or new ways of doing things to enhance the growth and vigor of our orchids. Understandably a certain amount of skepticism is natural when things sound or seem too good to be true.

The first time I encountered what would become KeikiPro was in January 2006. A friend (and soon to be business partner), gave me a sample of a hormone concentrate he had started using on his phals with incredible results. Skeptical as I was from previous usage of pastes, powders and other liquids, his results still intrigued me. I decided to try it on some plants that were not doing as well as I would have liked. My thought was ‘If I could just get a keiki, then even if I lose the original plant I would have a replacement for it’. One of the first plants I used it on was a newly acquired species Phal. parishii. It came bare root as a small seedling with perhaps a 3-4” leaf span. I mounted the plant on cork with some sphagnum, and after acclimating it to our conditions I treated it. Four months later, that little seedling plant had produced half a dozen basal keikis and was spiking! Wow!

I then went through the greenhouse, checking other plants I had treated. Sure enough, there were multiple growths, keikis (both aerial and basal), multiple spikes and branching spikes. I was impressed, to say the least. I had never seen, nor even heard of results even close to what I was witnessing.

Another friend and fellow hobbyist, was also introduced to this phenomenal product, and by November of 2006, the three of us were so enamored with our results, that we knew we had to start bringing what we decided to call KeikiPro to the orchid world. Then came the serious photo-documentation of our results. Although we had initially concentrated on primarily phals, we also began treating a variety of different genera to see what we could accomplish. Across the board, our results have been incredible. By January 2007, KeikiPro LLC was formed and we were in business.

So just what is KeikiPro, and how does it work?

KeikiPro is essentially a dormancy breaker. When a plant is in a certain stage of growth, there are also viable tissues within the plant that are not actively growing. This is the dormancy that KeikiPro breaks. Therefore, it is essential to know what stage of growth our plants are in so that we will know what type of growth will be activated. As an additional benefit, this principle has enabled me to become a better grower, simply because I pay much closer attention to our plants and the varying growth cycles they are in.

KeikiPro utilizes a very unique combination of phyto-hormones to activate growth of dormant orchid tissues, namely cytokinins and auxins. The idea of using these hormones to enhance the growth of our orchids is not a profound one in any way. After all, the very same hormones have been used for many years in various ways by orchidists everywhere, i.e. seed flasking, tissue culturing, etc. It made perfect sense to us that if plant tissues will respond to hormone infusions in those ways, they should also work on the plants themselves. Cytokinins are a class of plant hormones necessary for cell division, growth and differentiation. Without some form of cytokinin, no cell division or growth can occur. Auxins are another class of plant hormones necessary for continued cell growth and most importantly cell elongation and root growth.

Both of these hormones exist naturally in all plants. Nature allows for a balance of these and other hormones to course through the ‘veins’ of our plants so they can grow to their fullest potential. When man gets involved in the process, problems seem to inevitably occur. Until now, cytokinins and auxins could never seem to be mixed in an effective way in one product, they would counteract each other. You see, generally speaking, cytokinins can be anti-auxins, and auxins can be anti-cytokinins. That’s why we have different compounds for various types of growth, i.e. keiki growth pastes or keiki root pastes, seed germination mediums or growth mediums, etc. The unique patented formulation of KeikiPro and it’s revolutionary approach to the combination of cytokinins and auxins in one formula is what makes it so special. KeikiPro is a one step, one application process. What could be simpler than that?

KeikiPro can be used by the individual drop or utilized as a spray or dip when mixed with water (preferred method). Timing is the most important factor. When utilized at the proper times, KeikiPro produces aerial keikis, basal keikis, multiple inflorescences, branching of inflorescences, multiple growths on pseudo-bulb orchid types, as well as root growth.

Visit: www.KeikiPro.com for more information and specific timing and usage instructions.

Quite simply, nothing works like KeikiPro! I invite you to let it work for you.

Phal sturtiana treated Sept of 2006

photo January 2007 4 months growth

showing multiple basal keikis