Paph Creeping Tiger

[Pokey49]

I have a paph Creeping Tiger that I got over a year ago. It shows no evidence of ever blooming, no old spikes. It has put on robust growth and is a nice sturdy, healthy plant. Gets same light and temp and water as my other paphs. Any idea why it will not spike. Its in a 4 inch pot and I'm wondering if repotting in some Orchiata bark will kick it in gear? My other rochids spike and bloom and re bloom. This one has me perplexed as to what to do.
Pokey

[estación seca]

Creeping Tiger or Crouching Tiger?

Maybe it's not old enough/big enough. Crouching Tiger is a strap-leaf multifloral, and a 4" pot would generally be too small to bloom. It's a big plant.

[Pokey49]

So should I repot it??

[estación seca]

I'm not a Paph expert; I only started with them a year ago. I think people advise to repot every 2 years. Not because they necessarily outgrow the pot, but because the medium breaks down rapidly with the amount of watering these plants need. If your medium looks good, it can stay in that pot. If the bark is getting powdery, soft, crumbly or slimy, then repot.

Multifloral Paphs often don't flower until they're in 6-inch / 15cm pots. And, they are very slow growing. It may take them 7-10 years to flower out of flask. Most are not near flowering in a 4" pot.

People recommend choosing a pot that will accommodate 2 years' growth for paphs, and not a bigger pot. If your plant isn't straining the pot, you don't need to go up in pot size. Overpotting will not make the plant grow faster, and it won't bloom until it's big enough.

I recently received a multifloral Paph hybrid from Sunset Valley Orchids. It came in bloom, its first flowering. It is in a 6" pot. The leaves are 16" / 41cm long, and longer. It came in a mixture of Kiwi Bark and a little medium-chunk perlite. I have to water it every 2-3 days in my conditions.

I don't think the medium chosen makes much difference, if any. How you take care of it is much more important. They don't like to dry out completely, so if you haven't used Orchiata before, you should be careful. It is supposed to dry faster than other kinds of bark.

The musts for multifloral Paphs are: Pure water, with very low total dissolved solids (TDS); very weak fertilizer solutions, so as not to raise TDS too high; stronger light than other Paphs, almost Cattleya light; good air circulation; warm temperatures all year; and, not going completely dry.

The AOS culture sheets for Paphs are very old, and don't cover the multiflorals well, in my opinion.

[Pokey49]

Thanks for all your helpful info. I'm thinking it needs to be repotted given all you said. I have had really good luck with Orchiata bark. Most of my orchids seem to be happy campers when I repot them with it. I'm comfortable that my conditions are good and the Creeping Tiger gets more sunlight than the rest of my paphs. I have all my plants in a sunroom and most seem to do well so think putting the Creeping Tiger in a 6 inch may help it along. Don't think it will hurt. Cheers
Pokey aka Paul

---------- Post added at 08:48 AM ---------- Previous post was at 08:43 AM ----------

And yes, Crouching Tiger😁

[D_novice]

This is a timely post - I was just about to post this photo of my blooming Paph CT.

It has 5 growths, one of them new. It was purchased in March 2016 from Austin Creek Orchids in Petaluma, CA. I repotted it when I got it, into a 5" pot from a 4" pot.

Dave Sorokowsky recommends repotting paphs yearly regardless of the condition of the media. I think that's a bit much, why disturb the plant, but he's the expert.

[Pokey49]

Thanks for the pics and your suggestions. I'm going to repot my crouching tiger.

[D_novice]

Keep us posted!

[No-Pro-mwa]

Stunner. Pokey I hope you get it to bloom.

[Tindomul]

Originally Posted by D_novice

This is a timely post - I was just about to post this photo of my blooming Paph CT.

It has 5 growths, one of them new. It was purchased in March 2016 from Austin Creek Orchids in Petaluma, CA. I repotted it when I got it, into a 5" pot from a 4" pot.

Dave Sorokowsky recommends repotting paphs yearly regardless of the condition of the media. I think that's a bit much, why disturb the plant, but he's the expert.

Learn something new every day. Cool blooms too!