Considering a Gritty Mix for Paph

[glitchathon]

I have a Maudiae hybrid type Paph that is in Sphagnum Moss from Trader Joe's. I have never taken care of a Paph before but understand that they do not like drying out.

I have a Gritty Mix that I learned from Al at Gardenweb, that consists of:
- 1/3 fir bark (1/4" average length pieces)
- 1/3 diatomaceous earth or turface (1/8" average diameter)
- 1/3 granite grit (cherrystone #2 used for chicken feed) at average 1/8" to 3/16" size

From researching, the granite can be expected to hold 1/2 the amount of water that perlite holds so should help make it drain better. The Diatomaceous Earth is quite water retentive but does not compact nor break down as it is inorganic so I believe it may have the water retentiveness of peat moss or chopped sphag but with better aeration and longevity.

The pH is around 6 to 6.5.

I used this successfully with some tropical plants and find it easy to keep the medium slightly damp without holding excess water. The diatomaceous earth also retains enough water to last a few days even while staying nicely aerated. For my watering habits, this is a great mix.

I'd love to use this for as many plants as possible as I find it works great. Considering the needs of a Paph to stay aerated but moist and never drying out, it seems this is a possible good candidate for a Paph medium. But I never heard anyone use this kind of mix for it and wondering if I am asking for trouble with a mix with such fine particles? The thing is that I know a lot of people use a fair amount of peat and/or potting soil with Paphs so this may be a more durable version of that.

Thanks for any suggestions!

[RJSquirrel]

I don't see anything wrong with it as long as the diatomaceous earth is freshwater diatomite. Small agregate is often used and doesnt hurt any at all .

But the man says" The best mix to use is the one that Works for YOU"

If you are familiar with the intrinsic properties of the medium you are using then it should be fine.

I think paph guys can play around with their stuff more bec paphs are just such accomodating plants in general...

I see more "will this work or will that work"? instead of "Why didnt this work"?

now when you get the mix down you can start testing your water and come up with your own Happy Paph juice

[Bolero]

I find nothing wrong with bark and perlite to be honest. That mix may work for you and please let us know if it does. Looks like you've done plenty of research and things could go well. I will stick with the pine bark and perlite......by the way perlite is an awesome medium for growing plants. I find it hard to fault.

[glitchathon]

thanks! I realize it is impossible to say until I try but I am glad to hear I am not way off on this. I will try it and keep this thread updated. I know there have been some inquiries on this Gritty Mix for orchids on gardenweb so it will be interesting if this works out well.

[glitchathon]

OK i repotted last night and the roots are in good shape (no new roots though). I noticed the sphag was tightly packed and stays very soggy for a day or two before getting to a more evenly moist state. This gritty mix I made drains way better (drains as fast as I can pour) so I think this is an improvement. Though only time can tell.

[glitchathon]

Well i wanted to resurrect this thread to give some reports on my Paph growing in this mix. It grew another flower and a new fan of leaves since repotting and the roots have also grown substantially. I repotted again this morning and discovered a couple new roots growing. There was only one old rotted root that I had to remove. I think this mix definitely can work with Paphs!

[billc]

How often are you watering with this mix? Glad to see your plant liked it.

Bill

[fishmommy]

I have used this mix before for paphs with daily watering and they loved it.

congrats that it worked out

[glitchathon]

I found I watered twice a week during the winter and a little more often during summer. I find the margin of error on this mix to be pretty large. If I forget to water for a week, the plant still does ok since there is still a bit of moisture inside the diatomaceous earth (it is VERY absorbent). It also drains so well that I believe it would be survive overwatering.