Phap leaf splitting down the middle and pics of Phals

[cbloveday]

I just bought this particular Phap a week ago and it has been in my grow room. Two days ago I brought it out to the kitchen window. Today I notice 2 of the leaves are splitting down the middle. Is this normal or is there a problem.

For your consideration, I included pics of a few of my Phals. Thank you in advance.

Curtis

[whygreenberg]

Beautiful 'chids you've got there, Curtis! Love that Paph. I believe that a possible cause for the leaf splitting is low humidity. Maybe a water quality issue. But my bet would be on humidity level.

[cbloveday]

Yvan,

I have only used bottled water and it has been on humidity tray. What do you suggest. Thanks!

[cbloveday]

I think the humidity was too low and phah and Phrags might have gotten a little dry. I understand they like their water and humidity.

60-70% humidity.

[whygreenberg]

Hopefully some others will weigh in here on this issue. But here's a couple thoughts/questions. Is the bottled water you're using distilled water? Or is it spring water? Spring waters that aren't distilled will actually have a higher level of dissolved salts which most orchids don't like. Slippers especially.

In terms of the humidity, although many many people swear by them, there is a lot of debate as to how effective humidity trays are. They may raise the RH just above the surface of the tray bottom (or layer of rocks if you use them), but they don't really raise the RH very much around the plant itself. There are also people here on the OB (Ross, where are you??) who don't seem to have problems growing in very low humidity and who do nothing to raise it. I myself use a humidifier. In addition to it actually raising the RH around my plants from below the 40% range up to the 60–80% range, my skin & nose appreciate it too.

[cbloveday]

Originally Posted by whygreenberg

Hopefully some others will weigh in here on this issue. But here's a couple thoughts/questions. Is the bottled water you're using distilled water? Or is it spring water? Spring waters that aren't distilled will actually have a higher level of dissolved salts which most orchids don't like. Slippers especially.

In terms of the humidity, although many many people swear by them, there is a lot of debate as to how effective humidity trays are. They may raise the RH just above the surface of the tray bottom (or layer of rocks if you use them), but they don't really raise the RH very much around the plant itself. There are also people here on the OB (Ross, where are you??) who don't seem to have problems growing in very low humidity and who do nothing to raise it. I myself use a humidifier. In addition to it actually raising the RH around my plants from below the 40% range up to the 60–80% range, my skin & nose appreciate it too.

I 've been using Ice mountain Natural Spring Water found at any convenience store. I have a water softner in my house and was afraid to use the tap water as a result. I gotta get fertilizer tomorrow.

I have no problem going out to get a humidifier, I was just looking on line @ home depot. They have the ones with desired and actual humidity with auto on/off settings. Question, The whole lower half of my grow room is wood. Will the humidifier @ 70% harm the wood over time? See below.

Also, I have catts, Paphs, Phals, phrags, and a vanda all together under the light. Will they co-habitate with same humidity?



What else is under the light:

[Lagoon]

Its not a problem for paphs to take lower humidity, just have to make sure they don't dry out time after time. Paphs like to have fresh media with good drainage. So don't be scared to repot, they love it.

That paph leaf looks like that happen long time ago, its quite dried up now. The leaf looks like mechanical damage to me. Seems its the lower leaves that get smacked up the most.

Beautiful slipper

[cbloveday]

Thank you all for your help!

[quiltergal]

I agree with Gloria, as long as you keep the roots evenly moist and don't let them dry out most slippers will be happy. I have also discovered that certain places in my house have higher RH than others. Not sure why that is but I'm using it to my advantage. I also think that the sheer volume of plants in one spot creates a little micro climate that tends to have a higher RH.

[whygreenberg]

Hmm! Great tip about the root dryness leading to leaf splitting. Makes perfect sense. And I totally agree about creating a higher RH micro climate with groupings of plants.