Substrate Level in Pot

[Ben Belton]

I'm mostly a Phal grower, so sorry if this questions comes off a bit basic.

As I've started to get my foot wet in Paphs, someone told me that a plant I had was potted wrong. They said Paphs require the substrate to come higher up the plant that with other type orchids. They told me that in nature the plants "felt" material building up around their base on the forest floor, and this induced them to grow roots.

I believe this person because they are a very good Paph grower, but after reading reading and more reading, I haven't seen what I would think is a very important point mentioned. Maybe I've looked in the wrong place. Maybe it was mentioned but not emphasized.

What do you think? If this is true, how deep do I put them?

 

[paphioboy]

Level with the base of the growth/fan. I would avoid burying any leaf axils in media as wet conditions in the leaf bases encourages rot.

 

[Marc]

I more or less agree with paphioboy. The base of the growth should be level with the base of the growth or lightly covered with substrate. ( Max 10 mm. )

 

[Ray]

Level with the base of the growth/fan. I would avoid burying any leaf axils in media as wet conditions in the leaf bases encourages rot.

Yep.

 

[Paph_LdyMacBeth]

You actually have a really good question and probably something more experienced paph growers take for granted.
As with most orchid related things it takes a bit of experience to find the right depth.

 

[eggshells]

I agree with all of the above. I have recently purchased some seedlings and the person I bought it from planted the plants too deep. It resulted that the new growths rotted and died. I repotted them since.

 

[jtrmd]

Level with the base of the growth/fan. I would avoid burying any leaf axils in media as wet conditions in the leaf bases encourages rot.

agree!

 

[Stone]

Personally, I prefer to cover the base of the plant slightly. To me it helps in encouraging the root initials to keep growing rather than start and stop. It's the same theory when air layering a plant. An almost constant state of moistness at a particular site tends to encourage growth activity in my experience. The depth of the coverage is important-- too much and you could encounter the rot problems mentioned above. For a small seedling of a couple of inches across I would cover the base with about 2mm of mix and for an adult plant maybe 5-10mm. If you look at pics of habitat plants you'll see that their bases are continually being covered with a fresh layer of litter and they have evolved to this by producing new roots and shoots slightly higher each time. I have never had problems with the bases rotting but I think strong air movement is probably very important in preventing this.

 

[Ben Belton]

Thanks everyone. That's a few things to think about beyond just planting depth.

I asked the same question to a friend and mentioned this thread. He pointed out to me that our Phals tend to be more forgiving than many other groups of orchids. Phals have probably spoiled me, and Paphs aren't going to do that. Still, I've only killed one, so I'm doing pretty good.

Until I can post my first Paph, enjoy some of my Phal eye candy. Not sure if I've posted this one before. Bloomed it a couple months back.

 

[Paph_LdyMacBeth]

Why not make a new thread for that beauty so everyone can enjoy it!

 

[SlipperFan]

Why not make a new thread for that beauty so everyone can enjoy it!

I agree!

What is it -- I don't think I've ever seen a Phal quite like that!

 

[Ben Belton]

What is it -- I don't think I've ever seen a Phal quite like that!

Sorry I haven't replied. This forum will notify me once when I have a post in a forum I've participated in, but then it never does again. I just thought about it tonight and came back and looked.

This is a seedling from a Peter Lin cross at Big Leaf Orchids. It is Phal Pylo's Princess Star which is (Yungho Princess Gelb x Star of Dixie). Pictures of the parents are below.

 

[Ray]

Back to the subject of the thread for a moment, I think the medium used plays a role, too - and my "gut" tells me it's the "moisture handling" properties that are the most critical.

For example, sphagnum is great for holding onto water, via the very small voids that allow surface tension to keep a very stable supply in place, including right at its surface, where it can come into direct contact with the plant, resulting in suffocation and pathogen growth.

On the other end of the spectrum might be LECA, which actively absorbs and wicks away moisture, and by its shape alone, leaves lots of air space. Planting deeper is less of an issue.

Bark mixes probably fall in the middle, somewhere.

 

[SlipperFan]

Thanks, Ben. Peter makes great hybrids.