Will my Paph make it?

[Sara]

Well, I've had a Paph for less than a year now, and it's not doing so well. I'm afraid to admit that I haven't always watered it properly. The poor thing wilted and died, the new growth eventually (months later) wilted and died, and all that is left at the moment is a tiny new growth. I took it out of the pot, and found that most of its roots were hollow, and I also found a tiny snail. So I trimed the roots (all that's left is one root about 1.5" long) and squashed the snail. My question is, what do I do now and is there any hope? I may be able to post a pic tommorow.

[Anton]

Pray first of all.

Second, give yourself a slap on the wrist for being negligent.

Third get some bamboo skewers and place one in the pot and check it regularly as in every third day NOT two weekly or even weekly!!!!

Fourth check the Paph culture notes, print them out and FOLLOW them and promise me you won't be that negligent again. Tsk, tsk.

Orchids have feelings too...............

[pikevi]

Hi Sara.

I am sure someone will give you a specific answer. I have two Phals in the same plight. These two were found in the last batch of Phals I bought and they were potted along with 'healthy' orchids. When I repotted them I separated the rotting ones,trimmed almost 100% of the roots ( almost all the roots were too far gone) and potted them in a mix of sphag.,bark and coconut husk. I am still keeping them hoping they will survive. There are no leaves; just the stump.

If all else fail you could try that and hope for the best.

Anton is right. They need to be monitored closely for at least a few months if they are new additions.

Good luck.

[sandra]

Sara, I too have never been able to give my paphs exactly the right conditions. My last bud grew on a spike well over 12", the bud was huge and kept getting bigger, so I thought...until I went to check on it, touched it ever so slightly and the next thing I noticed, it was missing. I then noticed my kitty swatting something.....the bud! I am now growing all paphs in semi and straight hydroponics. There's nothing to think about when it comes to watering and you can't overwater using this method. I've noticed more growth and fast since switching over. It's a very simple, clean way of maintaining the plants as well. So far, I've seen nothing but positive results with it.

[Cynthia, Prescott, AZ]

If you only have a very short piece of root left, S/H is not for this plant yet. Paphs have traditionally been grown in a fine mix, as they are semi-terrestrial. I assume you have been growing in a medium bark or something similar, as that tiny snail, which is very bad news, means it has been able to move thru your mix, hence a chunky open mix. For the Paph, I would recommend something like fine bark, that will hold more water. You want the plant to get close to dry before watering, but never to dry out completely.

As for the snail, it is a bush snail, the curse of the orchid world. If you have other orchids growing in a chunky mix near by, you probably have them in those plants too. I would try a very small bowl of beer (stale if you have it to not be wasteful) sitting on the top of your potting mix in your plants that have the room to put it there, maybe even a thimble would work. Look for snails that drowned themselves in the beer. Or, you could try an apple slice facing down on the mix surface, and check it first thing in the morning (haven't tried this my self). If you have bush snails in your pots, do a search on snails on this forum for ways to get rid of them.

[Sara]

Forgive me for my ignorance, but what is S/H?
Yes, my Paph is in a medium/chunky medium and is what the grower had it in. When I dumped the paph out with the medium, I only saw the one snail (I know, there could be more!) I don't have any fine bark on hand, but would some African violet mix and a lot of peralite work? I think I have some cactus medium too. I'll try baiting for snails tonight to see if I have any more. I have an oncidium (in spike, yay!) and a dendrobium near my paph right now. The oncidium is in a simular mix to the paph, but the dendrobium is in a finer mix (it's a little one. Dendrobium 'Iki').
I'll post the results of my snail hunt in the morning.

[jay]

S/H is semi-hydroponic. If you look at the new forum pages there is a section dedicated to S/H.

Jay

[Sara]

About 3 hours ago, I found a second snail on my Paph. I then added some apple scraps (we made a pie today) to see what the population is like. Will report my findings in morning.

[Sara]

Well, I didn't find find any snails this morning. I'm not sure if that is a good thing or a bad thing. What do you guys think?

[Cynthia, Prescott, AZ]

The apple has to be a broad piece face down with some thickness to it to give the snails cover to hide there and I am thinking a depth to borough into. Also, a smooth slice would show any munching by them going on. This should probably be put on the Oncidium pot. The Den mix is probably too closed for then to move around in. However, since you have seen a second one, you may want to start reading up on snail remedies.

Don't use any regular houseplant potting mix. You can use the medium bark until you can find the fine. I have been using 3 parts small perlite to 2 parts Canadian peat, but I also use a combination systemic fungicide in my mix to avoid any fusarium wilt spores in the peat to be a problem for my plants. I think you should probably stick with commercial orchid mixes.

[Sara]

What I used for "bait" were apple cores rather than the peelings (about .75" by .75" square). The oncidium I have now is not a very large one (Tsiku Marguerite), so I don't know if I can really fit half an apple in the pot. So was what I used enough? If not, I'll try to use some half apples tonight

[Cynthia, Prescott, AZ]

Remember that I personally have not use this method yet. But I would think that a slice off the side just deep enough to give you a size that will fit on the pot. I think the key is to have the smooth sliced side down in good contact with the mix to give the snails a nice protected feel about staying there after eating (or at least eating off the smooth surface and leaving their munch marks behind, but I am guessing here, never having done this myself).

[Sara]

I don't think it's going to make it. The tiny growth as black spots and there is mold covering the bottom of the plant. I'm afraid there is no hope for it.