We obtained numerous questions in regards to the “miracle” cloning paste we confirmed on Instagram lately. What’s it? What does it do? And why the heck is it referred to as “keiki“? Brief reply: keiki paste is an easy-to-apply development hormone to your houseplants that may assist fill out naked spots on pothos, orchids, and extra. It’s a sensible resolution for any plant father or mother, however we’ll inform you what it will possibly and might’t do, so your expectations match the outcome that you just’re more likely to get. This isn’t a sponsored put up, by the way in which.
We first discovered of keiki paste from a plant-obsessed neighbor a couple of months in the past. We had been skeptical at first – can it actually “get up” a dormant node on our crops? – however now we’re fast to sing its praises. Right here’s why…
What Does Keiki Paste Do?
Keiki Cloning Paste is a plant development hormone that may stimulate new leaf development in your houseplants. It’s nice for filling naked areas on crops like pothos, orhcids, and even fiddle leaf figs. For instance, we used it to assist regrow elements of this leafless vine on our toilet plant shelf.
Keiki paste is completely different than rooting hormone, which is used to immediate root development on plant cuttings throughout propagation. As a substitute, keiki paste is utilized to above-ground nodes to assist produce new leaves or branches.
What’s In Keiki Paste?
Keiki pastes usually encompass a sticky medium (like lanolin) that incorporates plant vitamins & hormones. The precise hormone components for every paste is proprietary, however most embody a artificial cytokinin referred to as 6-benzylaminopurine, or 6-BAP. Cytokinins promote cell division in crops, and 6-BAP is without doubt one of the most generally used artificial variations. Once more, that is distinct from rooting hormones that used auxins, not cytokinins.
Lanolin is a pure substance that comes from sheep’s wool. You could realize it as a Vaseline-like substance used as a moisturizer to your pores and skin. In keiki paste, it serves as a water-resistant “glue” that retains the hormones in place in opposition to the plant node. It’s fairly sticky, so you should definitely clear it off your pores and skin so that you don’t unintentionally get it in your eyes or mouth.
How To Apply Keiki Paste?
Two issues we love most about keiki cloning pastes is that (1) they’re straightforward to make use of and (2) just a little goes a good distance. You’ll be able to apply it following 3 easy steps:
- Rating The Node
- Apply The Paste
- Water & Wait
Video Tutorial
Here’s a transient video (60 seconds!) that exhibits how we utilized keiki paste to a different pothos plant in our home. There may be additionally a written tutorial with images under should you want.
NOTE: You too can watch this video on YouTube.
Step 1: Rating The Node
First, make a small minimize on the node the place you need to develop a brand new leaf. Nodes are the bumps alongside your vine or stem the place a leaf or department was. The minimize doesn’t should be deep, so a toothpick or desk knife ought to do the trick.
In case your node is roofed by a skinny shealth (referred to as a bract) chances are you’ll must peel this off first. This gained’t damage the plant. You’re simply attempting to assist the hormone penetrate into the node extra simply.
Step 2: Apply the Paste
Use a toothpick or cotton swab to dab a small dot of keiki paste onto the node. A bit bit goes a good distance – suppose half of the scale of a pea. An excessive amount of keiki paste can stress the plant.
Step 3: Water & Wait
That’s it! Now your job is simply to be affected person and care to your plant as typical. This implies ensuring it’s receiving sufficient water and light-weight to help development. Outcomes might start displaying in 1-3 weeks, however can take longer relying on rising circumstances and well being of the plant.
What Does “Keiki” Imply?
Keiki is pronounced “KAY-kee” (kinda like reiki, should you’re acquainted) and is the Hawaiian phrase for “baby” or “toddler.” Within the plant world, keiki refers to new sprouts on an orchid plant, specfically these produced asexually (aka, not from a seed). Since all these pastes had been initially developed for orchids, they earned the identify keiki paste – despite the fact that they can be utilized on many different plant varities.
What Crops Can I Use It On?
Keiki paste was created for orchids, however it may be used on nearly any plant with above-ground nodes. Up to now we now have tried it on a lot of our pothos crops, however you should utilize it on a variety of different crops resembling:
- Vining crops like philodendrons & hoyas
- Flowering crops like orchids & begonias
- Succulents like donkey tails & string of pearls
- Small bushes like fiddle leaf figs & rubber bushes
Search for crops with nodes the place leaves, branches, or aerial roots develop (not zz crops or snake crops). It gained’t damage to experiment with completely different crops, so long as you don’t apply it to too many nodes directly and don’t over-apply the paste.
Why Isn’t My Keiki Paste Working?
We’ve been wowed by keiki paste once more & once more, however outcomes are NOT assured. So what provides? Listed here are some ideas to remember:
- Keiki paste works finest on wholesome crops. It gained’t clear up underlying well being points like inadequate gentle, missing nutriets, or over/underwatering. So in case your plant is struggling, be sure to deal with these earlier than turning to keiki paste.
- Solely deal with a couple of nodes at a time. We’ve gotten the perfect outcomes making use of keiki paste to only 1 or 2 nodes at a time. Occasionally we’ve gotten overzealous (like when taking photos for this put up!) and concurrently handled 6 or 7 nodes on the identical vine. This seemingly overstressed the plant and compromised our outcomes. We solely noticed development on 2 or 3 nodes anyway, so be affected person and don’t overdo it.
- Contemplate different fixes too. In the event you’re sad with a naked spot or leggy vine, it could be higher to prune it than attempt to rescue it. Bear in mind, most cuttings will be propagated and replanted in the identical pot to assist in giving it a full look. With vining crops like pothos, you may also coil the vine into your pot, pin the nodes proper under the soil (bobby pins work nice for that), and it ought to root over time.
These caveats aren’t meant to dissuede you from attempting keiki paste. It’s simply good to know its limits and the circumstances you’ll must get the perfect outcomes.
The place to Buy Keiki Paste
We obtained our Loopy Keiki Cloning Paste on-line from Southside Crops (a really cute sister-owned firm), however a number of manufacturers and web site promote their very own variations. It could really feel surprising to pay upwards of $20 to $25 for such a small jar, however needless to say just a little goes A LONG WAY. Bear in mind, you’re solely placing half of a pea measurementd dab on every node. So this could final us a very long time!
Keiki paste ought to be saved in a cool, darkish place away from daylight – which is one cause we like that Southside’s model is available in an opaque storage tube, full with software sticks.
Extra Plant Guides
In the event you’re searching for extra data on a few of our favourite crops, try a few of these posts under:
*This put up incorporates affiliate hyperlinks, so we might earn a small fee if you make a purchase order via hyperlinks on our web site at no further value to you.
