Throwing my paph. a lifeline

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rdhed

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As I was watering today I noticed one of my paphs that has been in hydroton for quite sometime was loose in its pot. I decided to take a bunch of the hydroton out to find the problem. A large portion of the root system had rotted off leaving me with just two roots..one approx. 1 3/4" and the other approx. 2 1/4" long and the plant has 2 open blooms at this time. My question is...would it be better to cut the two blooms off and repot to a bark mix or let the two blooms finish and then repot to a mix. So far for now, I have just cleaned out the hydroton..rinsed the pot of any bacteria...and sunk the plant deeper into the hydroton.

Signed undecided,
--Allen--
 
With root loss that severe, you should consider trying the root recovery method outlined in a recent issue of Orchid Digest. Basically, potting it up in sponge rock, then sitting the pot in a a couple of inches of water with KLN rooting hormone added, and waiting 2 - 3 months. I did this a few months ago with several of my more root-challenged plants, and had amazing results with most of the plants. Much better than the sphag-in-bag method. Once you've got some healthy roots going, pot it up in your mix of choice.
 
With root loss that severe, you should consider trying the root recovery method outlined in a recent issue of Orchid Digest. Basically, potting it up in sponge rock, then sitting the pot in a a couple of inches of water with KLN rooting hormone added, and waiting 2 - 3 months. I did this a few months ago with several of my more root-challenged plants, and had amazing results with most of the plants. Much better than the sphag-in-bag method. Once you've got some healthy roots going, pot it up in your mix of choice.


this method works really well for me also
 
did you wait to put the plant into the hydroton until it was starting to put out new roots? the basic guidelines are that the old roots will often rot off, and then new ones will grow down into the water. it could be that this is happening, and you only have two new roots; it would be expected though it doesn't always happen, that the old roots would rot off

thanks for posting the re-rooting method, I think I will give that a try
 
Sounds like you're getting good advice.
I thought the stuff that looks something like styrofoam is sponge rock.
 
It sounds like a good technique to try. Plus I've found that "Sphag in a bag" usually ends up as "mush in a bag" before anything gets better!
 
I have a bag of small 'perlite' from the supermarket downstairs that is like the small beads used in beaded styrofoam. Then I have some larger stuff [perlite/sponge rock?] that I got from Kelly's Korner that is more brittle/harder. [almost oxymoronic :p]
 
Great advice in the posts above ! ..

Hydroton is NOT for struggling paph plants or paphs in general, in my humble opinion. All of my paph collection except for a doz or so in spike/bud, have been repotted out of Hydroton/leca ,into a bark/coconut husk mix. I am seeing some new root growth already !! Yipee !

I have not tried the sponge rock recovery method for rootless paphs ,but it sounds encouraging.

I have my rootless wonders in moss, not sphag and bag though..just moss and have been watering with superthrive occasionally. This is only 3 weeks in, so I have not done a "check".
Good Luck !
 
I have a bag of small 'perlite' from the supermarket downstairs that is like the small beads used in beaded styrofoam. Then I have some larger stuff [perlite/sponge rock?] that I got from Kelly's Korner that is more brittle/harder. [almost oxymoronic :p]

Hmmm, the stuff they sell in UK and call perlite is the brittle, uneven mineral sort of thing but it's also fairly fine.
 
Hmmm, the stuff they sell in UK and call perlite is the brittle, uneven mineral sort of thing but it's also fairly fine.

Perlite and sponge rock are the same . Sponge rock is larger and not readily available at garden centers like the smaller "cut" is. The smaller crushes easily and can pack down in your mix , where the larger size does not. Here is a link to show the differences. Scroll down till you see it.
Hope this helps.

http://www.repotme.com/orchid-media/index.html
 
Good link. Interesting that they list rice hulls. We use them in the mix that our company (www.northerncompositeproducts.com) uses in the production of composite deck boards. Rice hulls normally get sent to landfill so it is good to see them being put to good use besides being tossed. :clap: I'll have to grab a bucketfull next time I go up there. :)

I really like perlite in my orchid mixes and keep both large and small size on hand. I'll have to try the straight perlite method for root building in the future. Thanks for the tip.
 
Thanks, Gilda!

I managed to find some on a UK website www.orchidaccessories.co.uk. They describe it as American Sponge Rock (Super Large Perlite). I use the normal small stuff mixed with bark but it's good to know about the bigger size.
 
I haven't had any luck at all with the Orchid Digest method. Even plants with small roots put out no new root growth at all, all though they stay firm. Rootless plants remain rootless. I think I'll go back to my cocopeat/perlite mixture. Take care, Eric
 

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