loose and wiggley rothschild

[The Orchidist]

Could i ask you where you purchased your rothschild , noticed you are in toronto , i am in london . thanks

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

Phrags are a bit different. Generally speaking a good majority of them like a lot of water.

I defer to someone who has more Phragmipedium experience than I do.

[DeaC]

To secure roots,the coat hanger idea is good but there are rhizome clips in sev. sizes on the market to buy. A plant will not survive or deteriorate quickly if roots cannot grip on to their life support. BTW, there are rhizome clips for plastic as well as clay pots.Good Luck!

[mrphilips]

Steve, i'll PM you

Philip, ok. yeah this guy is in 80% spag 20% perlite with some packing peanut in the center, rinsed thoroughly with distilled water (even rain water makes his leaf-tips black) twice a week, fertilized twice a year at 12.5% strength because of the leaf-tip problem, and he sits in a dish that slowly evaporates over the 3 or 4 days between waterings.

he seems to be ok, growing, never lost a leaf and has a little buddy coming up on one side so i think i'm doing him right...

other than that he gets the same conditions (light and temp) as the rothschild.

[mrphilips]

finished.

had to move it down a display-pot size too, but all i had was this mug.

will keep everyone posted on progress.

mix is approximately:
70% orchid potting mix (bark, husk, stone and charcoal)
12% limestone screenings
12% perlite
6% vermiculite

[JMNYC]

Originally Posted by RosieC

I'm not sure on this. I have a paph that seems to struggle because it is loose in the pot. Every time I water it moves against the medium and I think that they like to be firm. Not sure the best way to achive that though.

I sometimes have tried a stake which I use a loose grip to attach the plant to it. It's worked sometimes (in my problem one the stake keeps moving too). Might be worth a shot though.

On a Catt that was loose I used thin wire to fix it into the pot, tied down over the rhizome, through the hole in the bottom of the pot, then back up the sides and tied at the top again (then put in the medium). That is working for that but not sure it would work so well on a Paph, as there isn't such a fat strong rhizome to tie down (and none at all if it's only one fan).

I have a tiny Paph Roth I need to repot soon. Not quite worked out what I'm going to do with it yet.

Hope someone else has some suggestions.

Re catts, when I repot, I often use a rhizome clip! I think they are genius. I have a box of them, all sizes and would not be without them. I always bend the long end down to perfectly secure the individual rhizome using a pair of pliers.

Re paphs, I think they tolerate overpotting even less than other orchids, and, in my experience, no orchid likes to be overpotted....esp in any medium other than tree fern.

[mrphilips]

steve PM me your email if you don't get my PM.
i think my PMs aren't working...

[mrphilips]

breathing some life into an old post - maybe it will bring some life back into my orchid!

i secured my rothschild as suggested above and started feeding it with some limestone and oystershell blend (paph magic), and it's been doing quite well for the last few years...

just in the last month it seems to have gone "limp" - although the leaves are still somewhat rigid, they have dropped and it's sort of slumping against the little support i have created for it. the leaves are also showing that "veiny" look some paphs have (but never did before), are looking somewhat puckered, and a few of the longer ones are starting to go ever so slightly yellow towards the end.

what has happened? it was doing so well, a new leaf every year or so... i have no idea what changed. any thoughts?

[mrphilips]

here's some pictures - compared to the last picture a few years back i would also say it's gone quite pale - think it's getting too much sun?

[estación seca]

First, they are slow-growing plants, especially as seedlings. The ideal is that each leaf will be larger than the previous leaf. At some point they start carrying more leaves. I have one in semi-hydroponics that is slowly getting bigger.

They like almost Cattleya light. They grow under winter-deciduous trees, so it's even brighter in their winter. I would guess Cattleya light would be hard to do in Canada in early March with natural light. So I don't think your problem is too much light. My seeding easily tolerates morning summer sun through a window in Phoenix with good air circulation.

The pot is still too large, in my opinion. The medium might stay wet too long and rot the roots.

My best guess is your plant is struggling to stay alive, and is only able to support a certain number of leaves. When it grows a new leaf it has to drop an older leaf. Exactly what's wrong is hard to say, but I would:
- downsize the pot
- give more light, to the point all the leaves are light yellowish green
- water when just about dry so it doesn't stay wet
- pay attention to proper water pH and fertilizer. Maybe put some oyster shell on the top of your medium, to dissolve in over months, as you water.