paph advice, please
 

Hi
I would like to add Paphs to my collection of other types but I'm concerned that my growing conditions are not suited for them, so this may not work out for me. I've searched the internet, but I have found that some sites are contradictory, or vary somewhat, to others...so I would appreciate advice from you experienced growers. I rec'd my first Paph last week (urbanianum) and it now sits in front of an east window but is not getting much light- approx. 300-900 footcandles (at the very most-depending on outside conditions, of course). This slightly diminished light may be due to the way our house is built....the window is just a slight tad shaded ??). About 30-40% humidity there and very little air flow. I thought about maybe adding some supplementals, but I don't really have a good option to add a small fan and/or humidifier to that area). Also, I have no shear curtains on any window. I could move my Paph to my greenhouse where I would have control of the light it receives (small pieces of shadecloth, etc.) and I'm guessing that my humidity level is ok for it ?? I'm also guessing that the air flow is ok. ?? But what about the temp.? My gh conditions are:

General high for the day-appprox. 95 degrees in the summer (Of course, I have more control in the winter because of adjustable therm. heaters).

GH humidity is approx. 60-80% in the summer....quite a bit lower in the winter. (Being new to the orchid hobby, I failed to run my evap. cooler, which I'm sure would increase the humidity a bit....I will this winter).

Of course, I can control watering, but I would appreciate help as to damp, dry or whatever is needed.

Airflow seems to be fine...2 large fans-1 under each bench, as well as a very small clip on fan that would increase airflow even more to the Paph itself.

The fert. I use is MSU Fertilizer for Well Water-weekly- through carbon block filters (PH approx. 6.5)

Please let me know if I have missed something....

So, what do you think?

I have included a pic. of the Paph (it's small). I repotted it when I rec'd it (a general practice for me). I had to overpot it into a 4" clay pot because at the time I didn't think I had a smaller one, but I have since found a 3" plastic pot and repotted it again, in hopes it would be better suited.

I would also appreciate any tips you many have to offer.
Thanks,
Vicki

OOPS...FORGOT PICTURE..

I am not a Paph expert, only have a few, and those mostly for a year, to a year and a half or so - and I don't know this species. Paphs do like to remain moist. Mine are grown inside - sometimes in summer can get hot, but also is cool at night, and during winter. I'm not sure they all appreciate the "cool" part tho lol. Summer humidity here is moderate (at night when it's cool) to low (daytime, especially the hotter it is, the drier it is). Winter humidity is generally more moderate (daytime) to high (nights, when its cooler, there is forced air heat, tho I keep it low, so inside humidity is probably somewhat lower). I guess my point is, I don't know that you need to worry a ton about humidity - keep the roots moist and happy and I think it should be ok.
So far I have got one Paph to re-bloom - it grows in a west facing, mostly shady, window - it does get a short period of direct light, and some dappled light.

I am sure others with more experience with Paphs will chime in ...
gl

WhiteRabbit
 

Thanks for the info.

So, what do you think about the low light in front of an east window inside the house (300-900 max)? Enough light or not? If it isn't, I could put if in the greenhouse to increase the light, but the temp. is approx. 95 degrees there now. Too hot or not?

Vicki

hmmm - well I looked it up on IOSPE
IOSPE PHOTOS
and they have it as a warm to hot grower, and grows in deep shade ...

so - I would think it would be ok in the window it is in light-wise ...
could probably also take the greenhouse temp - but might be too much of a sudden change in temps right now

If this were mine I'd leave it in the window - at least for the time being - and hopefully someone with more knowledge of the species will chime in ...

WhiteRabbit
 

Thanks for looking it up for me!

Thanks also for the advice....in the window is where it's gonna stay (as you said, at least for the time being). I might just end up leaving it there....Guess I'm just gonna have to put my thinking cap on.

Vicki

happy paphy!!
 

me thinks its too hot for a paph if its leaves start to feel warm to your touch(?)...in fact any plant me thinks thats in the window, is too hot if its leaves are getting warm just sitting in the window..will sunburn..Im not paph expert either but my little trail of paphs go thru phases, east windows from 6 am till about 10 30am, then its too hot..from there to the south window for some bright indirect light all day until 6 pm then they come into the cool room for the 15-20 degree night time drop from the 85 they get most the day in the windows :) of course I have nothing better to do with myself so this is what I do every single day :) and I think I got some happy paphys and your paphy looks happy tooo...I can't do much about the humidity in my home other than the hot room which is the bathroom too...steaming hot water over lava rocks in a giant clay saucer 3 ft across...sound s like a menu item :)

and no I have not been drinking, maybe I should be?:shock:

It's better to grow this species in the greenhouse. It needs higher humidity (65%+) to grow well. :)

Jorch
 

Ok, but do you think it be ok in the high greenhouse temps? I just checked and the temp is 96.4 and 70% humidity? I can supply a very small clip on fan (approx. 3-4") blowing near the area where it would sit, as well as the 2 large fans under each bench?

RJSquirrel
 

lol, me thinks you're funny! :biggrin: Just what I needed after a bad nights sleep and a dragging-around morn. I like your sense of humor. Sure nuff cheered me up....I even started laughing in the shower thinking about what you said-"sounds like a menu item". lol

I tested this morn. to be sure that the leaves didn't feel too warm to the touch, like you said, either in my gh or inside...and they felt ok. It stuck me as a little funny thinking about your Paphs trailing from one window to another. Thanks for the info, though...you give me good food for thought.

By the way, you sure you've not been drinking? If not, you may have a point...maybe you should be? :dunno: hmmm. lol

[QUOTE=RJSquirrel;338870]me thinks its too hot for a paph if its leaves start to feel warm to your touch(?)...in fact any plant me thinks thats in the window, is too hot if its leaves are getting warm just sitting in the window..will sunburn..Im not paph expert either but my little trail of paphs go thru phases, east windows from 6 am till about 10 30am, then its too hot..from there to the south window for some bright indirect light all day until 6 pm then they come into the cool room for the 15-20 degree night time drop from the 85 they get most the day in the windows :) of course I have nothing better to do with myself so this is what I do every single day :) and I think I got some happy paphys and your paphy looks happy tooo...I can't do much about the humidity in my home other than the hot room which is the bathroom too...steaming hot water over lava rocks in a giant clay saucer 3 ft across...sound s like a menu item :)

and no I have not been drinking, maybe I should be

Jorch
 

Ok, Right or wrong...here's what I came up with this afternoon. Today was an average summer day here. In back of my gh on a pot turned upside down...in a 3" plastic pot inside a 4" clay for support...approx. 1300 fc...getting air flow from the two lg. fans several feet away-1 under each bench, as well as the very small black fan attached to a shelf, blowing in it's direction...gh humidity at the time was approx. 70%. I also have it sitting on a clay saucer of rocks with slight amt. of water...temp. about 90 or so, I think. Guess that's all. So, what do you think...Good? Bad? Suggestions? Anything? Anyone else?
Thanks for looking,
Vicki

ok, somebody got in the Vodka and it wasn't the Orchid this time. Thanks for the smiles.

OK, somebody got in the Vodka, and it wasn't the Orchids this time. Thanks for the smiles :)

All sounds good. It sounds like you got it into plastic in a smaller pot (yay!). Inside a clay pot for support (and humidity and cooling for the roots, btw) - also yay! Hopefully "just right" light - Should be about the same you would give a phal or a little less. Temps should be fine if everything else is - they're pretty tolerant.

The thing that can make paphs a little tricky for some growers is that when their root tips die, the roots don't generally branch. The plant needs to make entirely new roots to replace the damaged ones. Obviously, this is a lot of work for the plants.

The biggest things with this type of paph is the potting and watering. They resent overpotting, they resent rotted mix. At the same time, they are UTTERLY INTOLERANT of drying out. If they dry out completely between waterings, they can sulk for months. If it happens too often, they give up entirely. I like to water a day or two before they're going to be completely dry.

As with any plant, it's a good idea to water before fertilizing. This avoids any salt burn to the roots.

For potting, I like a fine bark mix: I always added perlite, vermiculite, a little coarse peat moss and a little coarse sand to paph mixes. They also like a topdressing of lime a couple times a year (for a 3" pot, a teaspoon would do the job). They should be repotted annually at the very least (whether they appear to need it or not). When repotting, the bottom 1/4" of the growths should be below the surface of the medium. If there are any yellow or brown leaves, they should be peeled off prior to repotting. Any dead roots should be removed, too. The pot should be the smallest that will comfortably hold all the living roots.

Overall, the mottled leaf paphs are pretty easy to succeed with. I hope that's your experience!

Duane McDowell
 

Thank you very much, Duane!

I understand all of your advice...thank you. I'm still cloudy about how to keep a Paph slightly moist/damp all of the time, though (as this is what I've been reading about their water requirement). I can basically do this with my mounted Phals, and I'm learning somewhat as to how often to water my other potted orchids-by keeping my growing conditions in mind, but this being my first Paph, I'm 'watering stumped' (sorry for the long sentence). Does constantly 'slightly moist' time mean heavily misting the medium every day...or should I just run water through the pot everyday (especially since the pot is small...about 3") ?? If not, what would you suggest? I soak all of my other plants, but I imagine this would be too much for a Paph.....I'm afraid I would drown it and rot the roots. ??

If you could help me understand this, I would appreciate it.
Vicki

CTB
 

Not me, Carol! :blushing:

Soaking is definitely the ticket! Partial watering is just asking for trouble (root damage from accumulated salts, underwatering, rot from excessive foliar watering, etc...).

Ideally, you'll water when the plant is moist but not wet. Eventually you'll get the feel of this by the weight of the pot and plant. The pot will get A LOT lighter on the day before it gets dry. That's the day to water. In the meanwhile, there's a good diagnostic trick:
Insert a clean dry toothpick into one of the bottom drainholes of the pot. Hold it in place for about 10 seconds. If, on removal, the toothpick is discolored, there is still water in the pot. If it comes out clean, the mix is dry. You want to water on the day before the mix gets all the way dry.

If I were to guess, I'd think this would be every 2-3 days, but it all depends on so many environmental variables that I'm hesitant to make a specific suggestion.

Duane McDowell
 

Thank you so much, Duane! Since soaking is the last thing I thought I should do, I was surprised when you advised me that it is best. This is one instance that I'm happy I was wrong! Now it all comes together and makes good sense (referring to the reason you explained that partial watering would be bad).

I use the skewer method on all my other orchids, but the toothpick idea you explained sounds like it will work perfectly on this small plastic pot.

:crossfing for me, please.....I'l give it a shot and hope I can keep my new little slipper happy.

Thanks again,
Vicki