paraphalaenopsis help

[Stelios]

I have a couple of paraphalaenopsis. Lately they both lost a couple of leaves and left with only 1-2
I made the error not to repot them when i got them (silly me)... so i was concerned when they lost their leaves and thought to repot so i could check the roots. I found out that the sphagnum was very tight. Horribly enough they have lost almost all their roots. They both just have one or two and only about an inch or so long.

What would you recommend to help them grow new roots?

[koshki]

Stelios, I've had good luck with Mike's recipe found here Phal Repotting & Media for repotting ailing phals.

The first one I put in this mix started growing new roots and leaves almost immediately. It really was nearly dead, with wilty leaves and all bad roots. I put it in this mix last August, and it's got a spike now.

The only real problem I've had with this mix is that if I let it go too long and it gets dry, the rootless phal can fall out right of the pot. This has happened to the spiking plant several times. Recently, I just tied it into the pot with fishing line. But the side benefit of it falling out is that I could see the growing roots on a regular basis!

[Hummer344]

I learned, the same as you, that phals, packed tight in sphag, just don't do well. I re-pot mine with a week or two of getting them home. I use a fir bark mix of my own with a little sphag in it. Some others use sphag for potting but in a much looser pack.

[kmarch]

Note that Stelios is not posting about phals (phalaenopsis) but rather about paraphalaenopsis, a completely different genus. There care is similar to that of a vanda though I understand they take lower light levels. They are intermediate to warm growers and, like a vanda, like a lot of humidity. The few I have seen in "real life" have all been grown in in pots (unlike vandas).

[delphiguy]

i think paraphalaenopsis is better mounted than potted imho due to its pendant growth.
I dont have one yet (too expensive), but i do have a seidenfadenia which has similar
growth habit. Apply rooting hormones to encourage new roots.

[Brooke]

Mount it - I grow mine in high light and temps 60 and above. If yours is seedling size, they are slow, slow, slow.

Brooke

[JLu]

Paraphalaenopsis labukensis has terete, pendant leaves up to 72 inches long. Ours are about 60 inches. I can't envision how you would deal with this in a pot. Mount seems the only choice to me.

They are indeed slow growers. I bought this one about 15 months ago as a mature plant. It has bloomed since and appears to be doing well. It was $100, but I guess it's at least 10 years old and probably more so the cost is pretty reasonable considering how long someone took care of it.

[ingse]

I bought a P. labukensis in april last year and it had no living roots. It was potted in spag. and did not look as if it was going to survive. It lost a few leafes and in august i mounted it and moved the plant in to a terrarium, it has been in there 6 months, and i water it two times a day and have a new leafe and the roots are looking good

[kmarch]

Originally Posted by JLu

I can't envision how you would deal with this in a pot. Mount seems the only choice to me.

None of the paraphalaenopsis I saw when I lived in Michigan were very big. The biggest one was about 3-3.5 feet and was staked up. I saw this one in flower a couple of times, the others were smaller, only about 18 inches or so.