Lovely, happy, healthy looking paphs - You clearly care for and enjoy them. If I may humbly offer a suggestion that’s likely to help your multi-florals grow significantly faster: under-pot them! (Pot sizes 2.5” to 4.5” max) I’m sure you know how much paphs love their wet-dry-wet cycle - Smaller pots 👉🏼 media dries faster 👉🏼 water 3-5x per week = super speedy growth! Also, it’s unfortunate most people think paphs are “shade-lovers”, but they actually do best in very bright conditions - Not direct unfiltered sunshine (esp during the summer!), but rather 30-50% shade. Anyway, take this with a pinch of sugar, because even though I know everything I also know barely anything. ☺️🌺
Thanks Tristan, All my paphs (all my orchids in fact) grow in a shadehouse under 70% shadenetting now. If you check out a couple of my most recent ones you'll see my new setup for the past year. They are all potted in an open mix as I can't control the wet dry cycle, they are out in the open so rain or shine, they are exposed to the elements. 30% shade would be too much out here in sunny Queensland, Australia, especially as there is no other established shade in my back yard. But great tips for other more controlled conditions of growing!
Lovely collection of paphs. You are caring for them very well and they all look in the best of health. You can always tell by what's on top of the compost as to what is going on underneath...... you will have some good roots on the looks of them. Just found your channel and subscribed. Keep the videos coming please. Ed.
Eds Orchids thank you Ed! Your channel is one of my go to's for paph / phrags, so very glad to meet you! Thanks for sharing your wealth of knowledge. :)
Pretty- pretty. Nothing like a healthy Paph, they're such impressive plants even without the blooms. What foliage. I like this type of video, a particular genus, culture, etc. ( especially Phal species!) I have no Paph, don't think I can grow them but may try again if I see one at Trader Joe's. Good day! 🌱💚
Patricia Lux I absolutely love the foliage on these plants!! If you want to try paphs I think try some Maudiae types because you can really just grow them with your phals I reckon. Just keep them evenly moist :)
Nice collection of various paphs. I like the one with red big pouch which is near blooming. I also like the multiflora ones. Thanks for sharing your experience with us.
ExuberantOrchids I wish I hadn't gotten so many tiny seedlings now 😂 I'm going to have to be super patient but the flowering sized ones here are so expensive I could only afford a couple bigger plants
Nice paph collection. They look very healthy. I never sub to people that do not care about the plant. Yours however, are quite nice. 194 Very nice grow space. What an awesome view.
Hi Diana, I have a question regarding dolomite. I recently bought dolomite powder for my paphs and phrags. How do you give yours to them? Do you spread a spoon full on top of the media? how often?
MaryG Orchids yes depending on.thr size of the pot. I used to be very conservative but am a little more liberal now. A 12cm pot gets about a teaspoon and I work.around that. I use the Dolomite twice a year. But I've started using this organic fertilizer which I'll be topping every 3 months on all my orchids- www.batphone.com.au/products/dry-mineral-fertilisers/organic-link-10kg.html
I've gotten many of mine from orchid shows actually. A few from online, mostly ebay back in the day :). Haven't bought any new orchids since we have moved to my new home.
awesome video!! when you say the barbatum/maudiae types need less light, how much light do you mean? like distance from the opening on the porch and also what direction does the porch face?
Victoria Close the Barbatum types will do fine with phalaenopsis light - I.e. bright shade :) . Mine are at a western facing window and get a tiny bit of filtered direct sun in the late afternoon. It’s also the warmest part of my house so I keep most warm-hot growers there. Of all the paphs these guys are definitely the least fussy for me!
Hello from the Caribbean, I just got my first paphiopedilum and I'm wondering what was your medium combination and which pot would you recommend, plastic or terra-cotta. Thanks.
It's personal preference really. Any medium is fine as long as you can adjust watering to suit the plant's needs. Most paphs, particularly the mottled leaf types enjoy staying evenly moist and don't like to dry out completely. So medium that has some water retentive properties while still being well draining is probably ideal, especially if your climate is relatively warm like mine. I always put a layer of LECA or rock at the bottom of all my pots to improve drainage and my paphs get a small grade pre-mix of bark/charcoal/perlite + sphagnum + extra LECA beads for some aeration. Clay or plastic pots are fine. Just keep in mind that clay breathes, so while allowing more aeration and evaporative cooling, pots will dry out faster. This is why I use plastic - so I don't have to water as often. Hope this helps you!
Jamie Georgakakis I use a small pre-mix of orchids, perlite and charcoal. I also add a little LECA for aeration and sphagnum for extra water retention. But I live in a warm climate, and I keep my plants outdoors so they still dry out fairly quickly in our hot summers. Your ideal medium will depend on your conditions and individual plant :)
