Quote:
Originally Posted by naoki
Yes, it is good to stick with things which works well for you. That's great you can grow P. sanderianum, so well. I killed my previous attempt (10 years ago). Current ones are growing slowly compared with other paphs.
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Naoki, sorry to hear that your first sandie didn't make it...but in these situations I like to remind myself that there are a lot of factors involved before the plant even gets to you. Who knows what kind of conditions it was subjected to before you purchased it? I've had orchids show up at my door that looked perfect, only to find upon further inspection that the entire root structure was rotted, or that they were infested with bugs. Now I take everything out of its pot right away and look at what's going on underneath before I install the plant next to the rest of the clan.
Sometimes an orchid is just doomed before it even gets to you...don't be too hard on yourself.
As far as the slow-growing issue, have you thought about possibly giving it a bit more light? Mine is the closest to the window of all my paphs, and it gets direct sun on its leaves for a short while every afternoon. It seems to really like it. I think paphs in general can tolerate more sun than they are given credit for. And fortunately, with sunlight levels, you can tell pretty quickly if your orchid doesn't like it, so you can easily give it less light as soon as you see any signs of trouble and it should recover just fine.
Thanks for the info about where to get the limestone and crushed shells! Although I have to admit the idea of smashing oysters in my kitchen was starting to sound like a bit of fun....hehee....
If my sandie starts looking sluggish I'll definitely get some oysters or limestone. And, actually, I just remembered that I need to get some oyster shells anyway for a Dendrobium Green Lantern that's not particularly happy. When I contacted the seller, he said the plant is a heavy feeder that needs calcium. So there you go...I'm off to buy some crushed oysters...or have a smashing party in my kitchen.... I suppose it depends on my mood at the end of a day of watching 2 toddlers....
Happy growing!
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