Paph. helenae growing recommendations

[Miss_Cat]

I am new to posting on this board although I have been following many threads with interest. The info shared here is amazing.

I tried a little Paph. helenae last year but sadly managed to kill it :-( I've ordered another (with papers) for this spring. Could anyone with successful experience with Paph. helenae share their recommendations on how to best grow them? They are supposed to be fairly easy but I am missing something. I am determined to learn and to do my best this year for this little gem of an orchid. I grow mostly warm and intermediate orchids under lights and on windowsills.
Thanks a bunch!

[s.kallima]

Do you know what killed it? It would help you to know do it does not happen again.
I have been growing this species for several year under lights (T5HO), potted in a tall and narrow clay pot (2")
The roots need a lot of room in depth to be happy even if it is a small plant. It is potted in pure bark and watered once to twice a week. Hope this helps

[Miss_Cat]

It could have been a number of things. The humidity is fairly low here in general (even with humidity trays) and it had to withstand warm temperatures last summer. I repotted it before moving it to a higher humidity terrarium with air movement from a fan. In the end it lost its roots to rot so I must have kept it too wet. I'm afraid this sounds like an orchid horror story...


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[The Mutant]

Been there, done that. You're not alone in the Paph killing department, so don't feel too bad about yourself.

I'm fairly new to Paphs myself, and I'm a windowsill grower. I have a little helenae that I've had for over a year now. So far, I haven't killed it, but I think I got a little too close for comfort with my terrarium bark experiment on this little one (it stayed too wet for too long).

Helenae seems to like a coarser mix to make it dry up faster between waterings, it's calcerous so now I've added some marble chips to the substrate on mine (otherwise, crushed oyster shells will do) - so far so good. Most probably, you kept it too wet (a disease I suffer from too, when it comes to some of my Paphs...). Try and give the next one a coarser mix and see how it goes.

[Miss_Cat]

Thanks both for your info.
I was using a seedling mix with a little bit of perlite, hydroton, and calcium bits but in a regular depth 2.5" plastic pot. I prolly should change that.
I am still uncertain of the light level helenaes prefer though. I've got some catts. and Phals. under two different sets of T5's. I wonder if higher or lower light is preferable. Can someone answer this?
Thanks!

[The Mutant]

They prefer slightly more than Phals, so that's what mine's getting. I think Cattleya light levels may be too much for them.

[geogeo21]

a sprinkling of pelletized lime(the type that you use for the lawn) make sure when you water, it doesn't sit in the center growth or it'll rot. i would do spaghnum moss instead. it's more neutral than a fir bark mix unless you can get your hands on coconut or tree fern bark. but yes a lime component is very important

[Miss_Cat]

Agreed. My little helenae seem to love the extra calcium I added this spring and it now has a sheath. Can't wait to see what happens next.