new Pathophylum

[dionysus]

i recently bought a path orchid and my cat decided to takea few bites out of it. it was a few months ago, but it is surviving. i have it situated in a terrarium. it has no direct sun, but lots of sun light. i am also leaving for seven weeks.any suggestions?

[kmarch]

Dear dionysus,

Hello, and welcome to the forum!

I suspect you mean Paphiopedilum? If so, your plant will probably recover from being a cat chew if the crown and roots were not too heavily damaged. i've had quite a few Paphs get chewed on by one of our cats.

Although I have never grown Paphs in a terrarium, I have know a few who have done so successfully and have even bloomed them in the terrarium. It's been a long time since I've grown anythingat all ina terrarium but as i recall when i did, I only watered about once a month as the enclosed environment reduced the need to water. How often do you water the Paph in your terrarium? Depending on the answer to that question you may be able to leave ti for 7 weeks with no problem or you may need a plant sitter.

-K

[pikevi]

Welcome to the forum, dionysus.

[jerrymeola]

Paphs do not like to dry out, that is why it is a good candidate for a terrarium.

You run two problems when leaving it for 7 weeks. If you have the terrarium too open it can dry out and if too closed it can generate fungus.

I would water it good one time and see how long you can go before it starts to dry out. Hopefully you have enough time to experiment at least once before you leave.

It is difficult to get someone to house sit a terrarium. Unless they are experienced with a terrarium they can easily over water.

Given the choice of too much or too little water, I would err on the side of too little and let it dry out some. Plants recover easier from drying then from rot. I would move it to a darker area and cooler if possible. Both conditions will retain water longer.

[dionysus]

thank you, what about fertalizers?