My first Paph!

[ewhite]

Hi all,

I got my first paph. It's a Venus Knight hybrid.

I did the wiggle test at the store and this one seemed to be well rooted. I got it home and took it out of the pot to look at the roots, and in fact, it has a lot of really healthy looking roots. I saw no root rot and although the roots didn't fill the pot, there were so many that I am wondering if it needs a larger pot.

The medium looked very, very old and stale. I found two millipedes (i think) among the roots, so I repotted it in fresh mix into the same pot. The medium it was in looked just like my Phaleanopsis mix, so that is what I used.

It has been six days since the repot and the leaves have lost some of their shiny beautiful luster. One lower leaf has turned yellow. I am worried that the medium is not moist enough. Later I read that Paph's need smaller medium. I want to try a mix I read about of coconut husk chips, charcoal, and volcanic rock. But I also read that CHC need to be soaked in calcium to deal with excess amounts of sodium.

I would welcome any advice on the care of my new paph. Do you think it needs a larger pot? (in the photo you can see that it is potted in a plastic pot sitting in a clay cache pot). Should I get it repotted into a paph mix asap or just water more frequently? Does anyone know of a mix that is readily available that is good?

Also, I have my paph under cfl lights.