winter care questions

[MissMorbus]

This is going to be my first winter with my paphs and phrags, and I have a few questions.

I usually water and fertilize my plants weekly (on the weekend), and then check them periodically throughout the week and water them if necessary. Most of my plants just need a weekly watering, and seem to be happy with this schedule. I noticed this weekend that a lot of my plants are still really damp from being watered last weekend. Most of these plants are the ones that are in older media and could be re-potted, but I didn't think it was necessary just yet. I know that in the winter you don't need to water as often, so I assume that means that the media will stay damp longer, but I also know that being damp too long especially in the cold is bad. How long is too long for it to stay damp? Should I re-pot the plants that are staying damp for a week or more in new media? What is a good watering and fertilizing schedule for winter? I'm in Louisiana, so it's still fairly warm here. We have some days that are around 80 degrees, then we have others that drop into the 50s. It will probably stay pretty warm until December, then it will start getting cold (well...cold for Louisiana). Oh, just in case you need to know, I grow my plants year round in a southeast facing windowsill.

Thanks for your help.

 

[SlipperFan]

Tough questions!

I suspect that it's more about your particular growing conditions than it is about winter. For instance, here in Michigan without a greenhouse, my home is cooler and drier for my plants than when they are outside during the warmer months. So although the atmosphere is drier, because it is cooler, many plants don't dry out as fast. Of course, the type of plant, size of pot and the growing media are factors. I've chosen a chunky medium that is fast-draining but stays fairly moist for up to a week.

My watering schedule is everything once a week, and about half of my collection gets a mid-week watering. Anything I'm unsure about whether it needs water or not, I usually don't water.

Not much help, am I?

 

[NYEric]

You just risk a greater chance of picking up some fungal rot by having the plants/media stay wetter and cool longer than usual. If the media is rotting that increases the chance so change that as nec. I water my paphs a little less in the winter and as I grow my phrags in water I have no change for those.

 

[goldenrose]

What's the air circulation like? Good air circulation will help avoid rots/fungal & the plants should dry out a bit faster.

 

[MissMorbus]

Sorry it's taken me so long to reply.

Slipperfan - You were helpful, I like to find out that other people have similar growing conditions to mine.

NYEric - There are only two that I would worry about the media beginning to rot, and one of them is in spike, so I hate to change that one.

Goldenrose - I don't have a fan on my plants, so I guess it's just regular house circulation. I might try to scrounge up a fan to put on them.

Thanks for the help!

 

[Grandma M]

The small upright fans don't take much room and I find they help a lot.

 

[Bluefirepegasus]

I also have a questgion relating to the same subject and thought I would just ask it here. If my house is around 70-74 degrees pretty much all the time, do I need to have a fan going? I feel so cold in my house even with 70 degrees....will my plants get cold too if I turn the ceiling fan on them? Or, is it something I should do always?

I have a paph hybrid (wide, mottled leaves) a phrag hybrid (green strapped leaves) and a phrag/paph hybrid (wide mottled leaves) and another phrag hybrid green strapped leaves).

I have windows with morning sun, midday sun and afternoon sun. I have moved them to the morning sun window. Will this be too much light?

Hope you don't mind me jumping in to ask the question. I was just reading and had questions.

Bluefirepegasus

 

[goldenrose]

..... If my house is around 70-74 degrees pretty much all the time, do I need to have a fan going? I feel so cold in my house even with 70 degrees....will my plants get cold too if I turn the ceiling fan on them? Or, is it something I should do always?
I have a paph hybrid (wide, mottled leaves) a phrag hybrid (green strapped leaves) and a phrag/paph hybrid (wide mottled leaves) and another phrag hybrid green strapped leaves).
I have windows with morning sun, midday sun and afternoon sun. I have moved them to the morning sun window. Will this be too much light? Bluefirepegasus

The temps in my house are pretty much the same as yours. If the sun is shining, you probably have a rise in temps during the day. I have a humidifier near my plants & a vertical fan near the floor level. The fan runs nonstop.

Light - too much you ask? depends on the plants. Just to describe them as mottled leaf or green are the only two choices they come in! There are some mottled leaf paphs that take higher light, as there as some green leaf types that take lower. If they have names it would be helpful if we know what they are. Are you supplementing the natural light? At this time of the year due to the short days & how low the sun is on the horizon, I don't think you're going to have an issue with it being too much.

 

[NYEric]

You have a paph/phrag hybrid!?

 

[SlipperFan]

You have a paph/phrag hybrid!?

I wondered that, also. With mottled leaves, it sounds like a Paph.

 

[Bluefirepegasus]

Sorry guys...it was late when I wrote about the paph/phrag hybrid....darn those typos! I meant I had another phrag hybrid.

My plants are as follows:
Paph pink glow X (this one is hard to read the writing) Armzriseum

The infamous wilcox hybrid

and phrag 'socerer's apprentice'

Bluefirepegasus

 

[goldenrose]

Paph pink glow X (this one is hard to read the writing) Armzriseum - I have no clue, hopefully someone else can come up with that one!
The infamous wilcox hybrid - med-low light should be fine.

and phrag 'sorcerer's apprentice' - high light(south window) for sure if you want it to bloom.

 

[NYEric]

There are paph crosses w/ delenatii 'Pink Glow' or Flame Arrow 'Pink Glow' in them. There is no registered phrag Pink Glow; so I'm thinking it's either a vinicolor or Parvi cross. Med Light should be fine although I don't have medium light so I'm not sure what that is.

 

[Candace]

There's no registered Paph. Pink Glow, either. So it's probably a clonal name like Eric suggested.