Paph. fowliei culture

[Ssapha]

Hello fellow orchid enthusiasts!

At the beginning of the year I purchased a beautiful little Paph. fowliei v. alba.
So far, it looks like it has been doing well.
After it finished blooming, it got busy on a second growth, which has now 5 leafs and a 6th one on the way. I think it is looking healthy.
I have it under pretty bright light and I let it dry out just slightly between watering. I am not sure what my humidity is though.

I would just like to make sure that I have as much information as possible about this little gem, to keep it as happy as I can. I have some experience growing Phals, Oncidiums and Catts, but not too much with Paphs (indoor culture, under lights).
I have searched this forum for information on this species and have not been too successful with finding much culture information on it.

So, I am hoping that you all might be willing to chip in with some tips and experience ... oke:
Do they prefer very high humidity, bright light or more shaded, a bit of drying out between watering or more on the side of evenly damp, temperature ranges, fertilizer needs ...

As soon as I can, I will post a picture of the plant.

Please share your experience and knowledge, I would greatly appreciate it!

Thank you very much!
Margit

Here is a picture (3.5 inch pot)

 

[Chicago Chad]

The plant looks happy.
I have had far better luck with my plant with higher humidity (+/-80%)
Less light than my parvis, perhaps twice the distance and very little fertilizer.
I also keep it relatively damp.
hope that helps, by the way, all my plants are grown in enclosures under artificial light. So results will certainly vary.

 

[Chicago Chad]

my temps go from 50F lows in the winter to 84F highs in the summer, so the temps are not very controlled. I have not seen the plant struggle on either end of that spectrum but I tend to think it prefers to be warmer.

 

[SlipperFan]

Nice looking plant, Margit. And welcome to Slippertalk.

I like to refer to the information on this website. It gives a lot of info about habitat, light and water:
http://slipperorchids.info

 

[Ssapha]

The plant looks happy.
I have had far better luck with my plant with higher humidity (+/-80%)
Less light than my parvis, perhaps twice the distance and very little fertilizer.
I also keep it relatively damp.
hope that helps, by the way, all my plants are grown in enclosures under artificial light. So results will certainly vary.

Thank you for all the information Chicago Chad! That is exactly what I am looking for!
One of the things I am trying to decide is, if the current media it is in, is actually suited for my growing area conditions.
It is in a VERY open media that might be better suited for my terrarium.
Once the tank is further set up, I might look at placing it into that enclosure ...

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[Ssapha]

my temps go from 50F lows in the winter to 84F highs in the summer, so the temps are not very controlled. I have not seen the plant struggle on either end of that spectrum but I tend to think it prefers to be warmer.

Chicago Chad, this would be VERY similar to our terrarium once completed, I think!


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[Ssapha]

Nice looking plant, Margit. And welcome to Slippertalk.

I like to refer to the information on this website. It gives a lot of info about habitat, light and water:
http://slipperorchids.info

SlipperFan, thank you for your welcome
That is an absolutely awesome link you provided! Thank you!
I could not find anything about Paph. fowliei culture there though, which is exactly the problem I have been running into ...
Thank you for sharing though!
I appreciate it!

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[SlipperFan]

SlipperFan, thank you for your welcome
That is an absolutely awesome link you provided! Thank you!
I could not find anything about Paph. fowliei culture there though, which is exactly the problem I have been running into ...
Thank you for sharing though!
I appreciate it!

http://slipperorchids.info/paphdatasheets/sigmatopetalum/fowliei/index.html
Lots of cultural info there.

 

[Ssapha]

http://slipperorchids.info/paphdatasheets/sigmatopetalum/fowliei/index.html
Lots of cultural info there.

Thank you so much SlipperFan! That is exactly what I hoped for!

I think one of the things that has me confused about this little plant is, that I bought it in VERY open media. Large bark chunks and large perlite pieces.

I have been under the impression that generally, Paphs like a medium that is pretty moisture retaining yet still light and airy.
The bark & perlite chunks are so course that I have to water quite frequently to keep it from drying out in my environment. I would actually pot one of my Catts in this kind of material ...
Down the road, when the time comes to repot, I might choose something a little less open (small bark chunks & small perlite).

Any thoughts on this?

Thank you
Margit

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[SlipperFan]

Chunky is good. How often are you watering?

 

[Ssapha]

Chunky is good. How often are you watering?

During the summer months I watered every day and with it being cooler now, I am watering every two days. I soak it for just a moment every time.
My other plants are in a substrate that I water once a week.

Margit

 

[SlipperFan]

Where are you? Are you in an extremely dry or hot environment?

 

[Ssapha]

I live in the Pacific Northwest. I am growing under lights.
Spare bedroom, heavy duty shelving unit with two growing levels.

At the moment I am using only my HO t5's (4- 4 footers). I don't have enough plants (at the moment) to warrant restarting my 4- 4 foot t8 shelf.
I am estimating that in the summer, the temperature gets up to 100 in the room and right now it is around 70 in the day time. I have no idea how high the humidity is. The shelf is not crowded with plants at the moment and i can imagine that the heat of the grow lights does not allow for the humidity to get up very high. The lights are about 2 feet above the shelf and I am planning on buying humidity trays one of these days/weeks/months.

I just purchased a thermometer & hygrometer for our orchid terrarium. I was thinking about using it on the shelf for a few days to find out what the temp & humidity actually are.

A couple of month ago I lost most of my collection to an infestation of red spider mites. I first thought it was a fungal infection and treated accordingly. By the time I realized what it actually was, I had lost about 3/4 of my collection (NOW I know that spider mites also come in red ... ). Because of that, my growing area is not very crowded. When I have enough plants again to warrant restarting the lower shelf with the t8's, the little fowliei will move down to that shelf because I don't think it really needs as much light as the HO t5's are giving (it is sitting toward the edge of the shelf, not in the brightest middle area right now).

Once I have replaced the plastic lining on the top shelf, I will post a picture of my growing area. I hope to do that this weekend.

Sorry to be so long winded, but I think it is good to provide a little more detailed description of the growing area, to help you give the best advice possible.

Thank you very much for your help!

Margit

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[SlipperFan]

If your room gets to 100º, it is no wonder you need to water your plant everyday. As the weather gets cooler, you will probably find you won't need to water quite so often. Spider mites love dry conditions, so that is a sign your humidity is very low. That, too, means more watering.

It probably won't hurt to change the medium to something a little more water retentive. Just remember that the roots need air as well as water, and Paphs tend to like a little more water than some other orchids. Most Cattleyas, Dendrobiums and most in the Vandaceous group tend to like their roots to be dry between waterings.

Good luck!