Paph niveum Rootless

[nheidar]

Hi all,

I bought a compot of 5 paph niveum this past October of 2009. They seemed to be doing alright-- growing slowly, though. Many are still quite tiny, but a couple have leaves about 2-3 inches long.

Recently, I tried to separate 3 of the paphs that were in the same pot (I already had separated two from the compot). It turns out that they were so attached to each other, and I'm not exactly sure how I managed it, but the bottom line is that now none of the three have roots!

I've tried sphag-n-bag, but to no avail. I end up getting mold, and several of the leaves have died as a result. I don't expect to get all three back, but there is one rootless paph that seems large enough to be able to hang on to life for long enough to grow new roots.

Sphag-n-bag just doesn't work for me -- even if i leave some room open in the bag for air flow. (The orchids are NOT in contact with the sphag.)

Do you think it's possible that, if I "pot up" the orchids in s/h, new roots will form? I would be tempted to try this, and close a bag around the pot to keep in humidity, except for the fact that I have a recurring mold problem when it comes to orchids in bags. Has anyone had any success in orchids growing new roots merely by having the bottom of the orchid humid? Or do you think that contact with s/h media would result in rot?

Since it's near the end of many of these paphs' lives, I may end up just trying s/h anyway.

I know that many people have had bad experiences with certain Paphs in s/h, so has anyone tried paph niveum in s/h? I'd like to know since the surviving members of the compot are not doing fantastic in bark (though they are doing much better compared to their rootless counterparts).

Thanks

Natasha

[kmarch]

When I have a rootless paph on my hands I gently (not tightly) wrap damp sphagnum moss around the base of the plant, stick it in a pot and try my best to give it excellent paph conditions. I have not had good success with the sphag and bag method for paphs for the very reasons you have discovered yourself. As you've found out paphs don't divide quite like other orchids as it's often the case that new growths do not have their own root system.

[mayres]

I can't speak specifically to niveum, BUT I have had really good fortune rerooting several paphs that had absolutely ZERO roots by potting them up in a small pot of coir & perlite media. Good luck!

[grandmapenguin]

Someone mentioned in an earlier post when I asked a similar question to put a baggy around the pot but let the leaves stick out.
Thanks for the Perlite suggestion.
Terry

[nheidar]

thanks for all the suggestions, everyone! i will keep you all posted about this!

Natasha

[Bolero]

I have had some success rescuing some paphs that are now doing well. I do what Kevin said and put some moss around the base of the plants and try to give it good conditions. My potting medium is bark, perlite and charcoal and this combined with the small amount of moss will eventually yield results. I managed to lose the roots by not having a mix that drained well enough at the time which then rotted the roots away. They recover is the mix is well draining along with good temps etc.