Paph medium

[utah]

Hi all, question to all you paph-aholics. I have a couple of the young beauties who should be spiking this year. They are showing new growth so they seem to be at least somewhat happy. They are in fine bark mixed with charcoal, perlite, and sphagnum. They are watered 3-4 times a week (one of those is with mild fertilizer). They are kept in 60-70% humidity and low light.

Here's my dilemma:

I recently received an AOS calendar with an amazing photo of Paphiopedilum Leeanum 'E.G. Morris" CCE/AOS with 35 flowers!! (March 2009 page)

The growers use rainwater (okay, I'm into that), keep it between 50-75 F degrees (I do that), but I really was blown away by the potting medium:

"The medium is a combination of 80 percent ground leaves (oak leaves are cut or crushed in autumn), 20 percent dried horse manure and to a bushel of this mix is added a couple of double handfuls of bone meal and two double handfuls of ground limestone."

Whoa! Anyone else grow their paphs in anything like this?? This completely amazes me and I would love those results but there aren't any oak leaves around here, I'm a bit short on horse manure (will dog work?) and I worry about adding an acid neutralizer.

I understand the bone meal as a source of calcium and phosphorus and the manure as a source of nitrogen but does anyone have a mix that requires a few less trips to some stranger's horse pasture??? People around here have shotguns and shoot if you mess with their horses besides, it's freezing here and I'm not digging through a foot of snow to find frozen horse "do-do"!

I'd rather just mix up something I concocted from HD or from stuff on the Internet.

What works best for y'all???

[shakkai]

I bet if you did all of the work gathering the ingredients once a year (say, in the fall when the leaves are still lying around on the ground) then it wouldn't been that much trouble. It sounds like an interesting way to go... a lot more like what Paphs would grow in naturally.

But, alas, all of my Paphs are in bark, perlite, charcoal - and some have some added sphag. Might be interesting to try two divisions of the same plant in the two different mixes and see what happens!

[Becca]

Utah....I don't know about using doggy do-do....I think that would be best left alone...lol. I have never seen it promoted as a good source of fertalizer like horse, cow, and chicken do-do...so there has to be a reason why...I just don't know why.

[utah]

Originally Posted by Becca

Utah....I don't know about using doggy do-do....I think that would be best left alone...lol. I have never seen it promoted as a good source of fertalizer like horse, cow, and chicken do-do...so there has to be a reason why...I just don't know why.

Oh, but with three dachshunds I have a "plethora" of it. Darn it!

Yeah, I know - do-do is only a good fertilizer from herbivores and dachshunds don't like to eat plants (well, except the ones I don't want them to eat - like orchids).

[brooke]

Skip all the first ingredients in their recipe and just add the limestone/dolmitic lime/ground oyster shells. I couple of pinches of any of the three to the top of the pot in your regular mix.

Do it three or four times a year - they will love it.

Brooke

[utah]

Originally Posted by brooke

Skip all the first ingredients in their recipe and just add the limestone/dolmitic lime/ground oyster shells. I couple of pinches of any of the three to the top of the pot in your regular mix.

Do it three or four times a year - they will love it.

Brooke

Thanks Brooke! Is this also good for phals, masdevilles, and other moisture loving orchids?

[Shirley]

I've been adding a bit of lime to my paphs for a few years now and I've been wondering if I should also be giving it to my phrags. Any opinions on this?

[breeindy]

DONT USE DOG POO! its nothing like horse or cow manue, it will do your plants harm.

[brooke]

Utah only add the lime to plants that grow naturally in areas with limestone. The only phal I have that can grow in a limestone area is cochlearis. I mounted it on a limestone rock. I'm going to mount a Paph. delanatii on a limestone rock in the spring to see how it does.

Brooke

[utah]

Thanks all. I'm going to put a bit of crushed oyster shells on the top of some of my phals and see what happens. (and, no, no doggie poo - I was just kidding on that!)