paph armeniacum experiment

[cnycharles]

How cold is that "really cold"??? Thanks...

here's an excerpt from Charles and Margaret Baker's culture sheet for paph armeniacum (sheets can be downloaded via subscription from http://www.orchidculture.com)
CLIMATE: Station #56748, Pao-Shan, China, Lat. 25.1N, Long. 99.2E, at 5554
ft. (1693 m). Temperatures are calculated for an elevation of 6550 ft.
(2000 m), resulting in probable extremes of 87F (30C) and 25F (-4C).

N/HEMISPHERE JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUN JUL AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC
F AVG MAX -- - 59 60 67 - 73 74 75 - 74 --74 73 -70 64 -- 60
F AVG MIN -- - 32 36 40 - 46 55 61 -62 -- 61 57 - 52 40 - 34
DIURNAL RANGE 27 24 27 27 19 14 12 13 16 18 24 26
RAIN/INCHES 1.2 1.4 1.8 1.4 4.2 5.4 6.1 5.7 3.9 3.9 1.1 0.3
HUMIDITY/% 65 66 61 60 68 75 82 83 79 79 72 71
BLOOM SEASON * * * *
DAYS CLR @ 7AM 23 15 17 14 9 3 1 1 5 7 19 20
DAYS CLR @ 1PM 19 9 13 6 3 0 0 1 2 5 16 19
RAIN/MM 30 36 46 36 107 137 155 145 99 99 28 8
C AVG MAX --- 15.0 15.6 19.4 22.8 23.3 24.0 23.4 23.3 22.8 21.1 17.8 15.6
C AVG MIN --- 0.0 2.1 4.3 7.6 12.6 16.0 16.5 16.0 13.7 11.0 4.3 1.0
DIURNAL RANGE 15.0 13.5 15.1 15.2 10.7 8.0 6.9 7.3 9.1 10.1 13.5 14.6
S/HEMISPHERE JUL AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUN

Cultural Recommendations:

LIGHT: 1800-2500 fc. Paphiopedilum armeniacum is healthiest with bright,
diffused light. It should not be exposed to direct sun, and strong air
movement should be provided at all times. Plants thrive when placed in the
strong, cool, moist airflow near the outlet of an evaporative cooler.

TEMPERATURES: Summer days average 75-75F (23-24C), and nights average
61-62F (16-17C), with a diurnal range of 12-14F (7-8C).



hope that helps!

I couldn't get the columns to line up for easy reading, but if you look carefully you can get the idea...

 

[biothanasis]

That is great info cnycharles!!!!!! Thanks yo so much!!!...

 

[cnycharles]

you are welcome!

 

[Eric Muehlbauer]

I've always kept my armeniacums and micranthums cold...they stay outdoors until the temps are well into the 30's (I once had a micranthum covered in snow..no harm). My cold room is usually in the 50's on winter nights, but can drop to the low 40's during cold spells...and I give armeniacum full southern sun in the winter, up against the glass. Can't bloom either one.......Take care, Eric

 

[cnycharles]

threaten to feed them to your hermit crab! maybe they just need some incentive....

 

[Rick]

My first run of armeniacum and micranthum was in slat baskets lined with limestone and sheet moss, and using a CHC based mix w/oyster shell. Live moss took over pretty fast and the plants thrived and bloomed over a couple of years. But my summers the last couple of years have been getting into the high 80's and low 90's in the GH, even with the first year of the wet pad, and both plants came down with Erwinia, and went away one growth at a time until there was none

I've rebooted both species, and moved the armeniacums back into a slat basket like I did last time this summer. So far no rots, and lots of stolons all over. The micranthum is still potted fairly normally and bloomed this past spring. It has pushed up a new growth or two since it bloomed. Its in a standard bark mix, but I have been top dressing with oyster shell and bone meal.

I'm using allot more bone meal now, and they are in much shadier spots closer to the wet pad this past summer, so maybe that kept them a bit cooler.

 

[SlipperKing]

My armeniacum set up

This first one was a single growth from Ebay w/bud which blasted, bought in late spring 08. The arrow points to the orginal growth. These where the smallest baskets I could get, 10 inches. Coconut fiber lined with med bark, CHC, sponge rock, charcoal and oyster shell (chicken grit). It's now 4 growth.

The next armeniacum was bought late summer 08 from Ebay, one of our ST member. This is the old rusty basket lined with moss, same mix. As you can see it has grown a bunch. It is now 11 inch NS. No stolens that I can see. It does dry out faster then the first one.

The last setup is of 3 seedlings from different sources. Plastic basket w/moss on the outer area and the same mix in the middle. One plant is acturally a stolen from an old declining plant that a friend pasted onto me. So far it is holding it's own (it's very hard to see)

I hope this will help other members

 

[biothanasis]

Thank you for the photos Rick...! Now I must get some carcoal!!!!

 

[cnycharles]

it's interesting to see that you have them in a mix with large chc's. when I first had a bunch of seedlings from jim rice orchids, I had all six or so in an oval planter with all large chc's. they all declined except for the remaining one, but I may not have known about vigorous chip washing, and probably needed media amendments to keep things in better shape. the top media where the plant crowns and emerging roots would always be dry because of the large pore space on the surface, and the underneath would be very wet. plus they may have had some lingering infection from before

 

[SlipperKing]

it's interesting to see that you have them in a mix with large chc's. when I first had a bunch of seedlings from jim rice orchids, I had all six or so in an oval planter with all large chc's. they all declined except for the remaining one, but I may not have known about vigorous chip washing, and probably needed media amendments to keep things in better shape. the top media where the plant crowns and emerging roots would always be dry because of the large pore space on the surface, and the underneath would be very wet. plus they may have had some lingering infection from before

I think what you have discribed Charles, dry tops and soggy bottoms is why this basket culture works for armeniacum. I have not tried this with other Parvis. Also, I find the best way for me to keep Parvis/ brachys alive is by having allot of inert things in the mix/pot, like limestone rocks etc.
I had a friend that wanted me to breed with his Psyche, a blooming 4 growth plant. He passed it on to me for safe keeping and to my surprise it was growing in nothing more then white styroform peanuts! No mix at all. It had all washed out at some point. I finally got a div. which quickly died in my bark mix!

 

[Candace]

I have an armeniacum in low bud right now. I bought it as a small seedling and have grown it in s/h for many years. I transfered it a few months ago to a chc mix as the leca was starting to look bad.

I think these grow so slow as it is that I don't want to slow them down any further by unnecessary freezing temps. Yes, they can certainly handle the cold, but don't have to have it to bloom. Maybe, if I had a reluctant clone, I may stick it out in cooler temps for a couple weeks, but I wouldn't grow them cold as a habit. My low temp. this year in the g.h. has been 57 degrees at night and it's in bud. I'll keep fingers crossed that it doesn't take 6 mos. to bloom or blast.

 

[SlipperKing]

I think these grow so slow as it is that I don't want to slow them down any further by unnecessary

I'd have to disagree with you on this point. Mine went from 1 growth to 4 in less then a yr. No bud yet but still that can be coming.

 

[cnycharles]

ouch. thanks for the info and pics!

 

[Rick]

I think what you have discribed Charles, dry tops and soggy bottoms is why this basket culture works for armeniacum. I have not tried this with other Parvis. Also, I find the best way for me to keep Parvis/ brachys alive is by having allot of inert things in the mix/pot, like limestone rocks etc.
I had a friend that wanted me to breed with his Psyche, a blooming 4 growth plant. He passed it on to me for safe keeping and to my surprise it was growing in nothing more then white styroform peanuts! No mix at all. It had all washed out at some point. I finally got a div. which quickly died in my bark mix!

The dry top and soggy bottom syndrome may be a reason why some people have general problems with CHC. If your air humidity is lower than 60% the CHC always looks "too dry" and you generally over water to compensate. While the bottom of the pot will be sopping wet, and rot the roots off.

In the meantime with low air humidity conditions, the plant is pumping hard loosing water through the leaves, making water uptake through the roots crucial (which I don't think paphs like to do).

I agree with you Rick that happy parvis will grow pretty quickly.

By the way, is chicken grit crushed limestone? I live near a couple of limestone quarries. I may pick up some crusher run, and substitute my oyster shell use with it.

 

[cnycharles]

The dry top and soggy bottom syndrome may be a reason why some people have general problems with CHC. If your air humidity is lower than 60% the CHC always looks "too dry" and you generally over water to compensate. While the bottom of the pot will be sopping wet, and rot the roots off.

sounds very familiar

 

[SlipperKing]

Rick,
chicken grit crushed limestone? I'll have to go read the bag and get back to you on this.

 

[Kyle]

In my part of the continent, chicken grit is crushed granite.