Media for Paphs

[blackorchid]

yes, with lower humidity and with the wind blowing all nice and warm, they will have no problem if you wet the leaves, just not constantly wet...you know what I'm talking about.

[Jorch]

You can water the leaves providing that the temperature is high and there is ample circulation. The most important thing is that the leaves are dry by early evening (when the temp starts to drop).

[dgenovese1]

BlackOrchid....I am planning on repotting mine every 2 years...based on what a good friend has been doing and winning awards by doing for years. I haven't had any that long yet myself. Time will tell if it works well for me.

Kiki...I don't worry about getting the leaves wet on my paphs, as they dry fairly quickly here. So far I haven't noticed any fongus or rot on them...and I'm getting lots of new growths!

[quiltergal]

I grow mine in 4 parts small CHC, 1 part perlite, and 1 part charc. If I get the leaves wet I just blot them off with a paper towel, but I do that for all my chids. CHC does not break down as quickly as sphag and bark. You can probably go 2 years before repotting using that medium. It does hold a bit more water that bark, but my experience is Paphs don't like to dry out but be evenly moist. I'm also using clear slotted plastic pots. I can see when it's time to water and I can also see what the roots are doing. Right now I have lots of active growth above and below the medium. I'm hoping for a good blooming cycle next year.

[cloudswinger]

I've had my paphs for a little more than a month, so I'm still new too, but I have a CHC, charcoal and aliflor mix that they seem to be happy in. They're also getting watered every day for the summer. I'm trying to follow a normal tropical weather pattern, so it's afternoon rains everyday for the summer(supplemented as needed by misters, since it hasn't been raining here as much as it should). All the leaves dry off pretty quickly, it's been in the 90s everyday. I use plastic pots too.

[moogiemama]

Wow, so many different ideas! I'm in NY and my paphs grow like crazy! I have used soilless potting mix amended with some small fir bark and charcoal in the past, and they performed just great. I am now trying Miracle Grow's Orchid potting medium and so far, so good. Since the medium is smaller textured than other orchid media, it holds moisture better. Some of mine are in clay pots, others in plastic. I don't water the plastic as often. The other thing to remember is, this type of orchid typically grows on the forest floor. I keep mine in the sun room, close to the coolness of the floor and out of direct sun. As the days grow shorter, I move them into more light. They can be repotted yearly, but I have gone for 2 years with no adverse effects. You have to be careful not to keep the potting medium soggy or this will mean certain death.

Up here, I NEVER put them outdoors since the rain would surely be too much for them the way I have them potted. And although I mist them, I don't leave water standing in the crotch of these plants. You can use the tip of a paper towel to remove any water that manages to get in there.

What you have to remember is these are typically cooler growing plants, and being aware that they don't grow like vandas will help to getting them to bloom for you.

Good luck! - Lynn

P.S. - It helps to fertilize regularly.

[William]

Such a lot of info! Thanks to all. I just purchased the semi-hydroponics kit to try that method for my orchids and I was wondering if that may be a good way for my Paphs to go. I water all my plants every day and I think my Paphs grown in plastic may be retaining too much moisture. Does that media evaporate water much quicker than bark, or should I just slow down on the water? I repotted one yesterday and although the leaves were not wilting, the roots were looking bad. Kind of scrawny and weak.

[moogiemama]

I don't grow in semi-hydroponics, so can't address your question. If you are keeping your paphs in a pot (my recommendation), and continue to use plastic, definitely back down on the watering! They like to me moist, not soggy! If you have a heavy hand with water, the move them into clay and monitor whether the potting medium is still damp - don't just water every day. You might be drowning the poor plants.

[Ross]

Joining late, here is my observation after a few years with Paphs. I try to use clear pots if possible since that allows me to see how the moisture is. If the pots are slotted on the side when I buy them, then I slot them with a dremil tool. This helps dry out the mix. I have several mini Paphs in slotted pots that get watered and fertilized every other day and a few that are much larger that get water/fertilizer every 3-4 days in summer and a bit less in winter. The key seems to be learning when to water. Mine grow very robustly with my treatment, others may get different mileage. I also push the light a bit, growing both light green strap-leaf Paphs and mottled-leaf Paphs next to each other in a south window where they often get full sun. But the windows have screens. I figure I'm pushing 3000 foot-candles, maybe more.

[boytjie]

Up here, I'm using slotted plastic pots for all seven of my Paphs, watering with 1/2 strength fertilizer every 3-4 days. For potting medium, I started using the Paph & Phrag classic mix from rePotme. According to their site, it contains coconut husk chips, aliflor, sponge rock, coir, chopped sphagnum, charcoal, and white marble chips. (*whew*) The plants seriously took off only a few weeks after I put them into this stuff; one now has two blossoms and two new growths. Like Ross, my light levels are a bit high: I grow them under a four-bulb T5 fixture, about 15" from the bulbs. It looks really bright under there, but with all the new growth, nobody seems to be complaining!