paph division problem

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I'm posting a question that a fellow orchid club member of mine posted to the ogd this morning. You can reply here, or here and to iriscohen at aol dot com if you like. I'm sure others would be curious about if there is a definite cause of this.
thanks,
charles

When I went to repot my P. Clair de Lune 'Edgard van Belle,' it was
balkanized into three independent single-growth republics. Roots were sparse but
alive. What causes this & how can I prevent it?
Iris

just a note that Iris has been growing orchids for quite a while, and her culture is pretty good (and she's received a few awards on her paphs and a few others) so she is looking more for a specific culture, genetics or other answer and not a general 'how do I grow this paph' answer (technical reply)

if it weren't an orchid and was a houseplant I'd think that fungus gnat larva were at work, chewing things apart as they can often do damage to seedlings, but to an adult paph I don't know... maybe some other sort of chewing insect that thrives where there is decaying bark and things like that? (centipedes)
 
im a bit confused by the terms balkanized and republics in terms of a paph..
but I'll take a stab at it.. Im curious if these growths were spread apart truly like a malipoense or if they were just sort of "self-dividing". I am familiar with Claire De Lune and that type of plants habit and culture and the most likely thing I can think of is that the plant did a bit of the Self dividing that you see sometimes. I too have often wondered what would cause a plant to divide itself when it typically "clumps".. Im inclined to say it has something to do with the fact that "roots were sparse" and media brakedown or fungal rot of the roots or a combination of both stressed the plant into making new seperate fans with their own root systems as opposed to clumping from the original growth and using the original root bunch.
That is all i can think of... pictures??
 
(smile) Iris's humor! you assumed correctly, that instead of a 'republic' where the growths are all part of one unit, they have split up into separate growths. I'll see if she can provide some pictures or give some more info about the state of the media, etc.
thanks for the info
 

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