Folks,
Check this out. This is one of 10 or so Paph. Macabre cross seedlings that is growing like this. It seems the plant has grown up on a short stem then developed a crown where is growing very quickly. It looks like roots want to punch through where the arrow is pointing.

What do you think I should do? Leave it as is or repot with the seedling deep enough to encourage the roots at the base of the crown to grow and take hold.

I see a similar question on the Garden Web Orchid Forum.


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v639/Slipperhead/Paphgrowth.jpg

I've seen similar growth from plants in flask. I helped a friend deflask about 15 flasks of delenatii, which all exhibited this type of growth. I received a flask for my help that day. When I repotted the plants from the compot, I tried to bury them down to the crown of the top growth, just barely covering the new root nodes. I actually ended up covering leaves, but this didn't seem to be a problem with the delenatii, at least. I was concerned that the covered leaves might get infected, but evidently, this hasn't happened. It's been over a year.

THANKS!!! I think that is what I'm going to do!

For some reason, this happens, especially with jungle collected plants. I would chalk it up to low light in flask causing etiolation.

I was the one who posted in the other forum about this issue.

Here is the link to the compot in question,

http://members.aol.com/elpaninaro/tallpaph.jpg

I guess I will try and pot down to the crown too, but this one in the photo is almost too big for that. The stem will be down in the drainage area lol.

Steve, if this originates in low light in flask, does it really continue this long? Could be, I am just wondering. I hope this behavior will stop soon since it will make for some very annoying plants when they get larger :D

I have noticed it seems to happen a lot when sukhakulii is involved in the parentage. I chalked it up to that and possibly to compots getting too crowded too fast to where the plants grow up to compete for light (the compot I pictured has been out of flask for 5 months and they came out of flask very small- so this cross is growing like mad.)

It is the growth rate on this cross that had me thinking the competition for light issue might be there too, since I have had this problem before but never to this extent in so short a time.

Hey, nice to see you here too! I can't count the number of seedlings I've had that have shown this behavior. Usually you see it in compot. There is almost always an enlarged root bud (or even an active root) at the top of the 'stem' right before the leaf fan starts. Maudiae type seedlings are most prone to it, in my experience. But, I have adult plants that do the same thing. Paph. insigne is the latest problem child - two to three inch leafless stems topped by leaves. Look like little trees. I've tried potting it down two or three times in the last couple years, and it still stretches out. Not sure what to make of that. I'd love to know why it is happening and how I can keep it from happening in the future.

For the seedlings, I don't think it is caused in flask. I think it is just a response to competition in compot. No science behind that, just my opinion. It may be stretching for light, and (my latest guess is) the local humidity caused by such close crowding in the pot allows for the development of dormant root buds higher up on the stem. I think that the high humidity is what allows the seedlings in flask to exhibit the high root initiation as well.

My paph mentors always said to just strip off any leaves below the highest root bud, and to pot them down to that level. So that is what I've been doing. I haven't lost many that way. I haven't seen a trend that would indicate to me that if a seedling does it the adult plant will also do it. Usually the adult plants settle down (except that stupid insigne, and some maudiae types).


I was the one who posted in the other forum about this issue.

Here is the link to the compot in question,

http://members.aol.com/elpaninaro/tallpaph.jpg

I guess I will try and pot down to the crown too, but this one in the photo is almost too big for that. The stem will be down in the drainage area lol.

Steve, if this originates in low light in flask, does it really continue this long? Could be, I am just wondering. I hope this behavior will stop soon since it will make for some very annoying plants when they get larger :D

I have noticed it seems to happen a lot when sukhakulii is involved in the parentage. I chalked it up to that and possibly to compots getting too crowded too fast to where the plants grow up to compete for light (the compot I pictured has been out of flask for 5 months and they came out of flask very small- so this cross is growing like mad.)

It is the growth rate on this cross that had me thinking the competition for light issue might be there too, since I have had this problem before but never to this extent in so short a time.

I've got a primulinum and a Jade Dragon that are mature plants that grow like that...I jokingly call them my Vanda primulinum and Phal. Jade Dragon.
I've noticed that my seedling Parvis and Brachys do this quite often and some of my Cochlopetalums never stop and keep a half inch of stem between leaves. I will get some pics up in a day or two.
Jon

OK, I just got a return email from my favorite commercial paph grower. Apparently this isn't uncommon. Here is his advice...

"Pull that lowest leaf off and then replant the whole plant again in the mix. Get the new base of the lowest leaves just below the mix level."

So there we go!

He also agrees this is most common with the Maudiae crosses.

I may have to change my online name from "S-Head" to "Leaf-Stripper"! I have done a count on two sets of seedlings and find a total of about 30 plants that need to be stripped right away! Also, recently potted Paph. thailandense aka callosum var. thailandense has 6 or 8 of the same thing going on! I'm going to let them grow up a bit before I strip them.

It is probably due in nature to low light, and in flask, to a localized overconcentration of cytokinins.

No, it will not keep growing like that if you move it to normal conditions.

Some orchids, however, naturally grow like that, such as x areeanum, but I don't think so in this case.