My first Paph is blooming

[dbarron]

Welp, I'm now behind you...having decided to give a couple blooming size paphs a chance. In a couple of months, I should be posting, 'My second paph flower' (first being oh..twenty years ago, but a casualty soon after). I look forward to being able to say, and I've had that plant for 2 years, and look at those blooms!

[Relemitty]

Yeah, I was happy to see it arrive in bud and even happier to see it bloom.
The bloom is still going.
I wish the sepal was a little more vertical but this is the first bloom for the plant.
A Paph may never be my favorite but I'm glad I have one.
I have no feel for watering with sphag and plan on repotting in bark as soon as the bloom is gone.

In other news, I just ordered a baby Walkeriana that will be 3 years to bloom.

[dbarron]

Welp, for most paphs moss is the recommended media due to a) the need to keep moist b) media breaks down fast anyway when kept wet.
But as a rule, you can grow any orchid in any media.

[Relemitty]

I was watering my Paph every other day because the moss was dry and crusty on top but came to find out it was still wet a inch down. My hope, and partly why I want to repot, is that I didn't rot the roots on my new plant. I'd like to see it produce a fan and see that bloom.

With a medium bark, I may have to water often but I have a feel for moisture and will be harder to over water.
I have bark for my Phals, Dendrobium, Catts and Oncidium and it is consistent and I guess I don't understand how to water with sphag.

I have seen so many grocery store noid phals with serious rot potted in moss.
When I get a new Phal I soak in warm water and hand pull off all that moss and pot in medium bark and most grow new roots and leaves almost immediately.

[dbarron]

I generally feel better with phals in bark too. It feels liberating to pick off the moss
I judge both the appearance of the moss and the weight of the pot (it does chance significantly)...but yes, this technique (as Camille pointed out) isn't very applicable for large collections where you don't have time to converse with your plant every day *lol*.

[Roberta]

I like small bark for Paphs. It drains well and stays airy, but also holds moisture. Note that Paphs need to stay a good bit wetter than Phals. Paphs should never dry out. So with medium bark for Phals and small bark for Paphs, you can probably use the same watering frequency for both and get the effect that you want - Paphs stay damp (they are pretty much terrestrials) and Phals "almost" dry out (they are epiphytes that need "humid air" more than "wet").

[Relemitty]

Yeah, and I am pretty new to orchids but not house plants.
I started in 2019 because a friend buys grocery Phals to decorate and then gives them to me when the blooms fall off.
I have 18 Phals and I've given 9 away.
The addiction has me now with 2 (soon to be 3) Catts, a Odontobrassia, Dendrobium and a Paph.
I do have the time to converse with my Orchids and I fall towards the "Fussy" side of care right now which is why sphag may not be for me if I over water.

Roberta, though you can't see my Paph, maybe I didn't do dammage watering my paph every other day?
The media is large bark with moss on top and moss mixed in the bark.

[Roberta]

Originally Posted by Relemitty

Roberta, though you can't see my Paph, maybe I didn't do dammage watering my paph every other day?
The media is large bark with moss on top and moss mixed in the bark.

Actually, with large bark (even with moss) you likely did your Paph a favor! They really do need to stay on the damp side. (Because any organic medium will break down fairly fast when kept damp like that, plan on repotting every year, 2 years at the most)

Also note when you do repot your Paphs... the roots are very different than those of epiphytic orchids. Phals (and other epiphytes) have roots with a spongy white coating (velamin). When watered, it turns green because the roots contain chlorophyll. If roots are brown, possibly having problems. However, many Paphs have fuzzy brown roots. And those brown roots ARE healthy, So handle them carefully (they tend to break off easily) and don't be alarmed. They look different, quite naturally.

[Relemitty]

Thanks Roberta.
I think I will repot as soon as the bloom goes.
I like the idea of small bark and I'm gonna have to buy some.
If they are all in bark then at least I have some understanding of how bark works.

[Roberta]

Another way of thinking about this... work backwards from the needs of the plant, which will give you some clues about the appropriate medium. Phals are dominant epiphytes... in nature they grow on branches of trees with their roots exposed to the breezes. When it rains, the roots absorb the water, then the sun comes out and they dry out. We use pots because we aren't in an environment where it rains nearly every day and humidity is 80% or more (and it is hot). Thankfully! So we choose a medium that lets the roots get air, the medium makes for "humid air". Then you have Oncidiums and similar orchids. They have fine roots. In nature they grow as epiphytes, but the roots hold more moisture. So, they need smaller bark to preserve moisture. Paphs grow on the ground or on rocks with their roots in leaf litter - always damp. So pot and choose medium accordingly,