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???
Paph medium
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