New slipper orchid not doing well

[tomo]

I recently acquired what I was told is a slipper orchid.
Repotted, left it for two weeks, watered with orchid fertilizer, east facing window.

I am wondering if the fertilizer was too much for it, but not completely sure.

Help (image attached)

-tomo

[rbarata]

It seems to be some kind of rot.
How do you water it? Do you wet only the medium?
That may be caused by water trapped in the "crown" together with low temps.

[estación seca]

Welcome to the Orchid Board.

What fertilizer was it? How did you dilute it?

Do you mean you watered it once, then not again for two weeks?

[tomo]

Originally Posted by rbarata

It seems to be some kind of rot.
How do you water it? Do you wet only the medium?
That may be caused by water trapped in the "crown" together with low temps.

1. After repotting in a orchid pot, I dipped the orchid pot into the water / fertilizer mix. Then let it drain.
2. Left it in the window for two weeks.
3. Dipped the pot in a water / fertilizer mix (that was a week ago).

[tomo]

Originally Posted by estación seca

Welcome to the Orchid Board.

What fertilizer was it? How did you dilute it?

Do you mean you watered it once, then not again for two weeks?

It comes with a small scoop. I used a quarter of that scoop to a litre of water.

[Roberta]

Welcome!

I suspect that it got too dry. Paphs don't like to dry out. It's in a coarse mix that will dry especially fast. (Great for Cattleyas, good for Phals with more frequent watering) I would put Paphs in small bark. and never let them get dry - just damp, then water again. They also don't like a lot of light - more than a Phalaenopsis maybe, but not much more. Certainly less than an Oncidium and much less than a Catt.

[tomo]

Originally Posted by Roberta

Welcome!

I suspect that it got too dry. Paphs don't like to dry out. It's in a coarse mix that will dry especially fast. (Great for Cattleyas, good for Phals with more frequent watering) I would put Paphs in small bark. and never let them get dry - just damp, then water again. They also don't like a lot of light - more than a Phalaenopsis maybe, but not much more. Certainly less than an Oncidium and much less than a Catt.

Do you think that this plant can be saved?

[Roberta]

Sure. I can't tell for sure but it looks like that growth might have bloomed. If so, that loss of leaves is pretty normal, there hopefully is a new growth on its way.
One thing to be aware of when you repot - Paph roots look very different from those of other orchids, brown and fuzzy. Don't cut anything! it is too hard to tell a good root from a bad one.

[tmoney]

and if you plan on growing it inside, be real careful to avoid getting any small new growths wet, or water down inside the new little growing crowns..

hopefully it will push the new growths before this old one completely dies off.

keep it watered, once a week, indoors, in bark, should be ok assuming its not in the path of forced air heating or cooling.

best of luck with the new paph!

[estación seca]

Paphs. are harmed quickly when they go dry. What you're seeing is what they do when that happens. If they go dry on a regular basis they don't survive long. There is a good chance it will make another growth from the base. If the plant doesn't survive, you will have learned something, and your next Paph. will grow better.

If that is fairly large, new bark, with lots of air spaces, you could water every other day and not worry about overwatering. That would be better than risking underwatering.