Paph Insigne with no roots rescue

[Ale_V]

Hi everyone,

This is my first post, though I’ve been reading the forum for a while now and have found it really helpful, so thank you in advance!

I’m also relatively new to orchids, having started this hobby less than a year ago.

Back in March, I bought what I believe to be a Paph Insigne (based on my research) in Liguria, Italy, where these orchids were popular in the 70s but are now becoming quite rare.

Unfortunately, I think I made a mistake by repotting it into a self-watering pot (which has worked great for my other orchids) with a mix of fine bark and sphagnum moss. After some time, I noticed something was off, so I unpotted it, only to find that almost all the roots were gone. I believe the plant had been kept too wet.

A month and a half ago, I repotted it again in just fine bark, hoping to save it, but so far, nothing has really changed. I suspect the mix dries out too quickly now.

Today, I’ve repotted it once more in a 4-inch pot, added a couple of wooden sticks to support the plant, and put a layer of sphagnum moss on top to increase humidity at the base. I’m hoping this will encourage new root growth. There seems to be a new shoot developing, though it hasn’t formed any roots yet.

I keep all my orchids on a windowsill facing northwest, with a light curtain. The others are doing well, so I think the conditions are generally okay. With winter approaching and the days getting shorter (I’m in northern Italy), I’ve ordered an LED grow light for extra help. The humidity is around 60%, but it will drop to 40% soon due to the heating, and the temperature will go from about 20°C during the day to 17°C at night.

I water exclusively with RO water and use MSU fertilizer at around 100/120 N ppm.

Is there anything else I can do to help this orchid recover?

I also have a small room (1m x 2m) that I’ve set up as a mini greenhouse for my Araceae, with grow lights on for 12 hours a day, constant 23°C, and 98% humidity (soon to drop to 80% with the heating). Would it be beneficial to move the Paph there, maybe in a less bright spot, to aid its recovery?

I’ll attach some pictures for reference.

Thank you very much!!!

In the pictures attached:
- Paph with the flower;
- Current root situation;
- Some shots of the new pot;
- Greenhouse