New to paphs - is my new plant okay?

[Ross]

Originally Posted by RosieC

Oooh I'm glad I saw this thread. I'm thinking of getting a Paph soon and I would have thought those roots look ill, but then I'm only used to Phals and my one Den. I'm glad I know that is normal before I get one and worry.

Paph roots are a whole different thing. I still worry about the condition of the end of the only root I can see. Mine certainly look different. Brown and hairy is good for Paphs. Don't grow Phrags (yet) but they may be similar.

[RosieC]

Originally Posted by Ross

Paph roots are a whole different thing. I still worry about the condition of the end of the only root I can see. Mine certainly look different. Brown and hairy is good for Paphs. Don't grow Phrags (yet) but they may be similar.

So a bit like Phals in that a green root tip shows a healthy growing root, but unlike them in the colour the rest of the root should be... is that right?

Is this more of a problem with Paphs than with Phals? My Phals always have a mixture of actively growing and stalled roots and it does not seem a problem (well except in the one with not many roots where I wish they were all growing ).

But I know nothing about Paphs and would like to learn before I get one.

[Ross]

Paph roots and Phal roots are totally different. For one thing, Phals tend to be epiphytic, in that the roots naturally hang down and may do some photosynthesis (they have the proper cells for this.) Paphs are terrestrial orchids by nature and the roots have hairs to allow them to soak up maximum moisture when they need it. Phal roots often have green or reddish tips depending on the amount of light they get (mine tend towards reddish.) Paph roots have yellowish or whiteish root tips when actively growing. Their roots don't photosynthesize, because in nature this wouldn't be possible. When the root quits growing the white/yellow tip goes away (much like the aerial roots of many orchids that lose the growing tip do to lack of humidity/moisture). The white velamin on the Phals still does it's job when the tip stops growing. I'm not sure what happens with Paphs. My suspician is the root hairs still do the job. The common thing between both Phals and Paphs is that they require a steady diet of moisture and food, but can't deal with lack of oxygen at the roots. So overwatering is often the cause of root rot. I hear Phrags are a whole different matter and have no experience with these (yet )

[Mothra79]

I'm with Rosie! I'm going to an orchid show in a week, and a paph is on my wishlist! I'm so glad I read this ahead of time. That hours of fretting and worrying avoided!

[RosieC]

Thanks Ross for all the info. It's great information which will help me understand my Paph when I finally get one.