Paphs in orchiata

[Roth]

I have been using orchiata for a while, and nowadays, after having tried some mixes with pumice, and the like, I settled for pure orchiata, in various grades. I add some extra lime for some paphs, nutricote eventually for the heavy feeders, and let's go.

Here is a new hangianum, potted end of march. The root system is so impressive that again I am forced to repot right now.






One more plant here:



And that's a good illustration too that when you know how to grow plants not from seed, they grow well :evil:

Now, I will present, first time ever, the number 1 killer of wild collected paphs:



On paph thaianum :evil::evil::evil:

It has been treated with the proper insecticide (aldicarb that time). You can see on the left leaf on the new growth a 'band'. This is the insect that ate everything in the crown. If it was not treated, this band would still be in the crown, the plant stunted, the flower spike (yes there is one in the crown ) aborted, and the plant killed in the next few months. For some species, ALL the wild plant have this pest.

 

[paphioboy]

Interesting post, roth.... Do you repot the hangianum so fast? It hasn't formed a solid root ball yet... I would think that it is more economical to leave it for longer particularly as this is good bark and doesn't break down as fast...(?)

 

[Roth]

Interesting post, roth.... Do you repot the hangianum so fast? It hasn't formed a solid root ball yet... I would think that it is more economical to leave it for longer particularly as this is good bark and doesn't break down as fast...(?)

For some species like hangianum and rothschildianum, when the plants have no more space to get their roots running, they stop growing... So far I did not choose the proper pot size for the hangianum, so I repot in bigger ones

 

[paphioboy]

For some species like hangianum and rothschildianum, when the plants have no more space to get their roots running, they stop growing...

"When they have no more space to get the roots running?" That's a bit odd. Don't many people grow roths in small pots so that the roots wind up round and round within the pots? Many multis do that I believe. Not sure about hangianum...

 

[Roth]

"When they have no more space to get the roots running?" That's a bit odd. Don't many people grow roths in small pots so that the roots wind up round and round within the pots? Many multis do that I believe. Not sure about hangianum...

Yes, and it's a mistake. The Tonkins and Norris Powell grew their plant in huge pots, that's how they got the CCM and their awards... as long as the roots had space to extend.

Terry Root repots every 6 months, breaking some old roots at the repotting and new roots will appear. Growing root tips and very long hairy roots is the secret to grow those plants very fast.

 

[Brian Monk]

I have always been told that deep pots are better than big pots (though I grow in large Cymbidim pots). Will any large pot do?

 

[paphioboy]

Yes, and it's a mistake. The Tonkins and Norris Powell grew their plant in huge pots, that's how they got the CCM and their awards... as long as the roots had space to extend.

Terry Root repots every 6 months, breaking some old roots at the repotting and new roots will appear. Growing root tips and very long hairy roots is the secret to grow those plants very fast.

Interesting. Now I know what to do with my multies... Thanks for the tip.

 

[Roth]

I have always been told that deep pots are better than big pots (though I grow in large Cymbidim pots). Will any large pot do?

For multis yes, in fact I perfer large pots and not too deep. The Japanese use very deep pots, not very wide, but they have a complete set of parameters to grow their plants ( that's how they get massive multis actually, but there are many growing trics that go along, or you never succeed...).

A deep pot will stay wet/humid longer at its bottom than a wide pot. I do not like wet pots at their bottom, because it can become anaerobic quickly, and cause the root demises if you water a lot ( I do water a lot). On the other side, if you do not like to water too much (and are not scared by root rot coming from anaerobic decomposition, which lowers the pH like hell...), deep narrower pots will do just as fine. The trick is to keep the roots active, and free running. Last thing, even with Orchiata, when the roots are plentiful in a small pot, the pressure increases, and the new roots cannot grow freely when they have filled all the empty spaces...

 

[biothanasis]

Very nice tips Roth... Thanks!

 

[Heather]

So, do we have a name for the nasty pest that causes this destruction?

 

[Paphman910]

What are your condition like to grow in Orchiata? Sounds like you are promoting this product! Do you have a distributor in Canada?

Paphman910

 

[Pete]

i wouldnt want my paph to make a full on "root ball" but rather just develop plentiful roots that have reached all over the pot. i think if you wait until there is a really intense/woven root ball, youve waited too long

 

[Pete]

btw im with xavier. aside from the things i grow in sphagnum, i grow my entire collection in some type of orchiata mix and have had excellent success. it lasts forever too.

 

[Eric Muehlbauer]

Aren't the conditions relative to climate? Xavier grows his paphs in Vietnam. Here in the eastern US, where paphs must be grown inside much of the year, I would think that tall, deep pots are preferable...for the very same reasons that they are less preferable in the tropics.

 

[Roth]

What are your condition like to grow in Orchiata? Sounds like you are promoting this product! Do you have a distributor in Canada?

Paphman910

Mmmh... I ll ask for that. So far for the conditions, the Tokyo Orchid Nursery uses it as well, as many of the japanese nurseries, so that's US style conditions. I grow under shadecloth in Vietnam in the lowlands with high temperatures and very high humidity, and I have another nursery in the highlands with cool temperatures, and even a cooled greenhouse over there for really cold plants. So far it works in all conditions. That's why I promote it ( and I work for them as their technical expert too but that was a consequence of their product being really excellent...)

So, do we have a name for the nasty pest that causes this destruction?

Some people say it's a thrips larvae, and in fact it looks like... We see occasionally some thrips-like insects flying in nurseries that did not use a carbamate insecticide. For me I never waited to get adults, I always treat everything that comes in.

In Indonesia this delight is replaced by something else, most of the paphiopedilum mastersianum, gigantifolium, intaniae, and a lot of the others Sulawesi/PNG species comes with brevipalpus... though it should not be a native of those areas. But even freshly collected plants have a few. In the wild, apparently it is not a very heavy threat, but in cultivation it attacks pretty much all...

 

[Ray]

It is mostly a combination of bacteria and fungi that break down bark, Yeah, insect larvae do too, but more on a limited "macro" level, not to the extent done by microorganisms.

You all know my preference for semi-hydroponics (and I still have all of my slippers growing that way), but I have to tell you that Orchiata is one amazing bark. Plants I have been put in it take to it like mad, growing roots like they were just discovering how.

The stuff is aged and treated with dolomite solution, so provides a lot of Mg and Ca - it supposedly stabilizes the pH too. Some of the material I get is wet in the bag, and there is a limited amount of mold growing in it, but Pacific Wide says it's a penicillium species that actually helps prevent other molds from growing.

Paphman910 - No distribution in Canada. Your government thinks it is protecting your own forest industries, so won't allow it in.

 

[labskaus]

This is an academic discussion for the European members, since the product is not available in Europe, too

 

[Mathias]

This is an academic discussion for the European members, since the product is not available in Europe, too

Too bad, isn´t it! I had mail contact with Besgrow who produces Orchiata and apparently the product would need to be heat treated in order to be allowed into Europe.

 

[Shiva]

Too bad, isn´t it! I had mail contact with Besgrow who produces Orchiata and apparently the product would need to be heat treated in order to be allowed into Europe.

Same thing in Canada.

 

[Shiva]

Yes, and it's a mistake. The Tonkins and Norris Powell grew their plant in huge pots, that's how they got the CCM and their awards... as long as the roots had space to extend.

Terry Root repots every 6 months, breaking some old roots at the repotting and new roots will appear. Growing root tips and very long hairy roots is the secret to grow those plants very fast.

I've heard it all before. I heard experts claim that paphs should be grown in the smallest, deepest pots possible. I've heard about all kinds of miracle fertilizers and potting mixes. There were even ''scientific'' experiments to prove one thing or another, and always done on a very small scale, scientifically insignificant, and never ever reproduced by others. In the end, what's important is what works for you, in your climate, in your house or your greenhouse, and depending on the time you have to take care of the plants. And whatever you do, there's always a number of plants that end up on the trash pile.
To me, observation on how your plants adapt to your situation is the most important factor, but it's a long learning process.