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05-12-2007, 07:40 AM
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| Repotting Paphs Well the time has come i feel when i must repot my Paph. It is quite a beast in my eyes, and is one of my best plants. But i really fear that it is getting too big for its pot, and more importantly, the medium is breaking down. It has put out strong growth, but no flowers yet. I think it would be best to get it repotted before it tries to flower. now i am really really really scared about repotting, as my skills at it are awful. If anyone could give me tips on doing it, and the best medium for a paph i would be most greatful       |
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05-12-2007, 09:00 AM
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| Tom, Nothing to worry. In my experience Paphs take quite well to repotting as they like fresh mix. Give it a good watering or let it soak for a while if it feels tight or stuck in the pot. Then pull it out of the pot and let go whatever mix falls away. Give the roots a bit of a rinse an some more mix will probably come off. Don't pull mix off the roots, if it sticks leave it. Just like with all your other orchids, feel the roots and remove any that are mushy. Paph roots are, well...thick and furry, but they are still firm when healthy and mushy when rotten. Choose the smallest pot which can comfortably accomodate the roots. We don't want to over pot. I very frequently find myself using the same size pot I took the plant out of. Hold the crown of the plant centered with one hand, allowing the root to hang down/spread out below, and start adding mix with the other. Every once in a while, bang the pot on the table to settle the mix. Just keep going like this until the mix is up approximately 1cm above where the roots connect to the plant. The plant should feel secure in the pot and should not be wobbly. Paphs like to be constantly evenly and gently moist at all times, never dry or soggy so whatever mix will help you maintain this given your conditions and watering habits is what you should use. I use a mix of medium bark, medium coir chips, medium perilite, and medium chacoal, to which I add some chopped sphagnum, a bit of ground peat, and if I have it avaliable, osme coarse sand and some shredded oak leaves. That should do it. Let me know how it goes for you. |
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05-12-2007, 09:33 AM
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| i havent got tht nd of range of mix, so i used some large bark pieces at the bottom, then a mix of orchid compost and small bark. i will be monitoring this with the stick in the soil technique thing i used a slightly big pot as the roots were growing so well, and there are new growths too, but this extra space outward is less than half an inch. i will get a picture up as soon as the rain will stop  |
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05-12-2007, 09:45 AM
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| Why would you be suprised to find one of your plants is happy and growing well? The plant looks great and the roots look very happy and vigorous. Good for you! Whatever you're doing for it, keep doing it! What kind of Paph is it? You might find you have to get more Paphs if you grow them this well. |
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05-12-2007, 09:49 AM
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| Its a noid im afraid  I've had it over a year now, just sits in the half shade and likes abit of water. Hoping for some god flowers though, last year it had a red and yellow thing. never seen it anywhere else. I think i have an old photo of the flower somewhere. |
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05-12-2007, 10:02 AM
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| very cool flower tom. kmarch - I read somewhere that Paphs prefer to be potted in clay pots rather than plastic pots. And in a pot where they can stay for a couple of years. Is it true? Does it make a difference? 3 of my paphs are in 4" plastic and I was thinking of repotting when they finish blooming. What do you suggest Mr. Paph Pro? |
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05-12-2007, 10:44 AM
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| The choice of pot has everything to do with a growers' conditions and watering habits and little to do with the plant. Paphs like a fresh, clean environment with gentle, even moisture constantly available at their roots. The plant actually doesn't care what we do, use clay or plastic pots, or even an old boot; water every day or every other week; just as long as it gets what it likes. For the grower who wrote what you read, clay may very well be the best. It may not necessarily be the best for me or you. Given my conditions and habits, I find maintaining the even moisture that Paphs like easier if I use plastic pots. I find clay pots dry out too fast for my liking. Also I find I have less repotting root damage with plastic as the thick, furry Paph roots really grab hold of a clay pot and they do not seem to stick as hard to plastic. I have read a couple of online culture sheets that say repot Paphs every 2 years. I disagree and recommend repotting every year. I repot every Paph every year after blooming (for those that are blooming size). I like to use quite a bit of organic material in my Paph mix (sphag, peat, oak leaves), which of course rots, so I suppose if someone used a mix that broke down very slowly, they could probably go longer before repotting. I don't like to repot in the middle of summer (hot) but that may just be my preference, I'm not sure. When were your 3 blooming Paphs last repotted? If it was a year or more ago, I'd repot after the bloom is finished. I often find myself potting my Paphs in the same size pot I just pulled them out of. I prefer to use a pot only just big enough to comfortably accomodate the roots. Same as with Phals, overpotting puts you at risk for root rot. What kind of mix do you use? How often do you water? and What are your conditions like? |
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05-12-2007, 11:20 AM
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| Tom, I think your Paph is most likely Paph Prime Child (primulinum x rothschildianum). I have linked to several pics for comparison: Paph Prime Child 1 Paph Prime Child 2 Paph Prime Child 3 Paph Prime Child 4 Keep in mind the pics I have linked to depict flowers of a fairly high quality (award potential) so they are more symetrical and tidy than a typical flower we might find in one of our collections. Another possibility is Paph Transvaal (chamberlianum x rothschildianum) although I want to say I think this is less likely simply because Paph Prime Child is much more common than Paph Transvaal but i do not know if that is the case in the UK. It certainly is here in Australia. I more careful staminode analysis might shed some light on it. Where did you buy it? Of course, while I am reasonably sure (maybe about 75% sure), we couldn't be 100% positive without a DNA analysis. It could very well bloom better next time around which will make identification easier. Cheers |
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05-12-2007, 10:01 PM
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| Hi Tom, Yes I think there's a good chance there's roth in it. I say this based on: 1) markings in the dorsal 2) the long-ish staminode 3) veining in the pouch 4) the spot-stripes in the petals (pic of roth showing these spot-stripes clearly) The plant size looks to be pretty big too and roths are big plants. |
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05-13-2007, 04:31 AM
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| That is a beauty i hope i can do min justice. I fear i may have overpotted, though the bottom is full of stones and big bark. i am going to keep a close eye on it, but really ithink it just means i dont have to water it as much. I just couldnt get all the roots in a smaller pot!I didnt realise that paphs only flower once on a growth. as in, they have to put out a new growth with all the leaves so as to make a flower stem. This beauty has two nice growths, and a smaller one  this year could be great if i can keep it alive! |
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05-13-2007, 05:10 AM
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05-16-2007, 01:03 PM
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| The bark finally came today so i repotted it The pot is pretty large but it was the smallest i could get that that could hold the roots, but give them about of space to grow more. I've tried to have the new growth in the middle of the pot. The bark is bigger than what it was in before, but i will be watering regularly and keeping an eye on it. |
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05-16-2007, 03:47 PM
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| I changed from large bark pieces to some stones in the bottom, and then used a medium bark to fill in around the roots. I think it will need quite frequent watering for this, i will see how it goes. Due to the amount of roots, i decided to use a larger pot, it gives just under half an inch of space between the roots and the pot. |
