The trouble with Gongora and Paphinia
I have tried to grow Gongora and Paphinia with varying success, but I think I may start to get the hang of it.
In summer, both species are no problem. They like moisture and humidity and light that would suit Phalaenopsis. Paphinia seems to like it best not too high in the greenhouse (about 1-1.5m's above the floor).
However in autumn and winter I have always had trouble with sudden loss of new growth to Erwinia. Virtually new growth becomes floppy and dies over night. I have 3 strong ventilators in my greenhouse. In winter the greenhouse is not actually that humid (no hydrofogger; when it is cold outside the heater dries the air). I was also wondering whether I just have a Erwinia hot-spot somewhere in the greenhouse, so I kept the plants in different corners of the greenhouse and added a bit of Physan 20 to the water once a month. Still, healthy plants have been affected.
The problem seems to be that not all new growth has properly hardened and seems to be ultra sensitive to condensation just before the pseudo-bulbs mature. Autumn seems to be most dangerous as the heating is not yet on full, the greenhouse does not get enough sun and thus plants generally stay moist for longer. In winter we don't get enough light which seems to affect the plant really badly and prevents bulbs from maturing.
What I started doing is the following: in September I move Gongora and Paphinia into the gable of the greenhouse where it is warmer, drier and brighter. I kept one plant in its original position. The plants that have been moved have not had any issues. Even plants that lost new growth before. The plant which I kept in its normal position lost two of its four new growths to Erwinia. I have bathed that plant in Physan and put it into the gable as well. In March, the plants can go back to their summer positions.
The only draw-back: if it gets too cold outside and the greenhouse heating is on all the time, it can happen that the plants get are too dry for too long. This means that winter flowering plants can drop their flower buds.
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