Paph. haynaldianum all-over slight wrinkling

[aerides]

I recently received a nice haynaldianum from a well-known vendor. It has one mature growth (recently in bud - it was in sheath upon arrival a week-to-10 days ago) and a growth in progress. I grow under 2650 lumen LED spots. The main body of the plant is about 16" from the bulb, with extremes of upper and lower leaf tips +/- 4". No detectable heat when I hold my hand between the bulb and the plant. Temps and humidity all in very acceptable range. Arrived potted in sphagnum. The leaves have the appearance of all-over slight, not severe, wrinkling, and unfortunately I didn't notice if this was their condition upon arrival. It did arrive in December and it was cold. Overnight delivery, it did not sit on my doorstep any length of time and arrived with a heat pack with two other paphs, both of which seem okay. I wonder if this division was clipped off of a larger plant, repotted and is now being stressed because of the spike in progress. I just happened to read, a few minutes ago, that haynaldianum usually doesn't bloom on plants with less than several growths. Some of the leaves are also curling, slightly, and a couple of the tips are just touched with yellow. Overall, it's still a nice healthy green but I'm worried that this isn't going to last. There are no obvious signs of patchy necrosis that indicates freezing. Any ideas? Now that I've written all of this I can only think to decrease the light somewhat so it will be less stimulated to grow for the moment. Does this seem reasonable? Or, (please no), clipping off the spike. Thanks so much.

[Ray]

A lack of turgidity suggests insufficient water uptake. You have not mentioned the condition of the roots...

[aerides]

I don't think I mentioned lack of turgidity either. Though I think I know what you mean. Thanks for responding.

[aliceinwl]

Did you re-pot it? The moss does look really fresh. I would suspect issues with the roots too. If it was a recent division, it may need to grow some more roots in order to rebound or there could have been some trauma to the roots if it was recently repotted.

Alternatively, what are your windowsill temps? I have a couple of Paphs that really don't want to get below 60 degrees Fahrenheit. They showed some similar leaf wrinkling but it was accompanied by yellowing as a prelude to the plant dropping the leaf. I don't see this on yours so I'm more inclined to suspect the roots.

[Ray]

Originally Posted by aerides

I don't think I mentioned lack of turgidity either. Though I think I know what you mean. Thanks for responding.

That's an odd response...

You said it was wrinkled all over, which is a lack of turgidity - the plant isn't "pumped up" with sufficient hydrostatic pressure. That suggests a problem with water uptake, and that is usually due to insufficient watering or the plant's inability to take it up due to a compromised root system, hence me bringing it up.

If you'd take a moment to tell us about the root system, maybe we can offer ways to remedy the issues.

[aerides]

Originally Posted by aliceinwl

Did you re-pot it? The moss does look really fresh. I would suspect issues with the roots too. If it was a recent division, it may need to grow some more roots in order to rebound or there could have been some trauma to the roots if it was recently repotted.

Alternatively, what are your windowsill temps? I have a couple of Paphs that really don't want to get below 60 degrees Fahrenheit. They showed some similar leaf wrinkling but it was accompanied by yellowing as a prelude to the plant dropping the leaf. I don't see this on yours so I'm more inclined to suspect the roots.

When it arrived it was in one of those undersized clear plastic pots in sphagnum and was wet. I took it out of the pot, didn't notice any roots around, and didn't disturb the small root-ball. It didn't look freshly potted, but not in terrible shape either. I had an unglazed clay pot of a suitable size so I potted it on in there, by adding (firmly but not super hard pack) new sphagnum to the sides. Thought the fresh sphagnum would pull some of the water out of the center. Since it doesn't actually rest, maybe biting the bullet and repotting it now makes the most sense so new roots will have fresh medium. Thanks for the reply and support. Night temps are fine. 65F or so.

---------- Post added at 08:49 AM ---------- Previous post was at 08:29 AM ----------

Originally Posted by Ray

That's an odd response...

You said it was wrinkled all over, which is a lack of turgidity - the plant isn't "pumped up" with sufficient hydrostatic pressure. That suggests a problem with water uptake, and that is usually due to insufficient watering or the plant's inability to take it up due to a compromised root system, hence me bringing it up.

If you'd take a moment to tell us about the root system, maybe we can offer ways to remedy the issues.

Okay, thanks. Lack of turgidity to me seemed to imply flaccidity, which is not the case. My thinking is not clear on this. I'm hesitant to examine the roots because I don't want to disturb the plant until further observation. On the other hand, the root ball was so small (in one of those tight little clear plastic pots when it arrived) it probably would be an easy issue to have a look and hope for the best. At worst, I can at least put fresh potting medium around whatever is there. I guess there are arguments to be made for both procedures. Thanks.

[Fairorchids]

The small clear pot with spaghnum moss + tiny root ball in the center = recent import from Taiwan. It is the only way they are allowed to ship potted orchids into the US.

That it has not been repotted into something more suitable, and allowed to become established in that pot, speaks poorly of that vendor. This plant has been stressed during shipping (and possibly going unsold at 1 or 2 shows).

Repot into whatever mix you normally use for Paphs. Move it a bit further away from the lights for the next couple of months, and do not let it dry out. It needs to get some root growth going.

[aerides]

Kim, thank you very much for your helpful and instructive response. This makes good sense and I feel better about repotting the plant now. It seems stable in its new pot with fresh sphagnum added around the existing root ball, but I may as well get it going properly.