Have you resurrected a paph?

[Dalton]

Hey, all.

I got my first paph a few months ago at an orchid auction. I really didn't intend to get it, but they sold it for $10 and no one else was raising their hand, so I did.

I didn't know anything about paphs then, as opposed to the very little I know now. I know it might not have been the best thing for the orchid, but I have to practice and make mistakes.

My mistake here was not watering it enough. It was in a ~3" square pot. The media didn't hold much water. It was meant to be watered frequently. I think it was course bark and those little cubes that look like perlite.

I took that to meant that it liked to dry out some. I was also getting watering advice from people I later found out had greenhouses and probably assumed I had one too.

So I wasn't watering it enough. It was a small plant, with about 4-6 leaves and had another small plant growing up beside it. In the last few months, I've lost all but a couple of the leaves on the main plant and I have a mostly green leaf on the second plant, but the leaf in the crown is dead. I've trimmed most of the dead growth away and potted it in semi-hydro. So far it's in a holding pattern. In the last couple of weeks I've seen neither growth nor decline.

I'm hoping it'll recover and come back as I read Ray saying that paphs do well when converted to SH. It might be different in this case, since the orchid was already in bad shape, but I knew it would have died on me, left as it was.

I'll include pictures of it in it's current state and if it recovers, I'll do update photos. You guys can feel free to comment on my plant, but it would be heartening for me to see other success stories where you've brought back struggling paphs from the brink. Before and after pictures are highly encouraged. Lets see those zombie paphs. Thanks guys.

Dalton

[MrHappyRotter]

Recovery is rarely 100% successful, it only takes one minor set back to a recovering plant to send it into a death spiral. My technique, which works pretty well as long as a plant is not too far gone is like this...

I clean up all the dead growth, remove all dead roots (even if it means the plant has no roots left). Then I get it potted up with my normal mix. If the plant has no roots, I might fill the pot up 1/3 - 1/2 full, so that the leaves rest on the side of the pot, which then helps prop the plant up. I usually water/soak initially with Superthrive and/or seaweed extract ... highly recommended if you have some on hand, if not, it's probably not worth the added expense.

From there, I'll set the plant in a shaded spot and try to ignore it other than to water twice a week or so. If your humidity is low, you might want to set it down in an open top fish tank or some other makeshift humidity sparing container to keep the humidity slightly elevated (no more than 70 - 80%). Resist the urge to feed until you know the plant has healthy, viable roots. If you have a clear plastic pot -- use that for sure.

And then you just wait and see what happens. Sometimes plants are just too far gone and never really respond. Even if they do respond, it can take a very long time, so patience is a must. It's really a judgement call. Is it worth spending years devoting a special growing space to the plant to try and get it back to health? Are you willing to spend years nursing it back to life? If not, then it's probably better to toss the plant in the compost bin and start over. Killing a plant isn't failure, it's a learning experience.

[Dalton]

You're right, it is a learning experience and that's how I'm looking at it. I've basically done what you suggested. I had potted it in S/H from the loose mix it was in. I trimmed off most, to all of the dead leaf material. It's in a lower light environment and I haven't been fertilizing it. I just flush the pot and refill the reservoir about twice a week. I'll probably just keep doing that.

The only things I'm thinking about changing are using some superthrive on it. I do have a small bottle, as well as putting the two S/H I have on a seedling heat mat I bought last year.

However, if the plant gets to the point where it's a total loss, I won't have any qualms about tossing it. I just want to take it as far as I can because the more I know the better off I'll be with the next plant. That's why I'm looking for good advice like yours.

Also, I know from personal experience that plants came come back from the brink. My first orchid, a Miltassia Shelob 'The Weed', was put through the ringer. I almost killed it numerous times. However, I'm getting better and better at it's care. I think I've pretty much got it set for my environment and divided it for the first time so that I'd have another plant to experiment with, without risking loosing it all together.

[No-Pro-mwa]

I have never pulled one back from the brink. But I was at first like you and didn't realize they needed that much water. I killed a phrag for the same reason. I seem to have to water all my orchids more than any one else does. I have to water my small pots every day at least for now. I have 2 paphs in 3 inch pots and 2 in smaller. If I miss a day I had better get at them the next. But I mostly water them every day and have been doing this for several months and there in seedling mix.

[phraggy]

If the plant has no roots what's the point of watering it? I've resurrected quite a few paphs in the past by using nothing but live sphagnum moss. keep the sphagnum from drying out by spraying the top. It will take a while, and if you succeed you'll be surprised how thick the new roots will be.

Ed

[Dalton]

I think it has healthy roots. It was hard for me to tell, because I'm used to looking at Oncindium and Phalaenopsis roots, so I'm not sure what to look for, but there were several firm roots. It was just a lack of water on my part causing the leaves to die off.

It's still in a holding pattern since I placed it in the semi-hydro. I found my heat mat last night and I'm going to set it up today. I'm really hopeful since it hasn't continued to die. We'll see, though and no hard feeling if it does croak. I'll have done everything I know to do.

[Ray]

I agree with Ed; watering is a waste of time.

The issue with rootless plants is that their metabolic processes continue to process water, they lose it though their leaves, but they have no way to take it up to replenish that lost. I have found the following to be the best bet at rescuing such plants:

1) Soak the plant overnight (yes, overnight) in water containing a good rooting hormone (Dalton, make sure that SuperThrive is fresh, or get something better like KelpMax), then 2) place it in a warm, shady location, in 100% RH (to slow transpiration losses). 3) Hope, pray, be patient.

[Dalton]

I'm not quite sure where everyone is coming up with "rootless plant". I think the roots are okay. It was the leaves I was loosing.

Also, what do you mean by "fresh" superthrive, because I bought some in the spring and haven't opened it yet. So is that still fresh? Is there a relative date you can use from point-of-purchase to determine if it's still good or not? Thanks.

[No-Pro-mwa]

Originally Posted by Dalton

I'm not quite sure where everyone is coming up with "rootless plant". I think the roots are okay. It was the leaves I was loosing.

Also, what do you mean by "fresh" superthrive, because I bought some in the spring and haven't opened it yet. So is that still fresh? Is there a relative date you can use from point-of-purchase to determine if it's still good or not? Thanks.

I think the name of your post made us think it had very few roots. Usually if they are in decline they have no, or few roots. If it has good roots then it should recover well for you. I believe that would be fresh superthrive.

[Dalton]

Yeah, sorry if there was any confusion. It is dying, but as far as I can tell, it's just the leaves. I didn't take a picture of the roots, but there were 3-4 of what appeared to be good roots. They were brown, but I understand that paph roots are healthy when they're brown and they don't look like the silver-green/white roots of other orchids.

I'll give the superthrive soaking a shot. I'll just put some tape over the drain holes and fill it up with superthrive solution. I may even just get a new bottle to insure it's fresh. No telling how long it'd been sitting on the shelf. I'll do it to my Angraecum Leonis I moved to S/H at the same time, as well.