help! The new growth on my paph suddenly flopped over

[Daenerys]

I've had the paph since last july, and mostly it has seemed happy in my care. Its new fan has been growing since last fall and is now nearly bigger than the original plant.

I last repotted 2 months ago, at which point the roots looked fine.

The plant grows under lights. I have not changed my watering frequency (I used the woodern skewer method). And really, none of the growing conditions changed recently. So what could have caused the sudden limpness?

edit: it's not actually limp. I can't lift the leaves back upright--they're stuck in that bent position now.


here's the paph from when I repotted 2 months ago, with 2 large healthy old roots, and three smaller new ones.

[silken]

Did it break or is it stiff at that bend? Did it go that way suddenly or over a period of time? Sorry only questions but hopefully the answer will help to enlighten! It doesn't look rotten or anything from what I can see.

[Daenerys]

It's stiff at the bend--no breakage that I can see.

The change was really sudden as well. One day I noticed a slight bend forward. The next day it was at the 90 degree angle in the opposite direction (just like in the picture).

[silken]

Hopefully someone has some ideas. The bent growth also looks particularly tall compared to the older one and what I have for most of my Paphs. Is the light source from the side it is bending towards? Maybe giving it light from above would help it to straighten up if that's the case. Sorry, can't think of much else. With any luck it will mature and send out a new fan that grows normally!

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

I don't see anything particularly wrong with your Paph. Certain Paphs grow in a very similar orientation as Phals do in the wild. Some Paphs actually hang off of vertical limestone cliffs. Yes, some Paphs really do not in actuality grow upright.

[Daenerys]

The light is actually straight up above, and the growth flopped over towards the wall.

I agree that the growth in general is much taller than usual. It has little root nubs all along the stem, but they haven't changed at all in months.

It's heartening that you guys think it may be normal growing this way.

Could a nutrient imbalance be the problem? After realizing that I may have been overfertilizing, I cut back on my fertilizer use pretty drastically a few months ago.

Also, should I try staking the fan up in any way? Or is it better to just let it bend like that?

[Daenerys]

I was able to coax the leaves back to an upright position by propping them up against a wall. The leaves look fine and not dehydrated... so I guess it's one of the crazy things orchids do.

[Susie11]

Is it not stolonic? I have heard that sometimes paphs suffer from this as well as phrags?