new to Paph

[Catcym]

Hi all, I am new to Paph. This is my second Paph. The first one was killed cause its media was not suitable to raise in my house. The root was rotten soon after.
This one's media is bark. Hey It survived a year in my house.

Now questions are:
1. How do I get it re-bloom.
2. It is normal for old growth to die to have room for new growth.
The Name from the pot is Paph Lawrenceanum X ruby Sands
Thanks for any feedbacks !

[articuno75]

Hi Catcym

It is not normal for the older growth to die on your Paph. You said that you've had it for a year, have you repotted it since? Paphs like fresh medium every 6 months to one year. You might need to do a repot and check the roots for onstages of rot. Wait for more members to give advice, especially Kmarch. He's the Paph guru. He can also give some rebloom pointers too.

[Catcym]

Hi articuno ,

I bought it in March/2007 with two buds and repotted w 20% perlite and rest of fine bark in the same pot. So it is little over a year now that I haven't repot it. The new growth seemed to me is smaller than the old ones. I don't often fertilize

[myorchid]

I fertilize my paphs, with a weak solution of fertilizer weekly. You probably need to take it out of the pot and check the roots. My repot mix is fine bark with perlite.
I have never had the old growth die out. That part of the plant may have rotten roots.

What kind of light do they have? How often do you water?

[Catcym]

It received filtered sunlight 1 foot away from west window. watered 6 days apart in Summer and 12 days in winter last year. Now it is on 12 days schedule since 2008.

[myorchid]

too much light maybe? Mine green leafed ones are on an east facing windowsill and the mottled leaf ones are about 10 feet from an east facing window, and below a sky light.

[berkeleysgr8]

Hmmm... surely someone has better answers than me (I only have one Paph, a "Eureka" x Paph Raisin Pie "Hsinying"). I thought I read something recently about the importance of adding Epsom salt (1 tsp? per gallon) along with your fertilizer for Magnesium... and that some Paphs also need oyster shell or lime pellets? To make things more confusing, the type of Paph is important in determining if they need a more base growing media. Hopefully Kmarch can be more specific.

I was recently looking into expanding my Paph collection with a small compot of one of the looooong petaled types... but then I scared myself off by trying to figure out if I had the right growing conditions. Maybe one of our Paph experts can make Paph growing seem more approachable!

[Orchidementia]

Originally Posted by berkeleysgr8

Hmmm... surely someone has better answers than me (I only have one Paph, a "Eureka" x Paph Raisin Pie "Hsinying").

I have no better answers, but I do have a Raisin Pie "Hsinying" x Supersuk "Eureka" too!

[kmarch]

Originally Posted by Catcym

Now questions are:
1. How do I get it re-bloom?

Give it good culture and be patient. If you do not yet have one, get a good Paph culture sheet like the one given out by the AOS AOS | Home or the one on this forum.

Originally Posted by Catcym

The Name from the pot is Paph Lawrenceanum X ruby Sands
Thanks for any feedbacks !

I need to correct the name. Paph lawrencianum is a species (found in nature) and therefore the second part of the name is not capitalized. Paph Ruby Sands is a hybrid, therefore the entire name is capitalized.

You have what we call a "mottle-leaf paph" more specifically a Maudiae-type. They take low to medium light (which makes them ideal for in-home growing), intermediate temperatures, and they like to be kept gently and evenly moist. Never allow them to dry out.

Paphs must have a fresh environment and so they are typically repotted every year to keep the medium fresh. They also do best with good air circulation.

Originally Posted by Catcym

2. It is normal for old growth to die to have room for new growth.

It is not necessary for the old growth do die off to make room for a new growth. New growths sometimes start while the mature growth is still in bloom. Paphs start new growth at approximately the same time they bloom so if you see a new growth starting, also look for a spike. If your Paph is starting to spike, keep an eye out for new growths at the base of the plant.

Old growths will eventually die off but they usually hang on for several years before they loose their leaves.

[SShide77]

Kmarch--where will a new spike on a paph form? I have a new growth emerging, but dont think i see any spike yet, how long does it usually take?

[kmarch]

Paphs spike from the crown.

-------------------

It is a myth that Paphs are difficult or particular or a mystery to grow. They are among the easiest orchids I have ever grown. The vast majority of them are well suited to in-home growing with the light and temps you find in most homes. If you can grow a Phal you can probably grow a Paph much better.

[berkeleysgr8]

Originally Posted by kmarch

If you can grow a Phal you can probably grow a Paph much better.

Oh darn... I might have to buy MORE orchids!

[articuno75]

Originally Posted by berkeleysgr8

Hmmm... surely someone has better answers than me (I only have one Paph, a "Eureka" x Paph Raisin Pie "Hsinying"). I thought I read something recently about the importance of adding Epsom salt (1 tsp? per gallon) along with your fertilizer for Magnesium... and that some Paphs also need oyster shell or lime pellets? To make things more confusing, the type of Paph is important in determining if they need a more base growing media. Hopefully Kmarch can be more specific.

I was recently looking into expanding my Paph collection with a small compot of one of the looooong petaled types... but then I scared myself off by trying to figure out if I had the right growing conditions. Maybe one of our Paph experts can make Paph growing seem more approachable!

I've never heard of this. If Paphs were to grow in a base type medium, then to add lime pellets to it....That would defeat the purpose by bringing the Ph to neutral or making it more acidic, one of the two. As for the oyster shell, isn't that a way of adding more calcium to the mix? Magnesium is considered a bloom booster. I don't think you would want to add that until at least the onset of a spike. I don't add anything to the Paphs that I have (except for wormtea and normal fertilizer) and my Ho Chi Minh is spitting new leaves and what appears to be a new growth.