Water

[gonewild]

The only thing I take umbrage to is the spelling of "vitamin".

I agree the PC spelling should be vitapersons

 

[Stone]

So what plants really "feed on" is water and co2 (to make sugars and celulose).

Don't forget light! without sufficient light they can do nothing with c02 or water or nutrients. Thats why the feeding/watering should follow the light intensity and period. I think feeding tropical plants in a temperate winter is probably counter productive regardless of temps unless you have artificial light. Probably why brachys are so much easier to grow under lights than in a greenhouse where you have to hold them under suspended animation. Not so easy to give them the right quantity of water between totally dry and just barely moist. At least niveum, leuc and godefroyae and thaianum? Thinking about that, why then is exul so easy? (not that I've had it over winter yet)

 

[Rick]

http://cdn.intechopen.com/pdfs/3060...ids_current_knowledge_future_perspectives.pdf

Check out this paper, its pretty cool.

Without getting too bogged down on the hardcore physiology stuff, there is some cool ecological stuff mixed in.

Especially interesting to me is the ratio of CAM versus C3 and C4 plants relative to rainfall rates and elevation in the canopy.

There's also a section on productivty/water consumption rates for the different types of orchid metabolism.

 

[Stone]

Printing that one..................

 

[Rick]

Printing that one..................

Ya I did too.

I think there's a bunch of good stuff in this article. I haven't finished reading it, and haven't found any references to slippers, but I think a lot of parrallels can be made.

From what I've gleaned so far, that plant photorespiration processes are species specific so you can't generalize "all Catts are...and all Dendros are....all Paphs are....".

So I've been reading this with regard to comparison of habitat differences of say exul versus mastersianum, exposed on a saltwater, bright hot condition (CAM obligate??) versus low light constant dripping wet forest floor (C3 obligate??)

http://images2.wikia.nocookie.net/_...edilum_insigne_and_Paphiopedilum_parishii.pdf

Here's a link to a Paph specific article.