my 1st paph..need culture help, please
 

Hi,
I rec'd a Paph Urbanianum today. Could someone who is familiar with it please give me culture advice? Since I've never grown a Paph before, I don't even know the basics, so I would appreciate any general tips, also.
Vicki

That's a really nice looking plant, I love those leaves.
I only have paphs so am far from an expert but I am bumping this in hopes someone will chime in.
Joann

Zoi2
 

Thank you!
Vicki

i cant help, but i am sure interested in the answer!

help
 

Let's keep our fingers crossed that someone comes along to help us!

..

I am sure others with more Paph experience will chime in - but just wanted to get you started a bit - if my light info or temperature info aren't correct I am sure someone will point that out lol

Mine have been doing pretty well so far - one's blooming, so guess I am doing ok. I have them in shady east and west windows.

Nice looking plant Vicki. I'm hardly a Paph. expert but I'm growing and blooming several from different sections.

In my growing condtions they dry out very quickly so a clay pot would never work for me. Clear plastic pots not only allow me to keep track of the roots but they hold moisture longer. Paphs do not like to go completely dry ever. They can take quite a bit more light than most people think. Mine are growing in a southwest bay window with supplemental T5 lighting.

Some of the strap leaf varieties like a little extra calcium. You can buy chicken scratch at a feed store for super cheap. It's just crushed oyster shells. Sprinkle that on top of the medium and it will slowy leach calcium down into the pot. Paph. urbanianum is from the Barbata section but I'm not sure if it's a calcium lover or not.

I have my Paph's in a bright North window sill, in perlite and fir bark, they were in spag when purchased.
They have tripled in size, with two watering a week. One with Fert. and seaweed and one without. They are varg leaves and make a pretty plant even without flower, but the flowers lasted three months. They are such a beautiful orchid.

WhiteRabbit
 

How much light do you think yours are getting? I know, it's probably hard to say. When I surfed around looking for info. about Paphs in general, I saw contridictions (that's not uncommon for the internet, you know)....one site said 800-1000 footcandles of light, another site said 1000-1500 fc., etc. I read that they can take more light than some people think (like in a greenhouse) and then I would read the opposite, and several sites just spoke of certain windows that would be best. Same for temperature. I looked around here at other threads, too, so I tried to find out more before I asked this question.

Thanks for your reply and help. I'm glad yours are doing good.
Vicki