P. micranthum eburneum repot question

[W. Beetus]

Hi all,

I just took my micranthum eburneum HCC out of its pot and to my surprise, I found two runners heading towards the bottom of the pot. Last time when I had an armeniacum aureum with this problem, it had three runners and I just repotted it normally, but two of the runners died after that, and I had to cut a hole in the pot for the third one to come out of.

Should I just repot it normally and hope for the best? Should I cut holes now for the runners to poke out (Do judges take points off for such things? I am planning to go for one more point to get to an AM next blooming)?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated! Here is a picture too.

 

[ehanes7612]

repot on basket so the runners can emerge from the bottom

 

[Pete]

basket culture can be good. i have had success with stoloniferous Paphs lately by using wider shallower pots such as an ovesized bulb pan so that the growths can curve back up to the top easily, and it has worked well.
if your going to just use a normal pot I would suggest slightly holding or "aiming" the new growths upwards as you fill in the pot with media so they are at least pointed in the "right direction"

 

[Justin]

Regardless of the solution, you have a seriously healthy plant there!!!

 

[W. Beetus]

basket culture can be good. i have had success with stoloniferous Paphs lately by using wider shallower pots such as an ovesized bulb pan so that the growths can curve back up to the top easily, and it has worked well.
if your going to just use a normal pot I would suggest slightly holding or "aiming" the new growths upwards as you fill in the pot with media so they are at least pointed in the "right direction"

Thanks for the advice. I also emailed Tom Kalina, and he said that they should eventually reach the surface at some point if I just repotted it normally, so I was just extra careful when potting. I also did some sphagnum in the corner that they would most likely hit for some extra padding.

Basket culture has always interested me, and I had an armeniacum that way in a smaller pot, but the smaller baskets necessary would always dry out so quickly for me. I'll have to look at bulb pans for the next repot into a larger size.

Regardless of the solution, you have a seriously healthy plant there!!!

Thanks Justin! I try my best. This was a three growth plant that came from a 2.25" pot, and since I couldn't even imagine getting it back into a 2.25" I went up to a 3.25", and now the pot is almost as wide as the leafspan of the plant! It looks pretty overpotted on the surface!

I always get nervous when unpotting my parvi's because for some reason I think that they have no roots! But, they always seem to be quite vigorous when I get them out. Maybe I should give myself more credit sometimes?

 

[SlipperFan]

Have a look at this thread -- similar stoloniferous situation:
http://www.slippertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=17972&highlight=armeniacum

 

[Shiva]

My micranthum is in a very small pot. I need to look at the roots to see what's happening down there.

 

[Ernie]

I'd use a basket or pan (wide, shallow pot) and train those pups toward the sky a little. You can also make a custom basket with coated wire fence and line it with coco fibre then use your favorite mix inside.

 

[W. Beetus]

My micranthum is in a very small pot. I need to look at the roots to see what's happening down there.

I have always thought that micranthums have fairly weak root systems, so finding all of these healthy roots was quite a nice surprise.

I'd use a basket or pan (wide, shallow pot) and train those pups toward the sky a little. You can also make a custom basket with coated wire fence and line it with coco fibre then use your favorite mix inside.

I'll be on the lookout for any small pans for next year's repot. I have only seen fairly large ones. From the thread that Dot posted, the original poster said that when he tried micranthum in a basket, it just went into somewhat of a vegetative state. I think that I will wait to go to a basket with this one until I see others having success with micranthum in it.


P.S. This eburneum is the one in my avatar. It's one of the best I have seen.

 

[Eric Muehlbauer]

I have had problems with repotting stoloniferous paphs when I tried to correct their position. I think the correct advice was to repot them as they are, and let the plant take care of its own needs. However, a transparent pot would be helpful here.

 

[NYEric]

very good, good luck.

 

[John M]

However, a transparent pot would be helpful here.

I disagree. Orchids that make stolons end up rotting them in transparent pots. This happens with Disas as well. The stolons reach the clear side of the pot and sense the light. That makes them open up and leaf out, while underground(!); but, being down in the mix means that the leaves get bunched up and stay wet and soon rot. The stolon needs complete darkness so that it will continue to grow and search for daylight, which should only be at the top (if growing in a pot), where the spreading leaves will have room and be able to dry off after watering.

Nick, can you post a full size photo of your beautiful avatar, please?

 

[W. Beetus]

I disagree. Orchids that make stolons end up rotting them in transparent pots. This happens with Disas as well. The stolons reach the clear side of the pot and sense the light. That makes them open up and leaf out, while underground(!); but, being down in the mix means that the leaves get bunched up and stay wet and soon rot. The stolon needs complete darkness so that it will continue to grow and search for daylight, which should only be at the top (if growing in a pot), where the spreading leaves will have room and be able to dry off after watering.

Nick, can you post a full size photo of your beautiful avatar, please?

The avatar picture is the same one in my post from the judging forum, just lightened and cropped.

I'd like to think that I did the intelligent thing, but we will see. I potted it into a transparent pot, but then used the same size of pot in the dark green color. This would theoretically allow the stolons to grow uninterrupted without light, and also would allow myself to see how they are doing on occasion. I think I am going to use this setup for all my plants once I get some black pots.

Here is a picture:

 

[paphioboy]

Looks very cute... Hope it grows well..

 

[John M]

The avatar picture is the same one in my post from the judging forum, just lightened and cropped. Ah, yes! I just had another look. Gorgeous! I thought it odd that you had such a nice Paph that was recently awarded and you didn't post any photos. I did a search for any threads by you with the word micranthum; but, I only checked in the Paph gallery section....didn't think of the judging section. I see that when you posted the photo, I was drooling all over it then too!

I'd like to think that I did the intelligent thing, but we will see. I potted it into a transparent pot, but then used the same size of pot in the dark green color. This would theoretically allow the stolons to grow uninterrupted without light, and also would allow myself to see how they are doing on occasion. I think I am going to use this setup for all my plants once I get some black pots. I think you got that figured out pretty well. Of course, for plants that produce stolons, you might want to cover that top edge of the inner clear pot with some black electrical tape. The top rim that is exposed to light will transmit the light down to the depths of the pot, much like fibre optic lines transmit light along their length. This small amount of light (more of a slight glow, really), could still trigger a stolon to leaf out prematurely.