Dormant Paphs?

[Or-Kidd]

Hi Everyone. I have just joined this forum and hope someone can help me with my question. My Maudie paphs seem to be dormant now that they are done blooming. I think they look healthy-no yellow leaves, no black spots, etc. but they haven't put out a new leaf in such a long time (like never). Any suggestions? I fertilize weakly weekly and new medium, medium light. What's up? Heidi

 

[Ross]

Welcome!

What part of the world do you live in? How long has it been since the flower faded? How long has it been since you repotted them? Sometimes Paphs grow to their own beat, putting out new growths quickly, while others take time to start new growths

 

[SlipperFan]

Welcome to Slippertalk, Heidi!

I''m sure you know that the old growths that have flowered do not produce new leaves, and that you've looked at the base of the plants to see if there is new growth anywhere. If that's all true, then all the above questions are good. Lots of people on this forum say that repotting Paphs seems to stimulate new growth.

 

[Eric Muehlbauer]

Maudiae's don't show any fixed growth pattern...they may bloom and immediately start a new growth....they may start 1 or more new growths well before the oldest growth is flowering, or they may pause for a year or more after flowering before starting a new growth. Not only that, but any single plant of Maudiae can show all of these growth patterns over a period of a few years. So if its otherwise healthy, just relax...it will grow in time.

 

[Or-Kidd]

So helpful!!

Wow, I really appreciate all the helpful advise. I guess I will have to relax and see what they do. I have repotted all of them very recently so I don't need to do that. My phrags are going to town with new growth but the Maudies are a different story. BTW Slipperfan, I live in Michigan also (Macomb Twp. to be exact). April has been kind to us and so far May has been mostly rainy. It allows me to collect enough rainwater to keep my orchids happy. Thanks again for the welcomes-I'm really glad to be here. Heidi

 

[NYEric]

Hmmmm, my post disappeared. Check the roots to make sure they're OK. Welcome from NYC.

 

[goldenrose]

:clap::clap:Welcome to ST!
Do you grow on the windowsill? under lights? supplement light? Plants definitely go somewhat dormant with the short winter days!

 

[Or-Kidd]

I grow on a shelf in front of a SE and SW window. I have them growing (or should I say not growing) in a bark, charcoal, perlite mix. Do you think I should try some other medium? One of the maudiae paphs I won in a raffle at the MI orchid society meeting. The poor little thing is all dry and dehydrated looking. It's leaves are scrawny and it looks malnourished or something. I can understand why this pathetic little guy isn't putting out new growth but neither are my healthy ones. Maybe I should sing to it! LOL

 

[Eric Muehlbauer]

Your media sounds just right....don't switch as long as the plants are OK....

 

[paphiness]

You may consider checking the roots on your maudiae paph that is scrawny/dehydrated. If the roots are rotted, then it would come as no surprise that the leaves appear dehydrated.

I tend to discount lack of fertilizer as the reason for your observed lack of growth. I think fertilizer gets invoked a lot as it's an "easy" culprit to reach for, and fixing it is a matter of mixing some stuff in your water.

I always look to water quality as my front-line consideration whenever someone has a struggling plant. If you do not have a water analysis available to you, I would suggest switching to distilled water for awhile, as that will enable you to eliminate a huge variable in your growing. It's kind of like reducing the problem to the least number of variables, and switching to distilled water for a couple of window-sill plants is cheap and easy. (Not so cheap or easy for large collections; an RO filter would make sense in that case.)

I've written about this on my website (http://paphinessorchids.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=20&Itemid=69), so the info there might be helpful.

You may also consider putting your plant in a humidity chamber, which can be as simple as a transparent storage box with your plant and some wet sphagnum inside. I've always found that using the purest water available and keeping humidity high works wonders on stressed out plants.

Hope that helps!

Best,

D.Y. Hung

 

[etex]

Before I got an RO system,I used 1/2 distilled and 1/2 dechlorinated tap water on many of my slippers. The tap water here is very hard.

 

[SlipperFan]

...BTW Slipperfan, I live in Michigan also (Macomb Twp. to be exact). April has been kind to us and so far May has been mostly rainy. It allows me to collect enough rainwater to keep my orchids happy...

I grow on a shelf in front of a SE and SW window. I have them growing (or should I say not growing) in a bark, charcoal, perlite mix. Do you think I should try some other medium? One of the maudiae paphs I won in a raffle at the MI orchid society meeting. The poor little thing is all dry and dehydrated looking. It's leaves are scrawny and it looks malnourished or something. I can understand why this pathetic little guy isn't putting out new growth but neither are my healthy ones. Maybe I should sing to it! LOL

This thread dropped out of my sight for awhile -- I'm glad it's back.
Are you a member of MOS? They are a great group, and have a great show in the Spring.

I agree with the others that the first thing you should do is take a look at the roots. They tell you why the plant is healthy or not. There are so many different kind of potting media that work for some and not for others that I wouldn't necessarily suggest trying a new media. If the roots are strong and healthy, then probably the plant isn't getting enough water. If the roots are dried up or mushy, then at some point it was getting too much water, couldn't breathe and so the roots rotted.

If you are still using rain water, I doubt if water quality is the issue. Good luck!