Remember my little bulldog Paph?

[Rosiefuture]

Hi all, do you remember my first paph that had the huge buds -




Paph Hama Chilwin 'T9' x Paph Kilvanna 'Josie'

I allowed the big bud to fully open and it was lovely but I didn't get round to taking a pic. When the bloom started to die off some weeks later I snipped it off and decided to allow the other bud to open too. Well it didn't develope as big as the first bud and didn't fully open. That was when I noticed the plant it's self was starting to die. I snipped the second bud off too but the plant continued to turn brown.

I then noticed some little green growths at the base of the plant, 'nubbins' to borrow RosieC's name for them. There are two nubbins each side of the plant base and the plant is now completely dark brown.









What I would like to ask is - should I cut the brown plant off just above the base? Do you think the nubbins will develope into new fans? I have nothing to lose by leaving them to do whatever they are going to do.

Any help or advice would be much appreciated.

Marion

[Junebug]

Hi Rosie,

I'm sorry to hear you're having problems with your bulldog. I only have one paph in my collection so my opinion my not be worth a hill of beans. If bulldog was mine, I'd give him lots of TLC and resist the urge to remove anything. Bulldog will let go of things when he's ready. At this point I can't tell if those nubbins are roots or new growth. It's something though, and something is better than nothing. Good luck with you baby's recovery.

[Duane McDowell]

If it were me at this point in my orchid growing life, I'd throw it out.
That said, you can try something to revive it... Soak some paph mix (or just fine bark) in water overnight (Boil the water and pour it over the bark. This will kill any yucchies that might be in the bark). Then pot the plant with the mix a little higher than it is now (over the lower of the two nubbins, but with the upper one exposed). Cut off all the brown leaves.
Place the whole plant, pot and all, into a resealable plastic bag. Zip it shut. Set it off to the side, where it will get some light, but no direct sun (about the same light paphs want anyway). Don't open the bag. Continue not opening the bag. After three months, if the plant isn't well on its way to recovery, it's a goner.
I've been able to get really nice growth out of tiny back divisions of bulldog paphs using this method. It takes patience, but it works pretty well much of the time. Hope this helps!

[Rosiefuture]

Hi Duane, thank you so much for the advice.

I'm a real softie when it comes to my plants, I can't throw something out that has a chance of survival. I will give what you have suggested a go, I have nothing to lose really do I? Why do you suggest having the bottom two nubbins below the bark?

You know I even have trouble throwing out old back bulbs, I have pots of them all over the place and I've been pleasantly surprised with about 70% of them re-shooting. I've had success with cyms, cats and dens and I'm now trying stanhopeas, oncidiums and others I can't remember.

Junebug, thanks also for your support

Marion

[Rosiefuture]

Duane, I'll let you know if your advice bears fruit!

Marion

[Duane McDowell]

Marion,
The idea behind covering the lower two and leaving the upper ones exposed is that new growths on Paphs often emerge from below the surface of the substrate. Additionally, as those "nubbins" become growths, the roots that emerge need to emerge into something, or they will die. Since the distance between them is slight, the lower growths should emerge well and the upper ones should be able to extend their roots to the mix without drying (particularly in their little "greenhouse").
I've always thought of potting as one of the true arts of plant culture - pot at the wrong level either way, and the plant won't thrive, but pot at the right level, and the plant can do well.
I wish you the best with your plant, and remember that your experience isn't indicative of how bulldog paphs usually behave. There are a number of very famous breeders of these types in Australia - your local orchid society could point you in their direction. Here's a link to one grower who is working with some good breeding. I don't know anything else about them (are they good growers, good service, good prices, etc...). You'd have to check them out...
Ezi-gro Orchids Information
Best,
-d

[Rosiefuture]

Originally Posted by Duane McDowell

Marion,
There are a number of very famous breeders of these types in Australia - your local orchid society could point you in their direction. Here's a link to one grower who is working with some good breeding. I don't know anything else about them (are they good growers, good service, good prices, etc...). You'd have to check them out...
Ezi-gro Orchids Information
Best,
-d

LOL...Duane.....Ezi-gro is where I bought the bulldog! It's one of the only specialist nurseries I know in Western Australia and it's about 70 minutes drive from where I live.

Marion

[Rosiefuture]

Thank you Duane for so much help and support, I know almost nothing about paphs at the moment. I've also only been growing phals for about 7 months and I've learned heaps about them from the members of this board.

Marion

[Duane McDowell]

Wonderful!
You might let them know what happened with your first plant and see if they have any suggestions for plants that would be less likely to run into the same trouble. I always found greens and golds to be less troublesome than reds and spotteds. Also, some whites have excellent vigor. They will have some suggestions along these lines, I'm sure. One cross that looks like it might be a good strong grower (red) is HKU 245 (Flashdance x Cocoa Cherry) 'Vini Wow' x (Amanda x Sioux) 'Round Rose' . Again, they'll have a good feel for which ones will be the strongest growers and bloomers.

[RJSquirrel]

from what I learned this week about paphs is they need a little lime in the mix to correct the media PH at times...they live on limestone cliffs and rocks in the wild..I would say you need some lime in your mix maybe?...heres my churchill bulldog that was turning yellow on me. I added a small amount of lime to the mix..



you can still some of the yellow on the bottom leaves but thats the original mother plant and its never bloomed