Growing multi floral Paphs indoors.

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Alan Bowen

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I have decided to begin growing multi floral Paphs again, after an absence of almost 5-years. Different home now, different exposures and conditions. Light is not a problem, nor is humidity, however I have a concern over temps, as multiflorals are rather specific in their temp conditions. I have Paph. philippenense, Lady Isabel, gardineri, haynaldianum x roth, James Booth. How does everyone fair with growing their multiflorals indoors?
 
If you can devote a small room to them where you can keep them at a steady 85-90° day /70° night, save for a few weeks of chill to set buds, they will grow faster than they do in a greenhouse.
 
I've got some on a South-East facing windowsill. They've only been there for a year since I restarted growing Paphs but they seem to be doing well. I'm hoping for a flower or two this year!
 
If you can devote a small room to them where you can keep them at a steady 85-90° day /70° night, save for a few weeks of chill to set buds, they will grow faster than they do in a greenhouse.

Maybe temperature is the key factor. I've got a few of these multis, most of them are growing really slow. Temperatures are around 70°F / 20°C. Probably it's simply to cold. But: When plants are well established (and this can take a year or more), they are getting faster. Not really fast, but faster. And: Not far away from here there is an old nursery (Lemförder Orchideenzucht), specialized in Paphs and Phrags, and they have there multiflorous Paphs (including roth, stonei, philippense, lowii) with 65°F / 18°C daily winter temperatures, and the plants are growing vigorous.

Maybe it's also a question of a right choice. Here it is said that parishii and, even more, dianthum are satisfied with intermediate temperatures. The laevigatum-type of philippinense might also agree with 70°F. But this is not the result of my own experience, I just was told about this.
 
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I grow my multiflorals in my livingroom on shelves. The temp never drops under 20°C. In Winter it is 20 - 27°C in summer it is 25 - 37°C (at 37° it is too hot and the growth is stagnating).
At a south facing window they get lots of light, only humidity is probably sometimes too low at 30 - 80%.
My paphs are mostly from Asendorf.
 
The Paphs are in front of the window which faces SE, they are also under grow lights. The temps are usually 68-70F and the humidity is 74-75%. I'm hoping that I can get my Paphs to bloom.
 
Mine have been happy for going on 3 years in south facing windows. I water with RO and Ray’s k-lite, once or twice a week. The temperatures have a real Chicago seasonality, with fall temps dropping into the high 50s at night until I turn on the heat after Halloween and even then, they probably stay there at night because the plants grow right in the window. The windows are also drafty. In winter, I tend to mist over the plants, just a couple-few spritzes, every morning. I don’t think the humidity is really high enough but I guess it works. I think philppinense needs higher humidity. Until I put it in an open terrarium, it was declining. Now it has nice growth, which makes me so happy because it’s an Orchid Zone breeding stock plant.
 
Mine are watered twice a week with tab water (240 µS), once a week they get fertilizer added up to 600 µS 20-5-10.
For humidity I guess that there are microklimata between the plants with a higher humidity than mesured. I grow Amorphophallus species with my Paphs with masses of leaves. Unfortunately that created lots of schade...
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As someone said above, it depends on what you have. I'm sure most will adapt to varying degrees, but based on what I read about the habitat info, parishii and wilhelminae prefer cooler side while others like stonei prefer constant warm (not hot) conditions.
Rothschildianum goes through a cool period before blooming season, but otherwise will take warm temperature.

I have a few hybrids (most are half anitum and a mix of roth and stonei or philippinense). I also have a gardinerii and its hybrid, and lowii & haynaldianum. Most are large near bloom size seedlings grown under T8 in the last few years. The temperature is always around low to high 70sF.
I find that they are robust growers. Very good at growing roots filling up the pot. I find watering extra important for this group. They seem always thirsty.
 
My winter growing area experiences lows between 60-65F. My multiflorals slow significantly in the winter. Then pick up growths as the weather warms.

My winter temps aren't causes problems like disease or plant decline. However, my multis are going to take double the time for growths to mature at this rate. This winter my smaller seedlings when into an incubator with a heating pad underneath. This set up seems to be helping them continue to grow in the winter. Next winter I will figure something out for my blooming and near blooming size multis
 
Before I had a greenhouse, my P. philippinense flowered best if I put them outside in summer. They sat beside Euphorbia and Pachypodium in conditions that would burn a cattleya to a crisp--full sun in North Carolina. Probably wouldn't be good for species and hybrids that like a little more shade, but phils are tough. I assume it was a combination of light intensity and daily temperature fluctuation that did the trick.
 
I just ordered a console Humidifier which will definitely get my Humidity levels to where they need to be for my Paphs.
All of my paphs. are large BS double-growth plants. 3 of them are in spike/bud (they came that way). I seem to have good overnight Temps/Humidity (64F and 31% humidity) and my heater helps with daytime temps.
 
I have decided to begin growing multi floral Paphs again, after an absence of almost 5-years. Different home now, different exposures and conditions. Light is not a problem, nor is humidity, however I have a concern over temps, as multiflorals are rather specific in their temp conditions. I have Paph. philippenense, Lady Isabel, gardineri, haynaldianum x roth, James Booth. How does everyone fair with growing their multiflorals indoors?
I am growing in a south window in Chicago. No air conditioning. I mist most mornings with RO around the plants, water about twice a week. Roth bloomed first time after two years (a one-growth division). Tagless mystery multi (I think it’s going to end up being something like St. Swithin) threw a bud but blasted this year; plant looks great, two new robust growths. They aren’t multis but Paph. Mystic Isle and Paph. niveum, as well as Paph. purpuratum, grown in the same conditions, have both flowered as doubles. In the heat of summer, it can help to sink the plant’s pot into a clay pot, then that into a larger clay pot, filling in the gaps with good sphagnum that you keep wet, producing a cooling evaporative effect.
 
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I have a Prime Child and Michael Koopowitz growing in an east-facing window here in Colorado since October. Daytime is around 20C/70F and lows get to 15C/60F and humidity is 30%. I fertilize with 1/6 teaspoon of K-lite/gallon on the weekends and flush the pots well when watering. Both seem to be coming along fine, with new roots visible along the sides of the plastic pots and new growths emerging for both plants. I've had both of these plants for 5 years and have grown them in hot, humid conditions before, so I didn't know how they would do in a cool, dry, indoor environment. So far I am pleasantly surprised.
 
I find a good day / night temp fluctuation and balanced fertilizer with cal mag does my multis very good!! I mix my fertilizer in ro water...sometimes I have to buffer it to 5.5 - 6.0
 

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