Question about growing paphs...........
 

I'm an experienced orchid grower but I'm getting ready to buy my first paph. What kind of pot and medium do you recommend for growing paphs?

I am not an expert but do manage to keep few species alive and happy and one is even pushing out a bud now.
Mine are mostly parvisepalum subgenus and seem to like the small unglazed clay pots with chc.
I found very helpful this article here:
Quick Start - Buying and Growing Your First Paph.
Good luck.

In my experience and conditions, they seem to do best with an airy mix. I've used bark mixes, CHC and S/H. I currently have most in CHC, which they seem to like as long as I flush every other watering. CHC seems to get fertilizer build up quickly.
I keep them in the smallest pot I can squeeze the roots in, and use the tallest container I can find. I use foam peanuts or rocks on the 1st inch or so of the bottom of the pot to help with drainage.
Paphs take real well to S/H, but I find I have to water frequently(like every other day).
What are you thinking of getting?

Good Luck, Bill

That's an excellent article. Thanks for the link.

---------- Post added at 12:55 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:54 PM ----------

I'm not sure what I'll get. There's a big orchid show this weekend. Do you have any suggestions?

Someone recommended Lynnleigh Koopowitz as a very easy starter paph and so that's what I bought in November. So far, it is just chugging along, even starting a spike, despite me not realizing I should have been keeping it moist. Oops. At my last OS meeting, I was thankfully given good advice. Everyone in our society gives their paphs a good dose of lime/oyster shell at the beginning of January.
Leafmite

Leafmite, one of the parents of your plant is delenatii - non-calcicolous(did I spell it right?) paph. I read that delenatii wouldn't like lime/oyster supplement as it prefers acidic substrate. I am not sure how it works with hybrids though and would like to know the experienced opinion on that.
Thanks

I'm kind of partial to the multi florals, but they do tend to take up a lot of room. You can't go wrong with a delenatii, easy to grow, nice bloom, beautiful foliage.

Bill

If you are looking for a bullet proof Paph. that anyone can bloom get Pinocchio, or if you prefer species liemianum. Both are sequential bloomers, and one spike can bloom for more than a year. I have a Pinocchio that has been in non-stop bloom for the last 3 years. It's not at all fussy. Both of the above have attractive mottled foliage. Delenatii is also a small relatively easy grower.

Like Bill all of mine are in CHC, and I also flush the pots well. I prefer to pot mine in plastic pots as summers here are hot and dry. Plastic tends to keep more moisture in the pot, and if you use clear pots you can see when you have active root growth.

Leafmite, Orchideya is correct. Not all Paphs are calcificarous. Delenatii is one that does not like lime. I have a list at home somewhere that outlines which Paphs will benefit from oyster shell and which won't.

I like multi-florals too, but they are rather large and take up a good chunk of shelf space. My biggest is William Ambler.

I actually gave the oyster shell to it in early December and so far, the plant is really looking healthy. It could be dumb luck that this individual offspring inherited the malipoense love of calcium or perhaps time will prove that my ways need mended. I really appreciate the information. Thankyou.
Leafmite

we are on the same boat, Tucker...I am a brand new Paph grower. The first two plants was given to me by GlenGary and two others was given to me by a florist friend in the flower disctrict of Manhattan...I noticed that the mix is finer than that of the Phals...I think Phals have the large barks whereas the Paphs have the small barks...I have bark, charcoal, lava rocks and hydroton clay on one that just bloomed for me...that I just replanted on a bigger pot using the same media...
at first i was scared to own one thinking they are delicate by the way I see it in pictures: but I was wrong....Paphs are very easy to grow and so far it is thriving happily and healthy in my care.

Try S/H culture....they LOVE it.

I can even sell you one in-spike growing that way, if you like a yellow flower.

When you say multifloral, does that mean multiple spikes or multiple flowers on one spike? Sorry, I don't know anything about paphs.

it means that while there is an opened bloom, a new bud appears on the side of the flower and when the old flower is gone, the bud opens and blooms and so on and so forth...this can happen in a span of a full year

Multi florals are generally several blooms on the same spike. If you're good(or lucky) you can have several growths blooming at the same time. Here's a link to Piping Rock's site that has several pictures.
Multifloral Paphiopedilums (not including Parvisepalum Influence)
You can also go to ladyslipper.com, Antec's site. That has a lot of great info.
Paphiopedilum & Phragmipedium Intro Page - AnTec Laboratory

Jump right in, paphs are great.

Bill

Bud - What you are discribing is a sequential bloomer, look at BillC's posting. When you think of multifloral species, think phillipinense, sanderianum, rothschildianum as examples

Its nice to others taking and interest in slippers - great to grow!
Paphs can grow in just about anything, I tried some different media's, some did okay and other work really well.

What are you most comfortable growing in Tucker?

Check out the data sheets, its great reading and can really help you understand them better & help make the right choices for you ....

Paphiopedilum Data Sheets

Gloria, what medium did you find that paph's grew really well in? I generally use a CHC mixture for orchids that like moisture.

Tucker,

You are masterful with your phals and paphs co-exist beautifully with phals. Many share similar light, humidity and temperature requirements. The main difference that I've noticed is watering - my paphs need to be far more evenly moist than my phals. I water them twice as often as my phals in the winter (dry heat here) and 1.5 as often as my phals in the summer. I grow my paphs in the same type of bark mix as my phals (bark, charcoal and pearlite), but a much finer grade. Since all of the pieces are smaller it retains water far longer than the medium grade that I use for the phals, so they stay wetter longer.

As far as starting off - my Lynleigh Koopowitz is a hardy, reliable bloomer. I used to love my little paph niveum too, its a great starter paph - a fast grower, beautiful foliage and spectacular blooms (recently dhredded by my dog). I can't do anything wrong to my wardii either, it's gotten too dry, too wet, too cold and still it grows like a weed and blooms really well.

You have to share what follows you home from the orchid show this weekend!

- J

Hay Tucker,
I've been using alot of coconut for the past couple of years, I think this stuff is a hit and miss type media.
I'm pretty much done with it. The PH just sinks too low, I'm kinda tired of being a calcium cop too.
I have a few phals that just hated this stuff almost lost them & my paphs are looking tired. Phrags didn't take well to it.
It also takes to long to prepare - too many orchids to fuss with.

SO, Back to the bark mixtures. They grow real well with a blend of pro-mix and smallish bark, mixing in some coarse rok and rice hulls when I have it.

Love the sphagnum coupled with med size bark works really well. Some paphs prefer a drier open mix and some others do like abit more moisture ... so it depends on the paph.

:D

I took your advice and ordered a Paph. Pinocchio. Thanks for the recommendation.

---------- Post added at 07:02 PM ---------- Previous post was at 06:58 PM ----------

Interesting information, Gloria. I've had good luck with CHC but I'm a firm believer that people should use the method that works best for them.

Lynnleigh koopowitz
 

So, I found the Antec list that shows which paph species like calcium and which do not. What happens in the case of crosses like paph Lynnleigh Koopowitz? I use snow/rain/distilled water. The rain water and snow would be on the acidic side due to Ohio's air pollution, the distilled water is neutral. If grown by seed, is it possible to know what the particular individual will like? I am obviously a little confused. Thanks,
leafmite

ALL plants need calcium, it's a matter of how much. Those that the Antec list shows as needing it just have more demand, and I don't think there is any harm in feeding some to all of your plants - in fact, it's a benefit.

Concerning pure water, even distilled, DI, and RO water will come to an equilibrium with the atmospheric carbon dioxide, resulting in a pH of about 5.3-5.4.

Do not equate calcium demand with pH. Sure calcium compounds tends to be basic minerals, but most plants will still do best if the applied solution is on the acidic side.

Growing in s/h culture, my applied solution (MSU Fert with 8% Ca) is the ONLY control I have on pH, and I shoot for the upper-5's/low-6's, and all of my plants - including the calceolarious paphs - are thriving.

I'm in the middle of a plant nutrition trial with a number of others, all using a low-K version of the MSU stuff, and it's looking promising. I'll share some details shortly.

I love the various forms of Paph. Delenatii! I like the typical pink, the white form, and the vinicolor form. It is a very tough little plant.
I use a mix of fine fir bark, sphagnum moss, and sometimes charcoal or perlite for my paphiopedilums. I use just about any kind of pot: clear, plastic, clay... I also use clear drinking cups with holes and slots cut in them. They make great, cheap clear palstic pots.
I would stay away from glazed ceramic, they can poison and kill orchids if potted directly into one.

I completely argee with you Tucker! Grow what you grow best in, tweek and make the changes when needed.
When is you're paph comming??

:D

I heard an experience of a green house grower one time with his paph delenatii. He knocked to pot off the bench, media went everywhere and he set it bareroot on the bench. It sat there unpotted and unwatered for over a week and it was fine! I've found paph delenatii is VERY easy to bloom and ver tough too. I bought a small, never bloomed, single growth paph delenatii in November from perfect greenhouse conditions, I accidentally repotted it when it was in low spike (thought it was a leaf), and it is in spike now and is growing fast. Usually for me orchids take a bit longer to adapt and bloom from greenhouse conditions. In my opinion delenatii is one of the prettiest, toughest, unifloral, species paphs.
My absolute favorite paph medium is this: 7 parts fine orchid bark (Orchidata is best), 1 part sphagnum moss, and one part small volcanic rock. If you go to repotme.com they have an option to make your own media.

---------- Post added at 09:55 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:45 PM ----------

This thread may give you some tips and ideas: http://www.orchidboard.com/community...eaf-paphs.html
If growing other paphs this might still be useful.