Paphs in Rock Wool

[JScott]

Just a quick note. I have recently planted my few Paphs in pure rock wool cubes,and I have to say they are enjoying it. Lots of new root an new growth. Just wanted to share that. I have been experimenting with rock wool lately, and for some applications, I have found it quite useful.

[Leafmite]

I have thought about getting this for my only Paph, the delenatii I bought for the leaves. It is in charcoal and perlite and hasn't always been watered enough these past few years. I am trying to do better but a more water-retentive medium would probably be better. Does rock wool last forever like lava rock?

[JScott]

Originally Posted by Leafmite

I have thought about getting this for my only Paph, the delenatii I bought for the leaves. It is in charcoal and perlite and hasn't always been watered enough these past few years. I am trying to do better but a more water-retentive medium would probably be better. Does rock wool last forever like lava rock?

The very reason I moved my Paphs was hat I couldn't keep them moist enough growing in bark. It has solved the problem nicely. As far as it lasting forever, I guess technically it would since it is spun rock and would never deteriorate, but from a practical aspect, I think it night not last forever. I think that over time it could compact and you could lose the air spaces between the cubes, and I think mineral build up could be a problem, but I think it would last much longer than bark before needing to be replaced. I'm thinking maybe eight or ten years instead of every other year like bark, although I don't have enough experience yet to really say with any certainty; .

---------- Post added at 05:59 AM ---------- Previous post was at 05:57 AM ----------

Oh, I would also like to add that it gets algae on the surface, so I spray the surface with Physan every so often to keep the algae from growing. It probably wouldn't hurt anything, but I find it unsightly.

[Ray]

I have been experimenting with plants in rock wool cubes, as well. I really like it as a substitute for sphagnum and have moved all of my phals into it.

I have paphs and phrags in it, as well, but I’m leaning more to a blend with LECA for them - maybe everything - as it’s heavier and provides more mechanical stability.

[JScott]

Originally Posted by Ray

I have been experimenting with plants in rock wool cubes, as well. I really like it as a substitute for sphagnum and have moved all of my phals into it.

I have paphs and phrags in it, as well, but I’m leaning more to a blend with LECA for them - maybe everything - as it’s heavier and provides more mechanical stability.

I like the idea of mixing it with LECA. I have a couple Phals in straight rockwool, and they're doing great. You may or may not remembered a recent threat where I mentioned that I successfully used rockwool to revive four rootless plants, two of which were Catts. While I left the two Phals in the rockwool because I thought they might do well in that for a long time, I moved the Catts back into bark once the new growths started to root, because I was afraid the rockwool would stay too wet for Catts. Now that you mention mixing it with LECA, I suddenly have a strong desire to experiment with that mix for Catts and see if it works for them in the long term.

Anyway, Ray, that's a good idea and I'm going to try it. I have quite a large amount of rockwool on hand, as well as a large amount of LECA, so I'll do a little experimenting and see what happens.

---------- Post added at 10:12 AM ---------- Previous post was at 09:44 AM ----------

Oh, and just one more thing. I love Rossioglossum Rawdon Jester, but I'm not sure if I can grow it well because it gets so hot in the summer, and then the temperature in the house stays pretty consistent without a major drop in the night.

Hausermann's had small ones for cheap recently, so I bought several of them so I could experiment and see if I could find a way to grow it well. I put two in SH, I put two in bark, and I put one in straight rockwool, and I put one in a mix of bark and rockwool. One of the ones in SH promptly rotted. The other one in SH is doing better, but isn't thriving. The ones that are doing this best is the one in small bark and the one in pure rockwool. Those are the only two that are putting out new growths. That's not a large enough sample size to draw any legitimate scientific conclusions, but based on my small amount of anecdotal evidence suggests that rockwool may be a good medium for this plant, and maybe even for other cool growing plants.